Back in their lab at WHOI, the scientists analyzed the oil on the debris using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, a technique that can identify the thousands of individual chemical compounds that comprise different oils from different reservoirs. The chemical “fingerprints” of the oil on the debris and the oil from Deepwater Horizon matched. Still, the researchers did not know what the material was or where it came from. (Courtesy of Bob Nelson, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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