Summer 2017 – Frequently Asked Questions: Thematic Workshops
– SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
(From Summer 2017 Newsletter) Dr. Rick Shaw and Dr. John Shepherd of the Gulf of Mexico Research Board and Co-Chairs of the Research Board’s Synthesis and Legacy Committee answer a few frequently asked questions about the program.
Question: GoMRI will be holding a series of workshops as a part of the program’s synthesis and legacy efforts. What will the workshops focus on?
Answer: The GoMRI Research Board is currently planning to hold eight synthesis workshops. The current topics are listed below, but others may be added as plans develop. There will also be subsets of these led by some consortia under RFP-VI.
- Operational Gulf of Mexico Circulation, Observations, and Modelling
- Fate of Oil and Weathering (biological and physical-chemical degradation)
- Metagenomics and Bioinformatics
- Ecological/Ecosystem Impacts, Adequate Baselines, and Observational Needs
- Human Health, Social and Economic Impacts, Adequate Baselines, and Observational Needs
- Ecosystem Services, Human Health, and Socioeconomics
- Integrative Modelling Across All Themes
- Knowledge Exchange with Users
Question: What are the goals and anticipated outcomes of the workshops?
Answer: All of these workshops will offer a forum for the synthesis of GoMRI-funded research results and other research relevant to oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. Their focus will be on bringing together results reported in peer- reviewed research publications and ensuring that this is presented in a form readily accessible to the user community (researchers, regulators, responders, industry, and NGOs). Each workshop will result in a 20 to 25-page synthetic review/summary of that field. These will include a review of relevant science and identify remaining research gaps.
Question: Who will be involved in the workshops?
Answer: Workshops will be open (subject to space constraints) to appropriate GoMRI-funded and other researchers, practitioners, and regulators. Further announcements will be posted in due course.
