Oil Spill Mousse

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon Drilling Platform exploded and sank, causing the largest oil spill yet recorded. Samples from the oil spill were collected by Louisiana USGS scientists Greg Swayze and Charlie Demas and sent for analysis in Menlo Park, CA. The samples are known as a "mousse" of petroleum, air, sea water, and anything else that was caught up in it when collected. Each sample will undergo a process that removes any non-petroleum elements and allows the sample to be identified by its own unique compounds.