Last September, scientists studying deep-sea biology in the northern Gulf of Mexico lowered a robot 1,300 feet to the ocean floor. "We flipped on the lights, and there was one of the largest coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico sitting right in front of us," said Erik Cordes, a marine biologist at Temple and chief scientist on the team. The reef lies just 20 miles northeast of BP's blown-out well. Scientists have no firm grasp yet on what the impact on the corals will be, but they are bracing for catastrophe. "The worst-case scenario is that there's oil coating some of the corals," Cordes said. "It would basically suffocate them."