Plumes, whales, and beaches -- GoMRI eNews: Aug 18, 2020

GoMRI eNews · Aug 18, 2020 · ← All issues

Welcome to the GoMRI eNews.

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

August 18, 2020 GoMRI eNews

Stories

Studies Explore the Dynamics of How Offshore Oil Spills Affect Coastal Environments

Oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident moved from deep waters to coastal shorelines, overwhelming their natural defenses which, in turn, slowed or prevented their recovery. Scientists with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) have been assessing the health of these complex environments that experience stressors from multiple sources, providing information that can inform response decisions during future disturbances.

Laboratory Studies Examine How Oil Spills Affect Physical and Behavioral Aspects of Gulf Fish

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident and the chemical dispersants applied during response efforts affected many ecologically and economically important fish species in the Gulf of Mexico.

Studies Examine Public Health Issues Following Deepwater Horizon

Large environmental disasters can have a wide range of impacts on communities in affected areas, yet we have a limited understanding about how disasters affect public health.

Grad Student Altomare Analyzes Health Risks to Children Playing in Oiled Beaches

Deepwater Horizon oil impacted over 1,700 km of Gulf of Mexico coastline and prompted 89 beach closures, largely due to uncertainty about health risks associated with oil contamination.

From the Archives

Grad Student Pruzinsky Uses Morphological Patterns to ID Young Tuna for Population Assessments

Posted on August 6, 2019
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill overlapped with the spawning activities of many ecologically and economically important tuna species.

Study Analyzes How Environmental Disturbances Affect Whale Recovery

Posted on August 14, 2018
Researchers modified a matrix population model to include the impact of a disturbance and study the recovery process for large marine mammal populations. They applied the model to identify key components in the recovery process for Gulf of Mexico sperm whales following a disturbance such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Study Assesses How Chemical Dispersant Affects Oil Plume Behavior

Posted on August 15, 2017
Scientists conducted laboratory experiments with a simulated oil plume to assess how chemical dispersants affect a crude oil jet as it transitions into a plume under crossflow conditions.

Study Details Underwater Oil Plume Formation and Droplet Size Distribution

Posted on August 10, 2016
Scientists simulated an underwater blowout to analyze the formation, path, and duration of oil plumes. They noted that the simulated blowout formed two plumes, one due to momentum and plume buoyancy and another due to the buoyancy of individual oil droplets separating from the first plume.

Publications

Study Observes Persistent Transport Patterns That May Help Predict How Pollutants Travel in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
Persistent Lagrangian Transport Patterns in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Gough, M.K.; Beron-Vera, F.J.; Olascoaga, M.J.; Sheinbaum, J.; Jouanno, J.; Duran, R. 2019. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 49, 2, 353-367.

Study Highlights Importance of Data Transparency to Scientific Advancement (Includes Classroom Activity!)
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative: Data Transparency and Data Sharing + Classroom Activity. Ellis, S.; Fillingham, K. 2019. Current: The Journal of Marine Education, 33, 1, 42-44.

Data

Dataset for: On the nature of the turbulent energy dissipation beneath non-breaking waves -- data link

Dataset for: Sunlight induced molecular progression of oil into interfacial material and dissolved organic matter -- data link

Whole genome DNA sequences of Gulf of Mexico invertebrates -- data link

Announcements

Upcoming Webinars Hosted by the Sea Grant Oil Spill Outreach Team

Oysters. An upcoming August webinar (date and time TBD) is titled “How Oil Spill Response Decisions Affect Oysters.” This webinar is the third of a three-part series titled “Oysters: Adapting to a Changing Gulf, A Three-Part Series.” More information is available at https://gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach/presentations/oysters-adapting-to-a-changing-gulf/.
Human Health. An August 27th webinar at 11 am Central Time is titled “Impacts of Dispersants on Human Health.” It is the third of a three-part series titled “Detecting the True, Potential, and Perceived Impacts to Human Health Following an Oil Spill, A Three-Part Series.” Register here. More information is available at https://gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach/presentations/webinar-series-detecting-the-true-potential-and-perceived-impacts-to-human-health-following-an-oil-spill/.