I don’t think Mother Nature is a weak sister either. Eventually she will adapt, recover and thrive. A short time frame for Mother Nature, a long one for man.
But this is a big and continuing blow to life in the Gulf and to livlihoods dependent on it. Louisiana has 40% of the US marshlands and that’s where a great deal of gulf food starts.
The sub-surface problem, from all causes, adds to damage:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/30/1656217/gulf-oil-spill-this-disaster-just.html
2-5 years is a short time frame even for man, which is what the data from past spills says. Yes, oil can be "detected" in some sub-soil spots even today, but the ecology has recovered and thriving.
Your linked article is the same old alarmist drivel that has been the norm for the media ever since this started. Try looking up some actual science studies instead. There is simply no way that the magnitude of the spill will be 100 million gallons. Ixtoc "blew" at a higher rate for a FAR longer time to reach that amount.
"The sub-surface problem, from all causes, adds to damage...
Ixtoc had "sub-surface" damage, too, because they used the SAME dispersants to drive the oil into solution. And yet the Gulf of Mexico is not dead. And post-spill studies couldn't even DETECT "Ixtoc oil" along the Texas coastline after three years (I've posted a link to that scientific study on another thread).
Here is the definitive word on the subject of “subsurface plumes”:
“No definitive conclusions have been reached by this research team about the composition of the undersea layers they discovered. Characterization of these layers will require analysis of samples and calibration of key instruments. The hypothesis that the layers consist of oil remains to be verified.”
“While oxygen levels detected in the layers were somewhat below normal, they are not low enough to be a source of concern at this time.”
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/552671/
The “plumes” consist of water with a somewhat lower oxygen content than that which surrounds it. Such low-oxygen layers can be caused by many things, one of which is dissolved oil.
Unfortunately, the term “subsurface plume” brings an image of an amoeboid blob of black/brown fluid with tendrils oozing off, which is not the case.