GoMRI eNews · Mar 7, 2017 · ← 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.

March 7, 2017                                                                    GoMRI eNews

Stories

Screenscope Releases Trailer for “Dispatches from the Gulf-2″

Five-Year Study Finds Deepwater Horizon Negatively Affected Periwinkle Snails

Sea Grant Releases Brochure on Oil FAQs

Grad Student Diamante Investigates How PAHs Affect Fish Development

From the Archives

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

Posted on March 7, 2016
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.

Study Describes Two New “Mud Dragon” Species Discovered in Gulf of Mexico

Posted on March 3, 2015
Scientists from Troy University and the University of Copenhagen, who are studying potential oil spill impacts on seafloor-dwelling marine life, examined microscopic invertebrates that live in the sediment (meiofauna).

Smithsonian Publicizes CARTHE Drifters Research

Posted on March 6, 2014
The Smithsonian Ocean Portal posted a story on the GoMRI-funded CARTHE project, a multi-year research effort to study how the ocean moves.

Publications

Study Finds Mucus-Producing Jellyfish have Potential to Enhance Oil Biodegradation
Can gelatinous zooplankton influence the fate of crude oil in marine environments?  Gemmell, B.J.; Bacosa, H.P.; Liu, Z.; Buskey, E.J. Marine  Pollution Bulletin, Volume 113, Issues 1–2, 15 December 2016, Pages 483–487

Study Suggests 1-2 Years Recovery for Benthic Foraminifera following Deepwater Horizon
Characterizing the variability of benthic foraminifera in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon event (2010-2012). P. T. Schwing, B. J. O’Malley, I. C. Romero, M. Martínez-Colón, D. W. Hastings, M. A. Glabach, E. M. Hladky, A. Greco, D. J. Hollander. Environmental Science Pollution Research, (2016). doi:10.1007/s11356-016-7996-z

Data

Inventory of Gulf oceanic fauna data including species, weight, and measurements. Cruises DP01 May 1-8, 2015 and DP02 August 9-21, 2015 R/V on the Point Sur in the Northern Gulf of Mexico -- data link

Full carbonate chemistry and oceanography data in the immediate vicinity of Lophelia habitats in the Gulf of Mexico, November 21, 2012 (R/V Falkor: FK006b-leg2) to July 3, 2013 (E/V Nautilus: NA028) -- data link

Dataset for: Five year of Deepwater Horizon oil spill effects on marsh periwinkles Littoraria irrorata -- data link

Video

GoMRI RFP-V: Toxicological Properties of Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Deepwater Horizon Spill (Miller)

GoMRI RFP-V: Toxicological Properties of Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Deepwater Horizon Spill (Miller)
Project is lead by P.I. Charles Miller, Tulane University.

Announcements

Sea Grant Workshop Mar 23, Brownsville, TX: Sea Turtles & Oil Spills
Leaders in oil spill science, emergency response, animal rescue, and natural resource management will share their knowledge and experience related to oil spill impacts on sea turtles. Following the presentations, the Sea Grant Oil Spill Outreach Team will facilitate a discussion on the future of sea turtles . Check out the event’s flyer here and a draft agenda here. Register here. 

Submitting Data to GRIIDC Just Got Easier!
GRIIDC announces the release of new software that simplifies the dataset submission workflow with a new Dataset Submission interface. 

Project Activities

ACER Tool Talk Series Highlights SCAT Maps
A Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (SCAT) map indicates the degree of oiling at a geographic location. SCAT teams survey shorelines to collect important data that will help them analyze the amount of necessary cleanup, choose cleanup techniques, and monitor clean up effectiveness.
 
CARTHE and RECOVER Host Boy Scout Troup
A group of Boy Scouts recently visited the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science to complete their oceanography badge. The boys met with members of the CARTHE and RECOVER teams and visited the SUSTAIN Laboratory’s wind wave tank. Photos from the visit are available here and here!
 
Meet CWC Researcher Ramesh Shrestha
Shrestha is the Director of the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) and is a mapping geodesist with CWC. His work reflects NCALM’s mission to provide research quality data and to develop new complementary technologies and much-needed education in Geosensing technologies.
 
DROPPS Participates in UTMSI’s Women in Marine Science Day
Team members recently taught 8th grade girls about plankton and how dispersed oil affects them for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute’s Women in Marine Science Day event. They projected live plankton on a screen to demonstrate how they move and then guided the girls in making their own plankton and discussing how they would fare in dispersed and undispersed oil. See photos from the event here!