22-Mile Oil Plume Found in Gulf

Scientists have detected an underwater plume of oil the size of Manhattan, according to the Wall Street Journal. The findings, published yesterday, further undermine the Obama administration’s optimistic view that most of the Deepwater Horizon oil has already disappeared. The 22-mile-long underwater plume is also highly unusual. “If you’d asked me whether or not you would see oil in the subsurface, I would have said, 'No—doesn't oil float?'” one of the scientists who found it told NPR.

Meanwhile, BP announced that it would delay popping the final plug into the well until at least mid-September, in part because of weather conditions, and in part so the blowout preventer could be repaired first, in case something goes wrong. (More British Petroleum stories.)