A research team said it had found evidence of dead zones being drained of life-giving oxygen deep in the Gulf of Mexico, as scientists on Tuesday reported new details of vast submerged clouds of oil and natural gas billowing from a well on the sea floor.
Also on Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration acknowledged the existence of swathes of underwater oil many miles from the wellhead, which has been spewing oil since April 20. For weeks, federal scientists at the agency had discounted reports of subsurface plumes.
The agency's chief administrator, Jane Lubchenco, said Tuesday, "NOAA is confirming the presence of very low concentrations of subsurface oil."
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