Scientists used a cable to dip an instrument called a CTD into the subsea plume and collect samples. But before putting the instrument into and pulling it out of the ocean, they sprayed a solution of liquid dish detergent onto the sea surface to create an uncontaminated hole in the oil slick for the CTD to pass through. This photo shows the technique being used on the NOAA ship Gordon Gunther in the Gulf. (Photo by Robert Nelson, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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