@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 {Valentine2010,
	title = {{Asphalt volcanoes as a potential source of methane to late Pleistocene coastal waters}},
	journal = {Nature Geoscience},
	volume = {3},
	number = {5},
	year = {2010},
	pages = {345{\textendash}348},
	abstract = {Every year, natural petroleum seepage emits 0.2{\textendash}2 Tg of oil to the ocean1. Significant oil seepage can build large underwater mounds, consisting of tar deposits with morphologies similar to volcanic lava flows, known as asphalt volcanoes2, 3. Such events are typically accompanied by large fluxes of the greenhouse gas methane4, 5. Marine sediments from the Santa Barbara basin, California, contain a record of elevated methane concentrations6, anoxia and tar deposition7 during the Pleistocene epoch that had been attributed to dissolution of methane hydrates. However, the region is known to have exhibited oil seepage in the past7. Here, we document the discovery of seven extinct asphalt volcanoes off the coast of southern California. The morphology of the deposits and geochemistry of samples taken from the two largest structures supports their classification as asphalt volcanoes, derived from a common source. We estimate that the two structures resulted from seepage of 0.07{\textendash}0.4 Tg of oil, accompanied by the emission of 0.35{\textendash}1.8 Tg of methane. Radiocarbon dating of carbonate deposits entrained with the asphalt indicates formation of the volcanoes between 44 and 31 kyr ago. The timing and volume of erupted hydrocarbons from the asphalt structures can explain some or all of the documented methane release and tar accumulation in the Santa Barbara basin during the Pleistocene.},
	keywords = {AUV Sentry (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), HOV Alvin (Human Occupied Vehicle)},
	issn = {1752-0894},
	doi = {10.1038/ngeo848},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo848},
	author = {Valentine, D L and Reddy, C M and Farwell, C and Hill, T M and Pizarro, O and Yoerger, D R and Camilli, R and Nelson, R K and Peacock, E E and Bagby, S C and Clarke, B A and Roman, C N and Soloway, M}
}
