New Sea Grant Bulletin on Birds and Oil Spills
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative is pleased to announce a new Sea Grant publication that outlines what scientists have learned about how oil exposure affects birds.
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Study Finds Slick Oil has Greater Impact than Source Oil on Fish Development
Scientists analyzed effects from non-weathered source oil (collected directly over the Deepwater Horizon wellhead) and weathered slick oil (collected from surface skimming) on the microRNAs of mahi-mahi embryos.
Grad Student Aker Counts on Insects to Assess Marsh Health
Estuarine marshes in coastal Louisiana face numerous threats such as sea-level rise, salt water intrusion, and contamination threats such as oil spills that can lead to marsh loss and changing habitats.
Study Tracks Ocean Methane Dissolution with Environmental Data and Computer Models
Scientists traced and analyzed methane bubbles as they ascended from a deep seafloor seep to the ocean’s surface and compared results to two computer models’ output to better understand methane dissolution processes.
PNAS Writer Follows Scientists Seeking to Answer, Did Sub-Sea Dispersants Work?
Scientist and author M. Mitchell Waldrop accompanied researchers, funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, as they conducted the largest experimental simulation to-date of the Deepwater Horizon oil intrusion.
Study Finds Oil Exposure Reduces Cardiorespiratory Function in Cobia Fish
Researchers conducted swim tests on Gulf of Mexico Cobia fish to investigate potential impacts from oil exposure.
Joel Kostka Elected American Academy of Microbiology Fellow
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) congratulates Dr. Joel Kostka on his election as a 2019 American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) Fellow.
Study Improves Drifter-Based Estimates of Near-Surface Ocean Currents
Scientists developed a new approach to improve near-surface (15 meters depth) ocean circulation estimations derived from drogued and undrogued drifters (drogues extend below the surface, providing stability) used in the NOAA Global Drifter Program.
Study Finds Oil Impacts on Fiddler Crabs May Also Affect Broader Marsh Health
Scientists conducted mesocosm experiments to explore how crude oil affects marsh-dwelling fiddler crabs, classified as ecosystem engineers or bioturbators. The researchers tested impacts of various oil concentrations to mimic light (L) to heavy (H) oiling scenarios, with fiddler crabs experiencing more acute impacts at higher oil concentrations and less at lower concentrations.
How Grad Student Niles Gets to Know Crude Oil at a Molecular Level
When an oil slick is exposed to sunlight, photo-oxidation processes break the oil down and incorporate oxygen into the petroleum molecules.