Pre Oil-spill Habitat surveys in Florida.
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Divers Going To Keys To Document Fla. Ecosystem(Last weekend)
All four News stories are here: ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YslbUqZ9WJA
KEY LARGO, Fla. --
Hundreds of divers will be heading to the Florida Keys Saturday morning to document how the area could be affected by the recent oil spill off Louisiana's coast.
With the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatening to make its way to the Florida coastline, scientists want to make sure the state's natural history is protected.
Officials said they're certain the oil is heading to Florida, so hundreds of volunteer divers are doing what they can now and looking for all the helping hands they can get before the slick spill saturates the natural ecosystems.
"It would smother it," said William Djubin, of the Ocean Rehab Initiative. "It would suffocate it. It would kill it."
Florida's natural ecosystems are in danger of becoming extinct as the oil in the Gulf looms near the state's coast line.
"Do I think that all of the reefs in Florida, all the mangroves, all the sea life and all the sea grass could be completely wiped out in the state of Florida? That very well could be a reality," Djubin said.
Djubin said he will go to the Florida Keys with hundreds of volunteer divers and snorkelers to complete surveys of the natural habitat.
"We're going to go the middle Keys, and we're going to make an inventory of what they have as far as critical habitat that would be in the inner tidal zone that would be affected if the oil were to make it to the Keys," Djubin said.
With underwater cameras, they'll be able to take snapshots of what is now the native healthy habitat and document the natural history -- the mangroves, sea grass and coral reefs -- and current marine life that resides in the Florida Keys.
If the coastal ecosystem is tarnished by the oil, the pictures will serve as a scientific baseline to be able to assess just how bad the damage really is.
Djubin said volunteers are welcome. Those wishing to join them can go to the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo. The group will be meeting there at 9 a.m.
All four News stories are here: ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YslbUqZ9WJA
KEY LARGO, Fla. --
Hundreds of divers will be heading to the Florida Keys Saturday morning to document how the area could be affected by the recent oil spill off Louisiana's coast.
With the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatening to make its way to the Florida coastline, scientists want to make sure the state's natural history is protected.
Officials said they're certain the oil is heading to Florida, so hundreds of volunteer divers are doing what they can now and looking for all the helping hands they can get before the slick spill saturates the natural ecosystems.
"It would smother it," said William Djubin, of the Ocean Rehab Initiative. "It would suffocate it. It would kill it."
Florida's natural ecosystems are in danger of becoming extinct as the oil in the Gulf looms near the state's coast line.
"Do I think that all of the reefs in Florida, all the mangroves, all the sea life and all the sea grass could be completely wiped out in the state of Florida? That very well could be a reality," Djubin said.
Djubin said he will go to the Florida Keys with hundreds of volunteer divers and snorkelers to complete surveys of the natural habitat.
"We're going to go the middle Keys, and we're going to make an inventory of what they have as far as critical habitat that would be in the inner tidal zone that would be affected if the oil were to make it to the Keys," Djubin said.
With underwater cameras, they'll be able to take snapshots of what is now the native healthy habitat and document the natural history -- the mangroves, sea grass and coral reefs -- and current marine life that resides in the Florida Keys.
If the coastal ecosystem is tarnished by the oil, the pictures will serve as a scientific baseline to be able to assess just how bad the damage really is.
Djubin said volunteers are welcome. Those wishing to join them can go to the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo. The group will be meeting there at 9 a.m.
