so is it better for it to be on the bottom than in the water column? frankly, there is so much that we don t know. jeff morale is the bp senior vice president of communications. you agree some of the oil is still on the ocean floor? no. 1200 square miles. you don t believe that. no. bp own studies come to different conclusions. the data collected shows no missing or layer of oil that spreads out across the gulf floor, but that any residual oil that still remains is around the wellhead in a tight radium in about two kilometers and in tarmacs around the gulf of mexico gulf states that are buried and at this point few and far between. but cousteau believes it is spread throughout the eco-system. it is still in many cases in the sand, along the shoreline along the marshs and existing on a microscopic scale. you might not be able to see
bed. is it better for it to be on the bottom than in the water column. frankly, there is so much that we don t know. jeff morale is the bp senior vice president of communications. you realize that some of the ocean is still on the floor. 1200 square miles. no. bp own studies come to different conclusions. the data collected shows no missing or layer of oil that spreads out across the gulf floor but that any residual oil that still remains is around the well head in a tight radius about 2 kilometers and in tarmacs around the gulf states that at this point are few and far between. but cousteau believes it is spread throughout the eco-system. it is still in many cases in
it s been almost four years since the deep water horizon oil rig exploded in the gulf of mexico, killed 11 workers and triggered the costliest environmental disaster in the history of the nation. now science tis are using the world s oldest research submarine to dive to the gulf floor and inspection the long-term impact of the bp spill. this is alvin, as it s known. three people can fit on the thing. this is one of the first imagines from 1954. and then allyn vas traveled alvin has travel all over the world. here it is a decade later, and then more recently, 2002, researchers used it to look at ocean volcanos off the coast of alaska, and now, it s making its return to the gulf where the rig
reporter: we headed out to the spot closest to the oil spill for a submarine ride to the gulf floor. it s pretty cold on this here boat. going about 40 or 50 miles an hour. roger that. roger. just a couple of miles that way is where the bp rig sank. technically it s still a crime scene. pretty cozy in here. reporter: the water laps over the hull as we rocket downwards 5,000 feet. we should be seeing a cacophony of life here. creatures dreamed up for a sci-fi movie. but on this moonscape there s nothing crawling around on the surface of the bottom. it s just worm cubes that are collapsed over. reporter: dr. mandy joy, oceanographer, is leading a national science foundation expedition to the heart of the spill and the grave of many a sea creature. there s a lot of dead worms on the bottom. reporter: we course through the water like some alien body. inside this titanium sphere,
it. meanwhile, researchers say they are finding oil as far as 80 miles away on the gulf floor. along with shrimp and other sea creatures that died recently, covered in crude. the scientists tell us some patches are two inches thick. they have to do more testing to determine if it s from the deepwater horizon well. and victims of the spill may soon collect more cash from b.p. right now they have to deduct from the claims any money they made on the clean-up. a lot of people complain about that. now the head of the $20 billion disaster fund says he is thinking of dropping the rule but hasn t made a final decision. emergency crews report 51 people aboard flight 2350 when the pilot sent a mayday signal. seconds later, this. tonight, how anyone survived, let alone dozens of people from the crash. the man who said tried to blow up a bomb in his own