It’s been reported that tar balls have started washing up on beaches in Key West, Florida and
the fear is they are from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately the United
States Coast Guard was able to determine these tar balls were not from the Deepwater Horizon incident.
So how does the Coast Guard know where oil comes from? Just watch
this video to see Coast Guard Marine Science Lab in action.
Can’t see the video? Click here.
Good times (the science, not the spill)! A few years back, I had opportunity to work with local scientists on fingerprinting oil in a San Francisco UST release, which was a very interesting.