What mission Australian government had given to biologist James Watson?
SYDNEY, Oct 31, 2009 (AFP) – A massive oil leak off Australia’s northwest coast poses an “immediate risk” to dozens of marine species, with untold numbers possibly dying and sinking to the Timor Sea floor, a report has said. Biologist James Watson was commissioned to carry out a government survey of the West Atlas drilling rig, where at least 400 barrels of oil have gushed daily into the ocean since August 21. He found about 20 dead seabirds and a dead sea snake among 23 species, and said the oil appeared to be drawing certain species into the toxic area, where they were at grave risk. “The presence of dying birds and dead sea snakes suggest that there is an immediate risk to species utilising the water that has been affected by the oil slick,” Watson wrote in his report, which was released late Friday. “It is possible that species that are dying or dead and lying in oil-affected water may not stay afloat for long periods of time, making it unlikely that we would find large numbers of
Biologist James Watson was commissioned to carry out a government survey of the West Atlas drilling rig, where at least 400 barrels of oil have gushed daily into the ocean since August 21. He found about 20 dead seabirds and a dead sea snake among 23 species, and said the oil appeared to be drawing certain species into the toxic area, where they were at grave risk. “The presence of dying birds and dead sea snakes suggest that there is an immediate risk to species utilising the water that has been affected by the oil slick,” Watson wrote in his report, which was released late Friday. “It is possible that species that are dying or dead and lying in oil-affected water may not stay afloat for long periods of time, making it unlikely that we would find large numbers of dead animals,” he added. There was a “significant risk” that a change in conditions could push the oil into deeper waters further west and north, where large numbers of endangered cetaceans lived, he added. “Moreover, as the
Biologist James Watson was commissioned to carry out a government survey of the West Atlas drilling rig, where at least 400 barrels of oil have gushed daily into the ocean since August 21. Sources: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20091031-177068.
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