GoMRI eNews · Mar 8, 2016 · ← All issues
Welcome to the GoMRI eNews. Check out the new Data Section in this issue.

Keeping you current on emerging Gulf science and the people investigating the effects of oil spills on the environment and public health.

March 8, 2016                                                                    GoMRI eNews

Stories

Grad Student Pinales Designs “Smart” Oil-Spill Detection Tool

Juan Pinales is working on a computational modelling system that will aid oil spill monitoring efforts. He combines Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and oceanographic conditions recorded during the Deepwater Horizon incident to improve surface oil detection using a semi-automated machine learning method known as artificial neural networking.

Sea Grant Releases Educational Brochures on Dispersants

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative is pleased to announce three new Sea Grant informational brochures about dispersants used during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Now Available: Sea Grant Brochures on Oiled Beaches and Top Five Oil Spill FAQs

GoMRI is pleased to announce the release of two Sea Grant informational brochures about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. These brochures synthesize peer-reviewed oil spill science for a broad range of general audiences, particularly those who live and work across the Gulf Coast.

From the Archives

Grad Student Smith Keeps Surface Currents and Disaster Response on His Radar

Posted on February 26, 2015
After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, many Gulf residents wanted to know where the oil was going and how fast it would get there. Conor Smith is improving the accuracy and turn-around time of satellite-derived surface current velocity estimates for better ocean transport information.

Research Footprint Growing in the Gulf of Mexico

Posted on March 10, 2014
Scientists funded through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) have been surveying the Gulf and its marine environment since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill over three years ago.

Chemical Study Shows Different Patterns of Oil Weathering

Posted on February 20, 2013
Scientists studying the weathering processes that altered the oil released during the Deepwater Horizon spill recently published their findings in the September 2012 Issue of Environmental Research Letters

Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Names Chief Scientific Officer

Posted on February 24, 2012
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) Research Board announced today the selection of Dr. Charles “Chuck” A. Wilson to serve as the GoMRI Chief Scientific Officer.

Publications
Study Gives Insight to Processes Involved with Marine Snow Formation
Sedimentation Pulse in the NE Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 DWH Blowout. Brooks, G.R.; Larson, R.A.; Schwing, P.T.; Romero, I.; Moore, C.; et al.  PLoS ONE, 2015, 10(7): e0132341

Study Documents Specialized Microbial Sub-Populations that Responded to Oil Spill
Diverse, rare microbial taxa responded to the Deepwater Horizon deep-sea hydrocarbon plume. Kleindienst, S.; Grim, S.; Sogin, M.; Bracco, A.; Crespo-Medina, M.; Joye, S.B. The ISME Journal, 31 July 2015, doi:10.1038/ismej.2015.121

Data

Announcements

Project Activities
CONCORDE Launches Fisher Outreach Program
The program will reach out to local professional fishing and ethnic communities with the help of Hoang Nguyen Van and George Barisich, Gulf Coast fishers who assisted in the Fall Research Campaign. The consortium will host community meetings to connect researchers with the public, to communicate research findings, and to strengthen public trust in science through transparency.
 
CWC II to Host LUMCON Estuarine Awareness and Discovery (LEAD) Summer Camp
The camp offers students grades 9-12 the opportunity to learn how we are all connected to Louisiana’s rich coastal and marine environments through immersive, science-based discovery in the lab, the field, and on research vessels. Register today!
 
ACER Discusses the Importance of Oyster Reefs
A recent web article released on the consortium website explains why oyster reefs are a vital coastal ecosystem and describes their critical ecosystem services, including creating habitats, providing food, and protecting shorelines.
 
ADDOMEx Researchers Participate in Lab Exchange
Consortium scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara recently hosted colleagues from Texas A&M University at Galveston and Canada’s Mount Allison University in an effort to streamline consortium protocols for forming aggregates in roller tables.
 
Filmmaker Reflects on CARTHE II LASER Expedition
David Ulloa spent several days aboard Masco 8 filming the research team in action for the documentary series Dispatches from the Gulf. He discusses his experiences here.
 
C-IMAGE II Researchers Participate in Story Collider Event
The event, hosted by Ari Daniel Shapiro and Erin Baker, allowed four consortium researchers and one editor from the Tampa Bay Times to tell their stories and discuss their personal connections to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. You can see what they had to say here!
 
CRGC Reaches Out to Vietnamese Community and Lawmakers
Consortium members recently connected with the local group Boat People SOS and attended their Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. They also met with officials in Lafourche and Plaquemines Parishes in Louisiana to discuss their upcoming work in the area.
 
COMPASS Interviews DEEPEND and LADC-GEMM Principal Investigators
DEEPEND’s Tracy Sutton and LADC-GEMM’s Natalia Sidorovskaia recently discussed how communication training can benefit researchers who can to clearly and concisely communicate their work to the non-scientific community.
 
ECOGIG-2 Features Animated Short for #FilmFridays
A recent entry in the consortium’s Film Friday’s series is the animated short film “Stand Up for the Deep,” which discusses the potentially harmful effects of deep-sea fishing on oceans.
 
RECOVER Releases Episodes 2 and 3 of UMTSI Series
Two new installments in the series of short videos describing consortium research at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute are now available online. Watch “Gone Fishing: Catching Red Drum for Science” to see how researchers catch red drum for breeding and “Fish Tattoos” to learn more about the ways oil can affect fish interactions.