January 2020 – Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

A fishing boat docked in Buras, Louisiana. Photo credit Vanessa Parks

Study: Fishing Households Experienced Depressive Symptoms Despite Social Support after Oil Spill

January 31, 2020

Researchers conducted a survey of more than 2,500 U.S. Gulf Coast residents to learn how their lives have been affected since Deepwater Horizon.

Microbiologist Samantha (Mandy) Joye (left) and engineer Simeon Pesch (right) shared their personal science stories at the 2019 Fall AGU Meeting’s Story Collider event. Photos by Lauren Lipuma, AGU. Used with permission from Story Collider.

Samantha Joye and Simeon Pesch Tell Their Science Stories at Story Collider Event

January 30, 2020

A journey reveals that her voice matters. A trip changes his work motivation. The theme of disaster response frames both of these touching and inspiring science stories.

Researchers use green light to help them look at marine oil snow aggregates in a laboratory setting. Photo Credit: Julia Sweet

Studies Describe how Oil Gets into Marine Snow, Improving Oil Fate Predictions

January 29, 2020

Scientists conducted rolling table experiments to improve our understanding of how marine oil snow forms and to provide input parameters for models that predict oil transport via sinking marine snow.

Nova Southeastern University master’s student Natalie Slayden holds a common fangtooth (Anoplogaster cornuta) that was collected during the DEEPEND consortium DP06 research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by Nina Pruzinsky)

Grad Student Slayden Knows Age is More Than a Number for Oil-Exposed Deep-Sea Fishes

January 28, 2020

The ocean’s deep-pelagic ecosystem is the largest and least understood habitat on Earth. In the Gulf of Mexico, it was the largest ecosystem affected by the Deepwater Horizon incident.

Biodegradable bamboo plates float on the ocean’s surface during a dispersion experiment in the Gulf of Mexico, February 2016. The research vessel Walton Smith and an oil platform are in background. Photo Credit: Maristella Berta

Study Shows that Floating Bamboo Plates Capture Strength of Small-Scale Ocean Currents

January 27, 2020

Researchers optically tracked 600 biodegradable bamboo plates floating in the Gulf of Mexico for 2.5 hours to better understand how small-scale currents (scales of minutes and meters) affect surface dispersion.

Scientists studying deep-ocean seafloor seeps use Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), like the Mola Mola that the crew onboard the R/V Pelican is retrieving. Another AUV is the Eagle Ray sitting on its launch to the left. Photo Credit: Anja Diercks, University of Southern Mississippi

Study Describes Seabed Conditions at Oil and Gas Seep Site in Gulf of Mexico

January 23, 2020

Scientists employed autonomous underwater vehicle-borne seismo-acoustics and photography to provide insights into the origins, dynamics, and evolution of an active hydrocarbon seep in the Green Canyon Lease Block 600 (GC600).

Opportunity: Florida Institute of Oceanography, Director

January 22, 2020

Opportunity: Florida Institute of Oceanography, Director – JANUARY 22, 2020 The Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO), headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL is undergoing a restructuring and searching for a new Director who will be responsible for leadership, strategic planning and operation of the overall scientific program, projects, initiatives, outreach, education, and fund raising related to…

Sea Grant Publication Explains How Oil Spills Affect Mangroves

January 21, 2020

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) is pleased to announce a new Sea Grant publication that discusses various ways that oil exposure can impact mangroves, which have partially submerged root systems that make them especially sensitive to contaminants.

Dr. Martha Chacon (left) and Ph.D. student Sydney Niles (right) stand next to the custom-built 9.4 Tesla FT-ICR MS used for molecular-level analysis of petroleum compounds. (Photo credit: Stephen Bilenky)

Study Confirms Sun Exposure Increases Oxygen Molecules in Oil Slicks

January 16, 2020

Scientists compared laboratory-generated weathered oil with weathered oil samples collected during Deepwater Horizon to better understand how different processes, specifically photo-oxidation and bio-oxidation, affect how oil changes chemically and physically.