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On a Coast Guard flyover to survey storm damage from fizzled Tropical Storm Bonnie, the surface of the Gulf of Mexico for the most part looks clean. The flight departs from the Houma jet center. Yellow helicopters line the tarmac used to transport rig workers and officials to the Gulf.

The flyovers account for surface oil. Researchers from the University of Florida have detected miles long plumes of oil at depths of up to 3,000 feet lurking near the sea floor.

Heavy oil is the priority for skimming deployment. BP has reduced the number of skimmers by over one quarter since the well was capped a few weeks ago. BP Vice President of Transportation and Operations Kim Colburn says vessels are not on the water, because there is not much surface oil.

NOAA's Levine confirms that and explains as long as the oil is not on a visible coastline, it is not a priority for clean up.

A flip book on the plane used to help identify oil has a page reserved for submersed patches. It has a photo of oil that is approximately fifteen feet below the surface. It is a dark mass that is clearly visible. The first line of the descriptive paragraph is crossed out with black sharpie. It says that weathered oil becomes heavy and sinks below the surface.

As the plane flies south of Grand Isle at twelve hundred feet, oil spotter Mike Sutcliffe of O'Brien Response Management sees emulsified oil at least five miles off the coast. The oil is bright orange, similar some types of seaweed. He says he did not see much oil on the flight.

The company Sutcliffe works for is contracted by BP. Examination of photos taken from the back of the C144 of the well site reveal a different picture than Sutcliff's account. Dark patches surround the eight response vessels, the Helix producer, and three drilling rigs. Sheen was dismissed by Sutcliffe as reflection on the flight, but Colburn admits there is a small amount of sheen around the source site.

Boom was spotted along several barrier islands. BP's Colburn says that during Bonnie, boom was not helpful and that it is more psychologically effective than physically solvent and that getting people involved in clean up has a psychological impact as well.

BP's Colburn wants the clean up to be thorough and he says BP will do the right thing and stay as long as they are needed.

The question of the day is, where did all the oil go. Ed Levine of NOAA says they are using sonar to track subsurface oil, but when asked if he could describe the process, he could not.

Clean up will take time, and finding the oil will only add to the length. The oil could remain at the bottom of the ocean due to the massive amount of dispersant Levine says is being sprayed at the well-head.