Is there an extensive oil plume in the Gulf of Mexico or no oil plume? Are oil-eating bacteria making quick work of the spill or chomping slowly? In the nearly two months since BP capped the well and stopped the flow, conflicting reports have surfaced about the amount of lingering oil.

Now, in an attempt to clear up some of the murkiness—as well as its own mixed reviews on the issue— NOAA is organizing a long-term monitoring effort in the Gulf.

“One of the most important things we are doing now is getting information from research institutions to better understand what is happening in the sediment and on the seafloor,” NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a press briefing today.

Lubchenco says NOAA is hunting out the extent of remaining oil in a variety of ways: working with academics to monitor the deep sea, sending ships to scan the surface near the spill, and setting up near-shore sea floor snares to check for oil that has sunk in shallow waters.

The agency is also trying to be strategic in the way it collects future information, says spokeswoman Jennifer Austin. It has invited independent academic institutions to share their data on a GPS-based website called geoplatform.gov, which provides interactive maps detailing near-shore areas that have heavy, moderate, or no oil contamination.

Such efforts are perhaps aimed at recent reports that much of the oil has descended to the bottom of the Gulf and gone unreported by NOAA. Additionally, some researchers criticized the administration for their initial optimistic report of the amount of oil still in the Gulf.

Lubchenco says that NOAA is working with research institutions to collect the best data and assess the long-term situation following the spill.

“The Federal government and our academic partners are committed to doing everything it takes to restore the health of the Gulf,” she says.

Image: United States Coast Guard