GoMRI eNews · Sep 19, 2017 · ← All issues
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Keeping you current on emerging Gulf science and the people investigating the effects of oil spills on the environment and public health.

September 19, 2017                                                                    GoMRI eNews

Stories

Modelling Study Demonstrates Dispersants Lowered Health Risks during Oil Spill

Scientists used data collected during the Deepwater Horizon spill to validate a model simulation of the physical and chemical behavior of oil and gas rising from the wellhead to the ocean surface.

Grad Student Wang Quantifies Ocean Model Uncertainty to Improve Prediction Accuracy


Researchers use numerical models to simulate oil spill scenarios and predict where oil will go, but the many factors that affect the oil’s path creates uncertainty in the predictions. Shitao Wang quantifies the uncertainty of ocean models to gauge the reliability of oil fate predictions.

ADDOMEx Video Update: Examining Biofilms from Oil and Marine Microbial Interactions

Principal Investigator Antonietta Quigg describes ongoing research about marine oil snow formation during the Deepwater Horizon spill and its effects on Gulf of Mexico environments. She discusses how this research could inform oil spill response and shares some preliminary results that surprised their research group.

Study Finds Small-Scale Flows Alter Transport Pathways on the Ocean’s Surface

Scientists analyzed model simulations of tracer dispersion in a Gulf of Mexico eddy to find out if small-scale flows surrounding the eddy influenced where the tracer went.

From the Archives

Grad Student Max Weber Fishes for Insight into Deep-Pelagic Fish Taxonomy

Posted on September 13, 2016
There are hundreds of deep-pelagic fish species in the Gulf of Mexico, but we know very little about their taxonomy, diversity, and population sizes. Max Weber plans to catch fifteen individual specimens of each of the 500 known deep-sea Gulf fish species to help us better understand these organisms and how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have impacted them and environment.

Young Scientist Visualizes Risk to Whales in an Oil Spill Scenario

Posted on September 10, 2015
Fueled by a passion for science and endangered species, Alek designed and executed a research project that involved scientists from eight institutions, four-hundred drift cards, and over a year’s work. A substantial undertaking for any scientist, this is even more impressive because Alek is seven years old.

Study Identifies Highly-Efficient Methane-Eating Microbe Present after Oil Spill

Posted on September 16, 2014
From March-December 2010 during ten research cruises covering over 105,000 square kilometers, scientists documented the fate and dynamics of Deepwater Horizon methane emissions around the blowout site.

Publications
Clay Nanotubes for Oil Emulsification Are More Efficient than Spherical Microparticles 
Halloysites stabilized emulsions for hydroformylation of long chain olefins. von Klitzing, R.; Stehl, D.; Pogrzeba, T.; Schomacker, R.; Minullina, R.; Panchal, A.; Konnova, S.; Fakhrullin, R.; Koetz, J.; Mohwald, H.; Lvov, Y. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2017, Volume 4,  600435 

Study Evaluates how Red Drum, Florida Pompano, and Southern Flounder Metobilizes PAHs
Species-specific metabolism of naphthalene and phenanthrene in three species of marine teleosts exposed to Deepwater Horizon crude oil. Pulster, E.L.; Main, K.; Wetzel, D.; Murawski, S., Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2017 Jun 21. doi: 10.1002/etc.3898

Data
Monitoring and Assessment of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems in the Northern Gulf: historical database of trace metal, nutrients, chlorophyll-a and hydrographic data in the Mississippi Bight and Sound from October 2007 to November 2011 -- data link

Cloud free Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll-a analysis (2003-2012) -- data link

Landsat based Sargassum coverage in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, 2010 -- data link

Video

RFP IV Update: Oil Spill Exposure Pathways in Coastal River-Dominated Ecosystems (Graham) - The Consortium for Oil Spill Exposure Pathways in Coastal River-Dominated Ecosystems (CONCORDE) expressly addresses how complex fine-scale structure and processes in coastal waters dominated by pulsed-river plumes control the exposure, impacts, and ecosystem recovery from offshore spills like the Deepwater Horizon release of 2010.

Announcements
Information on Abstract Deadline for Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma continue to have a profound impact on the Gulf Coast, and our thoughts are with all those affected by these tragedies. If you were not able to meet the September 18 abstract submission deadline, please contact the conference organizers.

Project Activities
ACER “Word Wednesday” Series Highlights Functional Diversity
Functional diversity refers to the various ways organisms function in their environment, including how they obtain food, grow, move around, and reproduce. Learn more about functional diversity and functional groups.
 
ADDOMEx Initiates Post-Hurricane Sampling Response
Members of the team located at Texas A&M University at Galveston began a multidisciplinary rapid response sampling campaign in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. They will sample a transect through Galveston Bay every week into October.
 
CARTHE Researchers Begin Interpreting Initial Drifter Data
One month after consortium scientists released twenty-five GPS-equipped, biodegradable drifters into the Gulf, researchers are getting a clearer picture of how currents behave near the shelf. The team will continue to track the drifters’ progress and compare with previous drifter data to better understand how ever-changing surface currents transport material in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
CWC Blog Features REU Intern Katie Ebinger
Katie is an ecology and evolutionary biology junior at the University of Colorado – Boulder. She worked with CWC researchers for her Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) project investigating Gulf ribbed mussels and their role in shoreline restoration. Learn more about Katie’s background and research.
 
ECOGIG to Host Free Showing of Award-Winning Coral Documentary
Chasing Coral follows a team of divers, photographers, and scientists investigating why coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. The film will be screened at the Tate Student Center at the University of Georgia on October 4, followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and key film subjects in the Odum School of Ecology.
 
RECOVER Highlights Strategy of Mahi Tagging Expedition
Consortium members embarked on the largest satellite tagging experiment on mahi-mahi to learn more about their behavior in the wild. Learn more about the tagging process and tag data collection here.