As scientists begin to assess the impact of the first tropical storm of the 2010 hurricane season on a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the fight to seal the leaking well and protect the coastline continues.
Scientists want to improve their predictions of oil-spill behavior when slicks are assailed by major storms like Tropical Storm Alex, which gained name status on June 26. The storm was nearing hurricane strength on Tuesday afternoon as oil continued to spew from an April 20 blowout of a deepwater well about 60 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River.