Studying the effects of oil on the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) Research Board* has awarded nearly $38mn to individuals and teams studying the effects of oil on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and public health. A total of 22 research proposals are being funded under this most recent GoMRI programme.

‘The Research Board was impressed with the quality of the 288 applications received,’ said Dr. Rita Colwell, Chairman of the GoMRI Research Board. ‘We are gaining an important understanding of how the Gulf of Mexico functions as an ecosystem and responds to large-scale environmental stresses like that caused by the tragic Macondo wellhead blowout.’

The funding will support science in all five of the GoMRI thematic areas:

•       Physical distribution, dispersion, and dilution of petroleum (oil and gas), its constituents, and associated contaminan (eg dispersants) under the action of physical oceanographic processes, air–sea interactions, and tropical storms.
•       Chemical evolution and biological degradation of the petroleum/dispersant systems and subsequent interaction with coastal, open-ocean, and deepwater ecosystems.
•       Environmental effects of the petroleum/dispersant system on the sea floor, water column, coastal waters, beach sediments, wetlands, marshes, and organisms; and the science of ecosystem recovery.
•       Technology developments for improved response, mitigation, detection, characterisation, and remediation associated with oil spills and gas releases.
•       Impact of oil spills on public health including behavioural, socio-economic, environmental risk assessment, community capacity and other population health considerations and issues.

 *The GoMRI is a 10-year independent research programme, established with a $500mn commitment from BP, investigating the effects of the Deepwater Horizon incident.