Eight years after Deepwater Horizon, we reflect on the extraordinary establishment of the largest coordinated scientific endeavor around an ocean event – the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) – to understand, respond to, and mitigate impacts from this and future oil spills.
Scientists completed four field experiments in the Gulf of Mexico, linking the dynamics of deep ocean, shelf, and coastal surface currents (where materials such as oil or debris naturally accumulate) in a way that has never been done before. So how did they do that?
An interdisciplinary panel of 23 experts in oceanography, ecology, physics, and geospatial-mapping combined their knowledge of pelagic faunal distribution patterns to create a biogeographic map of the world’s deep oceans. The panel identified 33 distinct mesopelagic (200-1000 meters depth) ecoregions that reflect regional variation of biodiversity and function.
A 12-day science expedition on the exploration vessel Ocean Intervention II embarks June 11 to investigate how oil, gas, and chemical dispersants affect marine life and their environment deep in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists and outreach personnel onboard the vessel will interact with the public and school-age children using streaming video, social media, and question-and-answer sessions.
Oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill acted as a catalyst for plankton and other surface materials to clump together and fall to the sea floor in a massive sedimentation event that researchers are calling a “dirty blizzard.”
Science pioneers are blazing a trail to identify pathways oil and gas use to move from deep to surface waters – an entry point for pollutants to damage shorelines and become airborne.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Falkor research vessel will depart on a science mission from the Port of Pascagoula today.
A Texas A&M-led team recently received a $14.4 million grant to study petroleum fluids that have erupted in the ocean’s depths.