IN THE 1990s, Greenpeace famously likened the dumping of old oil platforms in the deep ocean to throwing empty beer cans into the sea. But a report published on 8 April supports claims that disused oil platforms can become havens for marine life – at least in the warm, shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where 3600 rigs are in place off Louisiana alone.
Paul Sammarco and Steve Kolian of the Eco-Endurance Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, argue that in the calcium-rich waters of the gulf, corals rapidly colonise the rigs which then become home to myriad fish and other…
