Scientists sniff for hazards during drilling rig spills
Within weeks of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were taking air samples near the spill via one of the agency’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft (pictured). At a time when official estimates said the spill was about 5,000 barrels a day, the group’s measurements suggested that number was many times higher, as it proved to be. Read more