Oil out of sight, but not gone

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (WALA) - Satellite pictures of the massive oil slick have shown less and less crude and sheen in the water. However, scientists say just because we can't see the oil out in the Gulf, doesn't mean its not there.

Dr. George Crozier, Director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, said some of the oil is being naturally biodegraded.

"It could be disappearing in every sense of the word because the whole premise to use the dispersants is to make it biodegrade faster. The smaller you make it the faster the bacteria and microbes can break it down. So it will disappear just like smoke out of a smokestack, it will be gone," Crozier said.

Crozier said not all of the oil that was left in the water has been broken down.

"The problem was, in my mind, they kept the material at 3,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico. Whether you call them clouds or plumes or you don't know what to call it, it's obvious everybody realized we only got a little it of it. We know how much was released. Where is the difference? It's down there somewhere. We don't know how much. We don't know where it's going, or how fast its being degraded by the microbial community and then we don't know if there is enough oxygen to accelerate or allow that degradation," Crozier added.

The oil that was boomed, burned, skimmed or dispersed will affect the ecosystem. Now it's a wait and see situation. One that Crozier and his team are trying to prepare for by collecting samples and recording data from the Gulf.

Crozier said the first 100 days have been painful, but the next 100 should present more answers.

"In 100 days we'll see whether the normal migrations of invertebrates into the marshes and estuaries of those populations are down. We'll know a lot in a 100 days," said Crozier.