@article {White2012,
	title = {{Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico}},
	journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
	volume = {109},
	number = {50},
	year = {2012},
	month = {dec},
	pages = {20303{\textendash}20308},
	abstract = {To assess the potential impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on offshore ecosystems, 11 sites hosting deep-water coral communities were examined 3 to 4 mo after the well was capped. Healthy coral communities were observed at all sites {\textgreater}20 km from the Macondo well, including seven sites previously visited in September 2009, where the corals and communities appeared unchanged. However, at one site 11 km southwest of the Macondo well, coral colonies presented widespread signs of stress, including varying degrees of tissue loss, sclerite enlargement, excess mucous production, bleached commensal ophiuroids, and covering by brown flocculent material (floc). On the basis of these criteria the level of impact to individual colonies was ranked from 0 (least impact) to 4 (greatest impact). Of the 43 corals imaged at that site, 46{\%} exhibited evidence of impact on more than half of the colony, whereas nearly a quarter of all of the corals showed impact to {\textgreater}90{\%} of the colony. Additionally, 53{\%} of these corals{\textquoteright} ophiuroid associates displayed abnormal color and/or attachment posture. Analysis of hopanoid petroleum biomarkers isolated from the floc provides strong evidence that this material contained oil from the Macondo well. The presence of recently damaged and deceased corals beneath the path of a previously documented plume emanating from the Macondo well provides compelling evidence that the oil impacted deep-water ecosystems. Our findings underscore the unprecedented nature of the spill in terms of its magnitude, release at depth, and impact to deep-water ecosystems.},
	keywords = {HOV Alvin (Human Occupied Vehicle), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0027-8424},
	doi = {10.1073/pnas.1118029109},
	author = {White, H K and Hsing, P-Y and Cho, W and Shank, T M and Cordes, E E and Quattrini, A M and Nelson, R K and Camilli, R and Demopoulos, A W J and German, C R and Brooks, J M and Roberts, H H and Shedd, W and Reddy, C M and Fisher, C R}
}
@article {Feng2010,
	title = {{Initial results of comparing cold-seep carbonates from mussel- and tubeworm-associated environments at Atwater Valley 340, northern Gulf of Mexico}},
	journal = {Deep-Sea Research. Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography},
	volume = {57},
	number = {21-23},
	year = {2010},
	pages = {2030{\textendash}2039},
	abstract = {Chemosymbiotic macrofauna (such as mussels and tubeworms) and authigenic carbonates are typical of many hydrocarbon seeps. To address whether mussels and tubeworms could impact the sediment geochemistry of their habitat where authigenic carbonates are precipitated, a comparative study of petrographic and geochemical features of the authigenic carbonates from mussel- and tubeworm-associated environments at hydrocarbon seeps in Atwater Valley lease area block 340 (AT340) of the Gulf of Mexico was undertaken. Both mussel- and tubeworm-associated carbonates are dominated by high-magnesium calcite (HMC) and aragonite, and two tubeworm-associated carbonate samples have minor amounts of dolomite. The $δ$13C values of all carbonates are low, ranging from -60.8{\textperthousand} to -35.5{\textperthousand} PDB. Although there is much overlap, surprisingly the $δ$13C values of mussel-associated carbonates are generally higher than those of tubeworm-associated carbonates (-51.8{\textperthousand} vs. -54.8{\textperthousand} for an average of over 60 subsamples). It is suggested that (1) carbon isotopic vital effect of seep mussels and tubeworms, (2) fluid physical pumping of mussels, and (3) release of sulfate by tubeworm roots may be responsible for the relatively lower $δ$13C values of tubeworm-associated carbonates. It has been suggested that the heterogeneities in mineralogy and stable carbon isotope geochemistry of the seep carbonates may be attributed to the activity of macrofauna (mussels and tubeworms) and associated microbes. Our observations also suggest that at AT340 the geochemical evolution of seep macrofauna is from a mussel-dominated environment to a mixed mussel-tubeworm environment, and finally to a mostly tubeworm-dominated environment. This evolution is controlled mainly by the habitat, e.g., hydrocarbon seep flux.},
	keywords = {HOV Alvin (Human Occupied Vehicle), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0967-0645},
	doi = {10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.004},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.004},
	author = {Feng, D and Roberts, H H}
}
