Spring 2017 – Frequently Asked Questions – JUNE 8, 2017 (From Spring 2017 Newsletter) GoMRI is pleased to have Brad Benggio, Scientific Support Coordinator with NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, answer a few Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about his job, what scientific knowledge gaps remain in oil spill response, and how the science community…
C-IMAGE Launches Beneath the Horizon Interactive Website – JUNE 8, 2017 (From Spring 2017 Newsletter) On April 20, 2017, the seventh anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Center for the Integrated Modeling and Analysis of the Gulf Ecosystem (C-IMAGE) launched a new website called Beneath the Horizon (BeneaththeHorizon. org). The interactive site shares…
Scientists analyzed sediment cores from two sites near the Macondo wellhead to characterize possible spill impacts on benthic foraminifera (single celled organisms with a hard shell). The team found elevated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations and a significant decrease in density and species diversity for foraminifera.
A 12-day science expedition on the exploration vessel Ocean Intervention II embarks June 11 to investigate how oil, gas, and chemical dispersants affect marine life and their environment deep in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists and outreach personnel onboard the vessel will interact with the public and school-age children using streaming video, social media, and question-and-answer sessions.
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the deaths of 11 oil rig workers and ultimately the largest marine oil spill in history. As this environmental disaster recedes into history, researchers from institutions across the U.S. continue to study its enduring ecological impacts.
Instruments already exist that measure ocean currents, and others that measure wind, such as NASA’s QuickScat and RapidScat. But a new, airborne radar instrument developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is able to measure both.
Trust in scientific findings is especially important when the research relates to your livelihood and health as it did for commercial and recreational fishing communities after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Many scientists conducting early studies on the spill believed that they were considered trustworthy, like firemen and policemen. However, it became apparent as the spill unfolded that the relationship of the public, science, and trust was complex and sometimes on shaky ground.