Catherine Edwards’s AUV “Modena” was sent out into the Gulf of Mexico last month as part of the ECOGIG (Ecosystem Impacts of Oil & Gas Inputs to the Gulf) research project to study the long-term effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf ecosystem. Modena found oil, but not in the way Catherine or anyone else expected. When the research team recovered Modena they discovered her fabric skin was covered with dark blotches. At first the team thought it was some sort of algae. Closer examination revealed the spots were created by oil droplets in the water.
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