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 used data collected during the Deepwater Horizon spill to validate a model simulation of the physical and chemical behavior of oil and gas rising from the wellhead to the ocean surface.
Scientists analyzed Gulf of Mexico model simulations to understand the flow processes that drive clustering of buoyant material such as Sargassum, oil from seeps and spills, and debris on the ocean surface.
After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, many Gulf residents wanted to know where the oil was going and how fast it would get there. Conor Smith is improving the accuracy and turn-around time of satellite-derived surface current velocity estimates for better ocean transport information.
Hurricanes can pose significant risks to human and environmental health. However, a scientific “silver lining” exists in the midst of Hurricane Isaac.