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United States News Title: Worry Underwater: Oxygen Levels Drop as Oil Continues to Flow Evidence of marine biologists' doomsday scenario thrashes in the Gulf waters as sharks crowd into shallow waters. Marine biologists say the sea animals flee the spill zone the way others would flee a forest fire. With thousands of gallons of oil contaminating their natural habitats, marine creatures press into oil-free waters. "Their habitat is shrinking, tens of thousands of square miles are affected, and animals moving away from them," said Mobi Salangi, director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. "There are changes in food, the food they eat and their prey." Plumes of dense oil in shallow waters, up to 50 feet below the surface, have sucked up oxygen. Tests by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab usually show oxygen levels in the shallow waters at nearly eight parts per million. They're now down to two parts per million -- four times lower than normal. Home > World News Worry Underwater: Oxygen Levels Drop as Oil Continues to Flow Marine Animals Crowd Shallow Gulf Waters as Worries Over Oxygen Levels Grow 8 comments By MATT GUTMAN and SADIE BASS June 23, 2010 Evidence of marine biologists' doomsday scenario thrashes in the Gulf waters as sharks crowd into shallow waters. Undersea accident forces BP to remove cap as oil washes up on Pensacola beaches. Marine biologists say the sea animals flee the spill zone the way others would flee a forest fire. With thousands of gallons of oil contaminating their natural habitats, marine creatures press into oil-free waters. "Their habitat is shrinking, tens of thousands of square miles are affected, and animals moving away from them," said Mobi Salangi, director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. "There are changes in food, the food they eat and their prey." Plumes of dense oil in shallow waters, up to 50 feet below the surface, have sucked up oxygen. Tests by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab usually show oxygen levels in the shallow waters at nearly eight parts per million. They're now down to two parts per million -- four times lower than normal. Related Judge Slams Obama Drilling Ban WATCH: Federal Judge Blocks Obama's Oil Moratorium WATCH: Sharks Near the Gulf Shore Sharks, crabs, sting rays, birds and dolphins are all crowding piers, from Panama Beach, Florida, to the coasts of Louisiana. Feeding frenzies are common in the Gulf, but the sharks jostling the Alabama coast are now much larger and in much greater numbers. Biologists told ABC News that the entire food chain had been disrupted -- partly from the mass of oil and partly because the oil has sapped the water of oxygen. "What we're really witnessing may be a shift in the whole ecosystem feeding structure, the food web," said Bob Shipp, director of marine biology at the University of Southern Alabama. "It also may be altered permanently -- as we've seen in other parts of the world where these things happen." The oil spill has disturbed plant life too. Algae cannot survive if there isn't enough oxygen in the water, and a loss of algae could damage the ecosystem and the fisheries that rely on marine life. Scientists said the oil may also cause the sea creatures' chemo receptors -- which function as built-in GPS systems to detect carbon dioxide levels -- to go on the fritz. Samantha Joye, a marine scientist at the University of Georgia, told The Associated Press that the underwater oil plumes have reduced oxygen in the waters, but that it would take months for the oxygen to reach levels harmful to fish and animals, unlike in shallow waters, where oxygen levels have decreased at higher rates.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Science? Chuckle. What does Rush say?
He said it can't be that bad, Owe-bama's golfing....
Learning a man that tried to destroy your company just got sentence to 18 months in prison, and fined $600,000 will make ya a happy happy man. What a great day. Now, all I have to do is select the right card to send him in prison lol.
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