Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns

While life is resilient, it within the context of ecosystems can be quite fragile. If the most basic building blocks of ocean life are severely damaged, plankton and phytoplankton, the food chain and oxygen levels, which other larger animals depend on for survival, will be disrupted.

The oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits, said John Kessler, a Texas A&M University oceanographer who is studying the impact of methane from the spill.

That means huge quantities of methane have entered the Gulf, scientists say, potentially suffocating marine life and creating "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives.

"This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.

Source: news.yahoo.com