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Oil platforms are not generally considered to be havens for marine life. However, scientists from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution are using a few of these platforms scattered about the middle of the Gulf of Mexico to their advantage. They are attempting to collect organisms attaching themselves to the plethora of submerged pipes, struts, joints, and legs typical of these structures. While the ROV collected sampled in deep water around an oil platform, scientists donned their SCUBA equipment and dove in shallow water around a separate APACHE oil platform. As you can see in this video, they certainly were not disappointed in the diversity of marine life hidden beneath the platform.


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