I read the article.
I am also educated ( a long time ago ) as a marine biologist.
One part of the article speaks of 100,000 times higher concentrations, another 1 million times higher than background. Those are ABSURDLY high concentrations of dissolved methane in cold, deep seawater. I find them HARD to believe.
Also, methane is NOT a toxin.
And as far as “ can encourage the growth of microbes that gobble up oxygen needed by marine life” goes, I’d like this ‘scientist’ to name the anaerobacters or facultative anaerobes that metabolize methane and “gobble up” oxygen.
Methane is hardly the threat to the ecosystem.
All the CRAP in the crude oil fraction - the aromatic hydrocarbons ( you remember those from organic chemistry in HS? ) — and the various sulfur bearing compounds and so on — all the biologically active compounds in the fraction — THOSE are the risk to life — NOT methane.
BS meter indeed! The first hurricane in the Gulf might, might, very well dissipate a large portion of the spill and put a major damper on the MSM’s glee in reporting the evils of Big Oil.