February 8, 2017 – Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

Oil spill experts convene in New Orleans to help align research with future response efforts

February 8, 2017

Nearly seven years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, oil spill experts are working from volumes of research toward efforts to prepare for and respond to future accidents.

Senior research associate Jodi Brewster (left) and Ph.D. candidate Johna Rudzin (right) deploying a CTD with Nanson bottles off the University of Miami R/V F. G. Walton Smith, a ship in the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System fleet. (Photo by Jodi Brewster).

Building a Rapid Response System for Predicting Water Column Processes and Oil Fate

February 8, 2017

As the Deepwater Horizon oil spill unfolded, there were concerns that the Loop Current might transport oil out of the Gulf to the Florida Keys and up the eastern seaboard. This possibility highlighted the need for quick predictions of oceanic flows and subsurface hydrocarbon distribution during and after a spill.