Study Finds Currents One Centimeter Below Ocean’s Surface Greatly Affect Material Transport
Researchers conducted a first-of-its-kind measurement of the vertical dynamics of water motion near the ocean’s surface in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Researchers conducted a first-of-its-kind measurement of the vertical dynamics of water motion near the ocean’s surface in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Researchers analyzed how satellite-tracked ocean surface drifters moved in the Gulf of Mexico to learn how other floating materials (oil, plastics, marine organisms) move.
Researchers use numerical models to simulate oil spill scenarios and predict where oil will go, but the many factors that affect the oil’s path creates uncertainty in the predictions. Shitao Wang quantifies the uncertainty of ocean models to gauge the reliability of oil fate predictions.
Scientists analyzed model simulations of tracer dispersion in a Gulf of Mexico eddy to find out if small-scale flows surrounding the eddy influenced where the tracer went.
Response decisions during Deepwater Horizon relied on forecasts of where the oil was going and when it would get there. Researchers with the CARTHE consortium have been working to improve the information that goes into making ocean transport forecasts.
Researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science have developed a new technology to measure the currents near the ocean’s surface that carry pollutants such as plastics and spilled oil.
Researchers described in a recent study a surrogate-based technique to quantify the uncertainty in forecasting the oceanic circulation.
Research consortia involved in the GoMRI self-organized a rapid response to characterize the waters around the Hercules 265 rig. They found evidence of an immediate response from the surrounding environment’s microbial community to elevated methane concentrations.
It’s almost like a game of tug-of-war. There are growing numbers of residents, tourists, and industry at one end and the environment where people live, work, and play at the other. When the former increases, the latter is stressed. This scenario plays out all over the world, especially in coastal areas.
An interdisciplinary scientific team conducted a rapid response sampling campaign in the immediate aftermath of the 2013 Hercules 265 blowout to determine if sediment and fish were polluted above established baseline levels.