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Visual signs of the oil. >> reporter: this is day 13 of their month-long mission. we're on the edge of the so-called loop current. an undersea highway that may carry the oil and dispersants far from the source. >> we're collecting a sample. >> reporter: morning dive 37.front. the goal to gather baseline data like coral and sponges that build snapshots in case oil later shows up. if there is oil, they know they're collecting evidence for the federal government that later may be challenged in court by bp. >> i think the pressure i feel is to make sure we're collecting samples in a way that if we...

>> reporter: this is day 13 of their month-long mission. we're on the edge of the so-called loop current. an undersea highway that may carry the oil and dispersants far from the source. >> 219 feet, we're collecting a sample. >> reporter: morning dive number 3791, in an area known as the ledges. the goal to gather baseline data like scoops of sediment, corals and sponges, all samples that build snapshots of the before in case later, oil shows up. if there is oil here now, they know they're collecting evidence for the federal government that later may be challenged in court by bp. >> i think th...

Feeders. >> by taking samples of any of the samples you may be able to determine if they're concentrating any small amounts of oil and/or dispersandispersa. >> the reason the oil may come here, the so-called loop current which is an undersea highway. the leaking oil that never floated to the surface caught in that current could wind up hundreds, even thousands of miles away. that's why the harbor branch oceangraphic team from florida university is working with the federal government to get what they believe is a before picture of the gulf. it's what scientists call a baseline. so, if the oil s...

And development. a rare glimpse into what is happening underwater with the animals and the oil. kerry sanders went diving in the gulf waters. good morning, kerry. >> i am on the research vessel "stewart johnson" and i'm here with the folks, the scientists from florida university who are working in conjunction with the federal government. that is the submarine. the four-manxd submersible that they're using here to go down and do some research, to basically get what they call a baseline. to take a picture of what the gulf looks like right now. to see if there is any evidence of oil. the oil ha...

Slick has shrunk considerably. >> we see light at the end of the tunnel. it's a very long tunnel. but today we're making progress. >> reporter: which is a good thing. because the more than 400 skimmers have had very little impact, catching perhaps 80,000 barrels of the 5 million barrels that have spewed into the gulf. >> we still have an awful lot of oil out in the gulf of mexico. >> reporter: while oil has hit beaches and marshes in four states, this weekend, there was no sign of oil on alabama's orange beach in gulf shores, and florida's pensacola beach. and scientists say the very small amo...