Smithsonian Highlights Five Gulf Discoveries from Oil Spill Research

– May 19, 2015

(Click to enlarge) Methane ice mounds formed by natural seafloor seeps are host to ice worms, which live on and burrow into the ice. (Photo credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program)

An exciting aspect of scientific research is unexpected discovery. While investigating impacts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists made unanticipated, yet fundamentally important, discoveries that shape our understanding of ocean science and Gulf ecosystems.

The Smithsonian recently published an article about five interesting findings resulting from research funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI). Highlights included new information about ocean currents, Gulf species, natural sea floor oil seeps, deep-sea shark migration patterns, and invading lionfish.

Read the article to find out what makes these discoveries so interesting!

To learn more about the research mentioned here, check out these articles:

• Study Shows Drifter Data on Surface Currents Critical to Predict Pollutant Transport
• Study Describes Two New “Mud Dragon” Species Discovered in Gulf of Mexico
• Smithsonian Features Blog by Caroline Johansen on Deep Sea Oil Seeps
• Ocean Science Made Easy – Corals, Sharks, Microbes, and More!
• Meiofauna: Getting Down In The Mud

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GoMRI and the Smithsonian have a partnership to enhance oil spill science content on the Ocean Portal website.

This research was made possible in part by a grant from BP/The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) to the Consortium for the Molecular Engineering of Dispersant Systems (C-MEDS). The GoMRI is a 10-year independent research program established to study the effect, and the potential associated impact, of hydrocarbon releases on the environment and public health, as well as to develop improved spill mitigation, oil detection, characterization and remediation technologies.  An independent and academic 20-member Research Board makes the funding and research direction decisions to ensure the intellectual quality, effectiveness and academic independence of the GoMRI research.  All research data, findings and publications will be made publicly available.  The program was established through a $500 million financial commitment from BP.  For more information, visit https://gulfresearchinitiative.org/.

© Copyright 2010- 2017 Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) – All Rights Reserved. Redistribution is encouraged with acknowledgement to the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI). Please credit images and/or videos as done in each article. Questions? Contact web-content editor Nilde “Maggie” Dannreuther, Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi State University (maggied@ngi.msstate.edu).