August 2017 – Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

Aeppli and Murphy Awarded National Academies’ Gulf Research Program Fellowships

August 31, 2017

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) congratulates Dr. Christoph Aeppli and Dr. David Murphy on receiving Early-Career Research Fellowships. These competitive two-year fellowships recognize professionals at the critical pre-tenure phase of their careers for exceptional leadership, past performance, and potential for future contributions to improving oil system safety, human health and well-being, or environmental protection.

Study Finds Oil Exposure Reduces Cardiac Function and Survival in Red Drum Larvae

August 29, 2017

Researchers conducted laboratory experiments to assess the lethal and sublethal impacts of weathered and non-weathered crude oil exposure on red drum larvae. The scientists observed a 70% reduction in cardiac output in oil-exposed larvae, even at low oil concentrations.

Karen operates a high-pressure test center. (Provided by Hamburg University of Technology)

Grad Student Malone Uses Engineering Skills to Put Pressure on Oil

August 24, 2017

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident highlighted new challenges and science gaps in our understanding of and ability to respond to deep-water oil releases. Of particular importance is how highly pressurized oil and gas behaves in a deep-sea environment.

Professors Samantha Joye (L) and Wei-Jun Cai (R). Credit for Joye photo: University of Georgia. Credit for Cai photo: University of Delaware, Kathy Atkinson.

Samantha Joye and Wei-Jun Cai Elected 2017 AGU Fellows

August 22, 2017

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) congratulates Dr. Samantha Joye and Dr. Wei-Jun Cai on their selection as American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fellows.

Jessica presents her research at the 2016 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science conference in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Michael Polito)

Grad Student Johnson Uses Amino Acids to Demystify Salt Marsh Food Webs

August 17, 2017

Salt marshes support commercially and culturally important species and are often subject to natural and human-caused stressors. Gaps in our knowledge of salt marsh food webs made management and restoration decisions difficult after the Deepwater Horizon spill. Jessica Johnson helps fill this gap.

A comparison of an oil plume without dispersant (left or a) and one with dispersant at a 1:100 dispersant to oil ratio (right or b). The insets show typical droplet sizes in magnified sections corresponding to the white squares. Image credit David Murphy.

Study Assesses How Chemical Dispersant Affects Oil Plume Behavior

August 15, 2017

Scientists conducted laboratory experiments with a simulated oil plume to assess how chemical dispersants affect a crude oil jet as it transitions into a plume under crossflow conditions.

View from the RV Walton Smith where the ocean and freshwater from the Mississippi River meet. Photo by Tamay Ozgokmen.

Science at Sea: SPLASH Experiment Improves Predictions for Oil Moving toward Shore

August 10, 2017

Response decisions during Deepwater Horizon relied on forecasts of where the oil was going and when it would get there. Researchers with the CARTHE consortium have been working to improve the information that goes into making ocean transport forecasts.

Co-author Zenghui Zhang works with molecular simulations to visualize the interactions of oil compounds with two Corexit surfactants (DOSS, SPAN 80) and their effects on aerosolization. (Photo provided by Zenghui Zhang)

Study Characterizes Effects of Corexit Components on Oil Aerosolization

August 8, 2017

Researchers combined laboratory experiments and molecular simulations to examine how two Corexit surfactants – DOSS (dioctyl sulfosuccinate) and Span 80 – individually affect oil aerosolization.

Sea Grant Releases Publication on Predicting Oil Movement

August 3, 2017

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) is pleased to announce a new Sea Grant informational publication that explains how researchers and response managers estimate the movement and landfall of an oil spill.

An epifluorescence microphotograph of a complex bacterial community feasting on or associated with an oil floc (pink). Gammaproteobacteria (green) are the majority of cultured, well-studied alkane- and aromatics-degrading bacteria. Other bacteria (blue) thrive in close association with the oil particle and their gammaproteobacterial neighbors. (Photo by Luke McKay, Montana State University).

Study Analyzes Metabolic Pathways of Oil-Degrading Bacteria

August 1, 2017

Researchers analyzed bacterial communities exposed to Deepwater Horizon oil and identified taxa and genes associated with oil degradation and assimilation. The scientists found that Marinobacter and Alcanivorax dominated alkane-degrading communities, while Alteromonadales, Oceanospirillales, and Rhodospirillales dominated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading communities.