How are microbes attracted to an oil spill? – FEBRUARY 20, 2020 (From Phys.org / by Jared Pike, Purdue University / February 20, 2020) When containing a massive disaster like an oil spill, small microbes play a big role. Arezoo Ardekani, a Purdue University associate professor of mechanical engineering, has published research that describes the…
The flow of the Mississippi River into the northern Gulf of Mexico may have caused circulation patterns and fronts that significantly influenced the transport and fate of Deepwater Horizon oil. However, the Gulf’s complex topography and the proximity of variable oceanic currents to the Mississippi Delta make it difficult to monitor and model these processes.
Hydrocarbons associated with oil spills can have harmful effects on humans and organisms, yet little is known about the specific compounds that contribute to toxicity.
A research consortium formed after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has deployed more than 300 water drifters near the rig’s explosion site to study surface currents in the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the Grand Lagrangian deployment, it is the largest of its kind in history.
Researchers from the University of Rochester and Texas A&M University have found that, over a period of five months following the disastrous 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, naturally-occurring bacteria that exist in the Gulf of Mexico consumed and removed at least 200,000 tons of oil and natural gas that spewed into the deep Gulf from the ruptured well head.
Hurricanes can pose significant risks to human and environmental health. However, a scientific “silver lining” exists in the midst of Hurricane Isaac.
GULFPORT, Mississippi — About 300 drifters are being deployed in the Gulf of Mexico around the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill site to help scientists develop a better model for predicting how material travels in the currents.
April 2012. Dr. Vernon Asper (Chief Scientist) with the University of Mississippi and 18 scientists sailed from Gulfport, MS on April 12th on the R/V Endeavor for the first of six research cruises.