Methane 'Dead Zones' Spotted in Gulf Spill

There's a lot more than just oil spewing out of BP's busted well and that spells still more trouble for marine life, experts warn. The well is leaking vast amounts of methane and other gases, triggering the growth of microbes and creating oxygen-starved "dead zones," where fish and other marine life can't survive, scientists tell the Guardian.

Dead zones caused by fertilizer runoff were already a serious problem in the Gulf of Mexico before the BP spill, and scientists say the methane release will create a whole new set of problems for Gulf fisheries. Researchers warn that methane concentrations are at 100,000 times normal levels in some deep-water zones, threatening to wipe out plankton and other organisms at the bottom of the food chain.
(More dead zones stories.)