Leslie Smith – Page 103 – Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

Gary Finch Outdoors Highlights GoMRI

July 3, 2013

GoMRI is honored to be featured on Gary Finch Outdoors, a syndicated 30-minute outdoors program.

UL Lafayette post-doctoral researcher Bree Yednock examines a juvenile blue crab in the LUMCON laboratory with student Susan Chiasson. (Photo credit: Joe Neigel)

Blue Crab Detectives Delve into Post-Spill Mystery

June 28, 2013

When Dr. Joe Neigel of the University of Louisiana Lafayette and Dr. Caz Taylor of Tulane University began examining data on the number of blue crabs in the northern Gulf of Mexico one year after the worst oil spill in history, they were expecting to see a reduction in the crab population.

Scientists Examine Oil Spill’s Impact on Oysters

June 27, 2013

More than three years since the BP oil spill, an LSU AgCenter scientist is working to determine how oil impacted oysters, which have been struggling to recover since 2010.

The E/V Nautilus. (Photo provided by the Ocean Exploration Trust)

Live Feed from the E/V Nautilus: ECOGIG Deep-Sea Exploration for Oil Spill Research

June 21, 2013

Watching scientists do research in real time on board a ship operating tens to hundreds of miles off shore is a rare opportunity for the public; but that is exactly what is available right now…

This image depicts the structure of a β –cyclodextrin host-guest complexation. The Plane View shows the seven glucose units in a B-cyclodextrin surrounding a guest PAH molecule. The 3-D view shows the non-polar interior and the circular polar exteriors. (Image provided by Heng Gao)

Study Shows Sugar Molecules Can Remove Crude Oil from Sand

June 20, 2013

Researchers found that bounded ring-shaped sugar molecules (cyclodextrin) are effective at extracting crude oil from sand.

Dr. Liz Kujawinski (left) and a research associate at WHOI monitor a specialized mass spectrometer that measures the individual weights of compounds in a complex mixture to help identify those present. (Photo by Tom Kleindist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Polar Oil: When Oil and Water Mix

June 18, 2013

Oil and water don’t mix, right? For the most part, that’s true. Oil is made up of many compounds, the majority of which are not water soluble or “non-polar” in scientific terms. When oil enters water, such as from a spill, most of it gathers together in balls or sheets.