The Smithsonian Ocean Portal posted a blog that describes the needs and challenges of sharing scientific data, especially unique data collected after a disaster such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Scientists studied the relationship between the resiliency of Louisiana salt marsh plants, invertebrates, and microbes in heavily-oiled sediment after the Deepwater Horizon spill.
Kelsey Rogers looks for evidence of oil and methane intrusion into Gulf of Mexico water and sediment, but finding these hydrocarbons is only the beginning of her work. Like a scientific crime scene investigator, Kelsey analyzes the chemical fingerprints of oil and gas and uses them to identify their source, such as from an oil spill or a natural seafloor seep.
Research about commercial dispersant safety has seen increased efforts to identify benign alternatives and improve current dispersant systems since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Juan Pinales is working on a computational modelling system that will aid oil spill monitoring efforts. He combines Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and oceanographic conditions recorded during the Deepwater Horizon incident to improve surface oil detection using a semi-automated machine learning method known as artificial neural networking.
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative is pleased to announce three new Sea Grant informational brochures about dispersants used during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
GoMRI is pleased to announce the release of two Sea Grant informational brochures about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. These brochures synthesize peer-reviewed oil spill science for a broad range of general audiences, particularly those who live and work across the Gulf Coast.
The Ixtoc I blowout happened in the Bay of Campeche over thirty-five years ago, so why are scientists studying this spill now? Because understanding what happened to Ixtoc I oil may help predict if and how Deepwater Horizon oil will degrade, persist, and impact northern Gulf of Mexico ecosystems over the next few decades.
DEEPEND expands knowledge as a restoration tool for the Gulf’s largest ecosystem. Much uncertainty remains about impacts on the deep-sea environment from the 2010 oil spill that erupted more than 5,000 feet below the sea surface. However, knowing what was affected or what may change in the future is particularly difficult with little to no pre-existing knowledge about this obscure ecosystem. Environmental impact assessments of an area require some baseline of what lives and happens there.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University used high-speed imaging and digital holography in laboratory experiments to investigate the effects of raindrops falling on a simulated oil slick.