We are pleased to share the fall 2015 issue of the GoMRI newsletter. We hope you continue to find it a useful way to keep up with the GoMRI research community’s activities.
Scientists measured radiocarbon levels in coastal invertebrates and fishes (such as oysters and catfish) to evaluate impacts from the 2010 oil spill on Gulf of Mexico food webs.
Emily Chancellor is applying her engineering and computer science background to a field that inspires her – marine science – focusing on how the oil spill may have impacted larval fish populations.
Scientists from Brown University and the University of Rhode Island investigated how Alcanivorax borkumensis, a dominate bacterium in marine environments that contain high hydrocarbon levels, can be supported to naturally degrade oil.
Chemical engineer Jordan Young has found his happy place on a research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. He’s looking for changes in ocean acidity following the Deepwater Horizon spill. As the oil biologically degrades, some of it oxidizes to carbon dioxide and may increase acidification.
Scientists evaluated the effects of oil contamination on coastal mangrove plants. Their partially-submerged root system makes them vulnerable to pollutants. Scientists found that oil coated the mangrove roots and reduced water transport, leading to rapid plant dehydration.
Bryan Hamilton never planned to be a microbiologist, but when the opportunity arose to study microbes that produce biosurfactant in response to oil exposure, he was drawn in completely.
Scientists studied the interactions of the oil-degrading bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis with oil across oil-water interfaces that had varying amounts of different surfactants.
Jarrett Cruz has been all over the world studying nannoplankton, a marine species he did not know existed when his journey began. Jarrett’s research into these minuscule creatures spans both biology and geology as he studies the impact of oil on nannoplankton that live in the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists analyzed microbial communities on beaches oiled by the Deepwater Horizon spill and found taxonomic and functional changes after hydrocarbon exposure.