Auburn University scientists documented submerged oil mats and surface residual balls (also known as tar balls) on Alabama’s sandy beach systems and analyzed the physical and chemical evolution of compounds matching the characteristics of Macondo oil.
University of California Marine Science Institute researcher Uta Passow investigated the formation of aggregated oil and organic material, commonly called marine snow, after the Deepwater Horizon spill.
Scientists from Troy University and the University of Copenhagen, who are studying potential oil spill impacts on seafloor-dwelling marine life, examined microscopic invertebrates that live in the sediment (meiofauna).
Scientists at the Hamburg University of Technology conducted high-pressure biodegradation experiments simulating conditions at the Deepwater Horizon site.
Scientists from the University of New Orleans and Florida State University conducted simulated sunlight exposure experiments to determine sunlight’s effects on oil fate.
Scientists assessed the use of clay particles in experiments to develop a new class of dispersant that is effective and less toxic than those used in the Deepwater Horizon response.
Alabama scientists investigated oil spill effects on floating Sargassum, a critical seaweed habitat for many important Gulf species.
Louisiana State University scientists simulated Deepwater Horizon oiling scenarios with a dominant Mississippi River Delta marsh reed and analyzed its reaction to oil exposure.
Scientists widened their study scope of deep-sea coral communities after finding oil-impacted coral near the Deepwater Horizon site.
A large team of scientists used a combination of complex, cutting-edge-science testing methods to expand the understanding of the chemical components present in weathered oil.