2014 – Page 4 – Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

What a Matchup! SEC Football and Science at the Stadium

October 21, 2014

What gets kids of all ages more excited than a day of hard-hitting SEC football? Robots!

The Anatomy of an Oil Spill: Smithsonian Releases New Oil Spill Science in the Gulf Infographic

October 20, 2014

Visitors to the Smithsonian Ocean Portal now have the opportunity to learn more about oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon.

Mesocosm Experiments Look at Oil Spills from the Bottom Up

October 16, 2014

Scientists have simulated a variety of deep-sea oil spill conditions in miniature via a pair of mesocosms, an approach that bridges traditional laboratory and in situ observations.

Dr. Howard Stone (right), the Donald R. Dixon '69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, and gradute student Jie Feng (left) observe bubbles in a tank. (Photo credit: Frank Wojciechowski, Princeton University)

Study Shows Bursting Bubbles Can Redistribute Oil Droplets into a Water Column

October 14, 2014

Scientists using a high-speed camera to observe bubbles bursting have gained new insight into the hydrodynamics of complex fluids.

Nathan stands proudly in front of the data acquisitions system he set up inside the Surface Physics Experimental Catamaran (SPEC) during the 2013 Surfzone-Coastal Oil Pathways Experiment (SCOPE) in Destin, FL. (Photo credit: Tamay Özgökmen)

Grad Student Laxague is Making Waves Using Sea-surface Ripples to Detect Oil

October 7, 2014

Nathan Laxague studies a small-scale subject matter that has potentially large-scale applications. Capillary waves – or ripples – on the ocean surface can indicate the presence of a film or oil slick on the water’s surface, making them “an important link in the chain of oil spill response.”