GoMRI eNews · Jul 12, 2016 · ← 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.

July 12, 2016                                                                    GoMRI eNews

Stories

Identifying Effective, Food-Grade Dispersants for the Future

Oil spill responders currently have the option to treat oil spills with a synthetic dispersant called Corexit, however scientists continue to search for alternatives. In this search, scientists seek to develop an understanding of the specific mechanisms that drive dispersion and identify an effective combination of food-grade components.

Study Examines Sediment East of Deepwater Horizon for Oil-Associated Marine Snow

Scientists analyzed sea floor sediment in the Gulf of Mexico’s DeSoto Canyon region to investigate potential oil spill impacts. Evidence from sedimentological, geochronological, geochemical, and biological sources pointed to a rapid, 4-5 month sedimentation event in late 2010.

Digging Up the Mechanisms of Buried Oil Degradation

Spilled oil buried in nearshore sediment can persist for many years and act as a long-term source of episodic hydrocarbon contamination in the environment.

From the Archives

Study Describes Transport Pathways During Estuary and Coastal Waters Exchange

Posted on August 11, 2015
An international science team conducted a tidal-cycle study across a Destin, Florida inlet to better understand currents and the transport of dissolved and suspended materials between an estuary and the coastal ocean.

Impact of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Coral is Deeper and Broader than Predicted

Posted on July 30, 2014
A new discovery of two additional coral communities showing signs of damage from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill expands the impact footprint of the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The discovery was made by a team led by Charles Fisher, professor of biology at Penn State University.

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 Develops Model for Oil Slick Evaporation
Modeling comprehensive chemical composition of weathered oil following a marine spill to predict ozone and potential secondary aerosol formation and constrain transport pathways. Drozd, G.T.; Worton, D.R.; Aeppli, C.; Reddy, C.M.; Zhang, H.; Variano, E.; Goldstein, A.H. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2015, 120, 11, 7300–7315

Study Images Natural Seep Gas Bubbles to Characterize their Behavior
Observations of bubbles in natural seep flares at MC 118 and GC 600 using_in situ_quantitative imaging: Quantitative imaging of natural seeps. Wang, B.; Socolofsky, S.A.; Breier, J.A.; Seewald, J. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2016, 121, 4, 2203–2230

Data
 
SCOPE ADCP and CTD Data, Destin Inlet Florida, December 2013
Surfzone Coastal Oil Pathway Experiment (SCOPE) ADCP and CTD measurements in Destin Inlet (Florida), December 2013
 
Plants and soil in coastal salt marshes along northern Barataria Bay were sampled and analyzed between 2012 and 2014.
Field marsh plant and soil data, northern Barataria Bay, 2013-2014

Bile PAH metabilote determinations from selected species collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGM) during longline sampling.
PAH Analysis: Bile PAH metabolite concentrations in longline captured fish, Northern Gulf of Mexico, 2011

Video
GoMRI RFP-V: Vertical upwelling & bottom-boundary layer dispersal at a natural seep site (Di Iorio)

GoMRI RFP-V: Vertical upwelling & bottom-boundary layer dispersal at a natural seep site (Di Iorio)
This project is proposing to measure the vertical upwelling velocities of hydrocarbons from sea floor gas hydrates using novel acoustic forward scatter instrumentation and to improve our understanding of dispersal processes in the bottom boundary layer by making time-series measurements of 3-D velocity and hydrographic properties near a natural seep in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Announcements
GoMRI One-Pager Now Available on Website
GoMRI has developed a new one-page information brochure about the research program. Use it at your next open-house, meeting, or conference.

Job Opportunity:  LUMCON Seeks Postdoc in Phytoplankton Ecology
The position involves characterizing phytoplankton community composition and merging data to develop community analyses.

Project Activities
CONCORDE Hosts Summer Teacher Workshop
Consortium researchers partnered with Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant to offer the three-day workshop “Spill Science II” to middle school and high school marine science teachers. The workshop focused on various areas of oil spill science and the consortium’s current research efforts. Learn a bit more about the event here.
 
Meet CWC Outreach Member Anne Hayward Walker
Walker coordinates outreach between consortium scientists and spill-affected communities to help integrate scientific findings into response decisions. Her efforts have included leading two multi-disciplinary oil spill and dispersant risk communication research projects. Learn more about her background, goals, and the challenges and rewards of communicating science.
 
ADDOMEx and DEEPEND Attend World Oceans Day Festival and Art Contest
The consortia hosted a booth at the Galveston event to provide information about their missions and research. See photos from the event!
 
ACER Explains “Suction Sampling”
The recent “Tool Talk” entry discusses how scientists use a sampling technique known as suction sampling to study salt marsh organisms with limited damage to the surrounding habitat.
 
CARTHE Representatives Attend Shoreline Cleanup Training
Sharon Chinchilla and Hanjing Dai recently participated in NOAA’s Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) course alongside U.S. Coast Guard and other federal and state responders to further oil spill response team collaboration.
 
Get to Know July’s C-IMAGE Student of the Month Simeon Pesch
Simeon is a Ph.D. student at the Hamburg University of Technology in Germany who is working to incorporate “live oil” into future oil fate models. Learn the difference between “dead oil” and “live oil” and find out why Simeon’s research is important to understanding oil spills.