During the Deepwater Horizon incident, both oil and methane entered the surrounding marine environment from the Macondo reservoir. Scientists are investigating the released methane’s effects on deep-sea ecosystems.
Scientists funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) are investigating the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the environment and public health and contributing to improved response technologies.
Seaside Sparrows live and forage in coastal marshlands across the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists are studying oil’s effects on their habitat and the potential long-term impacts on sparrow populations in these areas.
After the Deepwater Horizon incident, scientists faced the daunting task of locating deep-sea coral communities on the Gulf seafloor and assessing their condition.
There can be catastrophic results when a large amount of oil is spilled into the ocean, but did you know that many marine organisms need a little bit of oil to survive?
Visitors to the Smithsonian Ocean Portal now have the opportunity to learn more about oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon.
The Smithsonian Ocean Portal posted a guest blog by Patrick Schwing about GoMRI-funded research. Schwing is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, and member of the C-IMAGE and Deep-C consortia.
The Smithsonian magazine posted a story featuring GoMRI-funded research as they discuss “myths and misconceptions about the Gulf oil spill” related to seafood and marine ecosystem recovery.
The Smithsonian Ocean Portal posted a story on the GoMRI-funded CARTHE project, a multi-year research effort to study how the ocean moves.