Gulf oil spill also released natural gases, which may have boosted oil-eating microbes

Natural gas may have jump-started oil eating bugs

WASHINGTON — Those oil-eating bacteria that suddenly flourished in the Gulf of Mexico following the oil spill may have gotten a jump start from natural gas, scientists say.

While the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon well resulted in a massive oil spill, there was also a less noted release of natural gases such as propane and ethane, researchers note in Thursday’s online edition of the journal Science.

In shallow water the gas would bubble up and escape into the air, but because the well was so deep the high pressure caused the gases to rise slowly and some dissolved into the water.

Bacteria that eat hydrocarbons began ingesting those gases, which could have primed them to become more active and attack the more complex oil released into the water, according to a team led by David L. Valentine of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Their report is based on deep water samples taken at 31 locations around the Gulf between June 11 and 21, and do not reflect the current state of the Gulf oil spill.

Online: www.sciencmag.org