Summary:
The Special Section "Understanding the Biological Effects of the Macondo Blowout" in this issue of BioScience, sponsored by GoMRI, is a step toward synthesizing the findings of ongoing studies to achieve an understanding of the Gulf of Mexico's biological processes. It describes key phenomena that occurred at the time of the Macondo blowout to provide a starting point for testing, monitoring, and evaluating how the Gulf's biological systems responded to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Scientists and engineers affiliated with GoMRI-supported projects wrote the seven articles composing this BioSciencespecial section. This special section is intended to inform the scientific community and general public and improve our understanding of the Gulf of Mexico’s response to the Macondo blowout. The GoMRI Research Board will continue to share findings from GoMRI-funded research and hopes that the results of this research will also apply to other regions of the world.