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Published Science Highlights
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Science Highlights Archive
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Study Finds Hurricane Isaac Prolonged Oil Spill Impacts on Some Marsh Insects and Spiders
Posted on August 30, 2018Researchers collected and analyzed terrestrial arthropods from Louisiana marshes to determine the combined effects from Deepwater Horizon and Hurricane Isaac on saltmarsh ecosystems. The initial oiling from the spill (2010) followed by the oil’s redistribution during Hurricane Isaac (2012) negatively affected some arthropod groups three-four years after the spill. -
Study Assesses a New Class of Safer, More Effective Dispersants
Posted on August 21, 2018Researchers analyzed an enhanced formulation of a gel-like surfactant encased in a compact buoyant pod for oil spill remediation. -
Study Analyzes How Environmental Disturbances Affect Whale Recovery
Posted on August 14, 2018Researchers 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 Finds “Business as Usual” for Hypoxic Zone Following Deepwater Horizon
Posted on July 31, 2018Researchers compared long-term data from low-oxygen (hypoxia) studies to determine if the Deepwater Horizon incident affected the Gulf of Mexico seasonal hypoxic area. -
Study Finds Environmental Factors Influence the Selection of Oil-Degrading Microbes
Posted on July 24, 2018Researchers conducted incubation experiments and examined the roles of temperature, nutrients, and initial bacterial community on oil biodegradation. Higher and lower temperatures yielded distinctly different bacterial community compositions, indicating that temperature is a key influencer of bacteria that respond when oil is present. -
Study Describes Design and Testing of an Effective Biodegradable Ocean Drifter
Posted on July 10, 2018Scientists detailed how they designed and tested an ocean drifter that tracks and measures shallow-depth (0.60 m) surface currents. The final version, called the CARTHE drifter, is made from a polymer produced by bacteria fed with corn sugar. -
Study Evaluates Short-Term Oil Toxicity in Deep-Sea Crustaceans
Posted on June 26, 2018Researchers conducted 48-hour toxicity experiments on deep ocean crustaceans (200 – 1000 m depth) to determine the impact threshold levels for one polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH, 1-methylnaphthalene) under various environmental conditions. -
Study Tracks Sediment Resuspension Events in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Posted on June 21, 2018Researchers identified small- to hurricane-scale resuspension events using time-series data of sinking organic material near the Deepwater Horizon site. -
Study Finds Currents One Centimeter Below Ocean’s Surface Greatly Affect Material Transport
Posted on June 14, 2018Researchers conducted a first-of-its-kind measurement of the vertical dynamics of water motion near the ocean’s surface in the northern Gulf of Mexico. -
Study Finds Seaside Sparrows Change Food Sources in Response to Environmental Stressors
Posted on June 7, 2018Researchers analyzed the resource use of Seaside Sparrows residing in salt marshes impacted by large-scale disturbances like Deepwater Horizon and Hurricane Isaac to understand the effects on these indicators of ecological change.
