BP Oil Spill Devastated Seafloor Coral:

Since sea bed coral lies some 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) below the surface, it is not usually harmed by spills from oil tankers, according to lead study author Helen White, an assistant professor of chemistry at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

“We would not expect deep-water corals to be impacted by a typical oil spill, but the sheer magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its release at depth make it very different from a tanker running aground and spilling its contents,” she said.

“Because of the unprecedented nature of the spill, we have learned that its impacts are more far reaching than those arising from smaller spills that occur on the surface.”