GoMRI eNews · Aug 9, 2016 · ← All issues
Welcome to the GoMRI eNews.
Hope everyone had a successful and busy summer.

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

August 9, 2016                                                                    GoMRI eNews

Stories

Bringing Marine Snow to the Oil Transport Forecast

Evidence suggests that when oil interacts with particles in the marine environment, it can form larger, rapidly sinking particles called marine snow.

Study Compares Natural Sunlight Effects on Macondo and Surrogate Oil

Scientists developed the first molecular-level comparison of photochemical effects on surrogate and Macondo (MC252) oil to better understand this weathering process and the toxicity mechanisms it produces.

From the Archives

Grad Student Shin Shines Light on Oil-Degrading Microbes in Sediment

Posted on July 28, 2015
Boryoung Shin is breaking new ground in microbiology, uncovering little known facts about an enigmatic and important species in the Gulf of Mexico.

Study Improves Tracking and Forecasting of Underwater Oil Plumes

Posted on August 4, 2014
Scientists used models, lab experiments, and observations from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to evaluate the importance of variables in oil transport and fate models, particularly those influencing underwater plume development.

Scientific Dream Team Conducts Rapid Response Research at Hercules Gas Blowout

Posted on August 1, 2013
“This is an opportunity to put science into immediate practice.” – Tamay Ozgokmen, University of Miami and director of CARTHE

Marsh Madness: Scientists Descend Upon Louisiana’s Wetlands…Gently

Posted on August 9, 2012
Fragile. Compromised. Disappearing. These words pop up frequently when describing the condition of Louisiana’s valuable wetlands. So how do researchers studying the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on coastal Louisiana collect the data they need?

Publications
Study Expands Analytical Window of Environmental Geochemistry Methods
A rapid method to assess a broad inventory of organic species in marine sediments using ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. Radovic, J.R.; Silva, R.C.; Snowdon, R.; Brown, M.; Larter, S.R.; Oldenburg, T.B.P..Rapid Communication Mass Spectrometry, 2016, 30, 1273–1282

Study Gives Insights into Oil Droplet Development with VDROP-J Model
Simulation of scenarios of oil droplet formation from the Deepwater Horizon blowout.
Zhao, L.; Boufadel, M.; Adams, E.; Socolofsky, S.; King, T.; Lee, K.; Nedwed, T.Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2015, 101, 304–319

Data
Gridded Altimeter-Based Surface Geostrophic Velocity in Hurricane Isaac 2012 - Data Link

Hydrographic and chemical measurements from the GISR: G06 Field Study and Mooring Deployment Cruise off the Mississippi River Delta in June-July 2014 - Data Link

Biodegradation of light crude oil using realistic sea water - Data Link

Video
GoMRI RFP-V: Transport & fate of oil in the upper ocean (Meneveau)

GoMRI RFP-V: Transport & fate of oil in the upper ocean (Meneveau)
The Transport and fate of oil in the upper ocean: Studying and modeling multi-scale physical dispersion mechanisms and remediation strategies using Large Eddy Simulation project is lead by P.I. Charles Meneveau, Johns Hopkins University.
The research activities have four main goals: (i) develop a transport model for evolution of entire distributions of oil droplet sizes in LES and effects of dispersants on the size distribution,  (ii) develop the Extended Nonperiodic Domain LES for Scalar Transport (ENDLESS) methodology that enables simulating plumes extending over physical scales that greatly exceed the size of the computational LES domain and thus couples the transport with outputs from larger (meso or sub-meso) scale regional ocean models, (iii) By means of a series of simulations, explore effects of dispersants on plume evolution for both underwater and surface application of oil dispersants, (iv) Results will be used to develop engineering tools for rapid real-time assessment and parameterizations for regional scale ocean models.

Announcements
Sea Grant to host Technology & Deepwater Horizon Seminar in August 
August 30, 2016 – Miami, FL: This seminar will give attendees a glimpse of the technologies that were used during DWH oil spill or have come about as a result of it. The seminar will be streaming live so you can participate remotely. For more information, click here.

2016 Mississippi-Alabama Bays and Bayous Symposium - Call for Abstracts
Program Committee is seeking presenters for the coastal symposium Nov. 30-Dec. 1 in Biloxi, MS. Please consider sharing your research, education, outreach policy, or other efforts at the event.

Project Activities
ACER Sheds Some Light on Crude Oil and Dispersants
The latest Word Wednesday deals with two vital factors of oil spill research and mitigation: sweet Louisiana crude oil and chemical dispersants. Check out the post to learn what causes crude oil to be considered “light,” “heavy,” “sweet,” or “sour” and how dispersants help responders deal with oil slicks.
 
ADDOMEx Conducts Sampling near Texas-Louisiana Border
Thirty researchers aboard the R/V Trident collected thousands of water samples and measured water salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen from the Flower Garden Banks and TABS Buoy R. They will analyze the samples to examine oil and dispersant’s effects on Gulf microbial communities. Read about these efforts here (see “New and Noteworthy”) and view pictures from the event here.
 
C-IMAGE Launches One Gulf Cruise Hub
The cruise will collect fish, sediment, and water samples, observe Ixtoc I’s coastal impacts and degradation, conduct reef surveys, and observe fish diversity and PAH concentrations near Texas oil rigs. The One Gulf Media Hub contains information about the expedition’s research, a cruise tracker, and will be updated as the cruise progresses.
 
CONCORDE Wraps Up Summer Research Campaign
The campaign ultimately included 100 neuston tows, 63 Mininess tows, and over 40 CTD deployments. Posts to the consortium’s Condordia blog about scientists’ life aboard a research vessel can be found here, while technical updates about the campaign’s research can be found here.
 
Meet CWC Researcher Samantha Setta
Setta is a research assistant investigating nutrient cycling, organic matter, greenhouse gas fluxes, and net primary productivity in the Louisiana salt marsh. Learn more about her research, her journey into science, and her findings!
 
DEEPEND Teacher-at-Sea Chronicles Research Cruise
Chris Valdes, a marine biology magnet teacher at Cutler Bay Middle School, will be blogging about his experiences learning from and living alongside consortium researchers aboard R/V Point Sur. Keep up with Chris’s posts here!
 
Video: How DROPPS Researchers Are Investigating Spill Impacts on Plankton
The short clip depicts how Maud Moison, Sarah Cosgrove, and Charles Tang use mesocosm experiments to examine the harmful effects of oil and dispersants on the most sensitive and most important marine organisms: plankton.