Researchers analyzed dissolved organic carbon from water column samples collected in five regions to establish baseline data about its relative persistence and cycling in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The team found that the Mississippi River exports large amounts of dissolved organic carbon with an anthropogenic 14C signature, which is removed and recycled offshore as the river plume moves offshore.
The Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal published an article about the diverse deep sea species found in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon incident. The DEEPEND research consortium identified nearly 800 different species in Gulf waters, including 180 species not previously observed in the Gulf of Mexico region.
It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Dr. Matthew Howard passed away unexpectedly on February 8, 2018. His work related to the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was with data management at the program level (the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative or GRIIDC) and with the Gulf of Mexico Integrated Spill Response or GISR consortium.
An experiment featuring the largest flotilla of sensors ever deployed in a single area provides new insights into how marine debris, or flotsam, moves on the surface of the ocean. The experiment conducted in the Gulf of Mexico near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill placed hundreds of drifting sensors to observe how material moves on the ocean’s surface.
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?
Kendal Leftwich conducts acoustic research assessing how northern Gulf of Mexico dolphin populations changed and recovered over time to help researchers better understand the health of dolphin species living in affected areas.
Seaside Sparrows live and forage in coastal Gulf of Mexico marshlands, some of which were oiled following the Deepwater Horizon incident. Sparrows in these oiled marshes likely ingested invertebrates that were also exposed to oil. Allison Snider uses DNA analyses to investigate potential long-term changes in the diets of Seaside Sparrows following Deepwater Horizon.
Scientists video recorded bubbles released from natural seafloor seeps in the Gulf of Mexico to determine the rate and volume of oil and gas released. The researchers observed that oily bubbles were larger and released more slowly than gaseous or mixed (part-oil, part-gas) bubbles.
Scientists conducted passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) of whales in the northern Gulf of Mexico using two autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) capable of recording marine mammal sounds.
Scientists and outreach personnel created an on-line resource that examines two major oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico: The Deepwater Horizon in the northern Gulf and the Ixtoc in the southern Gulf. Beneath the Horizon website, developed by the C-IMAGE research group and Jake Price Productions, explores these spills, the people who coped with and responded to these disasters, and expectations for recovery.