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  • Crews in Gulf reconnect to underwater equipment through relief well
    Meanwhile, as crews continue their work in the Gulf, the oil is getting harder and harder to find from the air. The federal on-scene coordinator, Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft, went looking for it in two flights over the weekend, finding only a large patch about 12 miles off Grand Isle, Louisiana.
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  • Students Selected for 2010 NOAA Scholarships Honoring Dr. Nancy Foster
    NOAA has selected seven graduate students as national recipients of the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarships, representing graduate-level scholars in marine biology, coastal resource management, and maritime archeology. read more

  • Full-featured Facebook game plans to increase environmental action and awareness
    Greenopolis, a subsidiary of Waste Management, a provider of environmental services and the largest recycler in North America, today at Casual Connect officially announced the opening of Oceanopolis, a new game that combines social gaming with real world calls-to-action for recycling and conservation of natural resources. The game, currently in beta, will receive a full launch in the coming weeks. read more

  • From Oprah to Al Jazeera: Plastiki Got Its Message Out, Even in Stormiest of Seas
    With the job of bringing attention to the plastic bottle issue made a bit more difficult by the fact that the crew was bobbing around in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a boat made of puffed-up plastic soda bottles, I asked de Rothschild about the technical hurdles of running a wired environmental campaign in such a challenging work setting. read more

  • Oil Dispersants Used In Gulf Of Mexico Unlikely To Be Endocrine Disrupters
    With an urgent need for such information in the Deepwater Horizon spill, the scientists applied a rapid screening method using mammalian cells to determine the eight dispersants’ potential to act as endocrine disrupters and relative toxicity to living cells. The dispersants included a type widely being used to treat the Gulf oil spill. None of the substances showed significant endocrine disruption activity and cytotoxicity was not seen until dispersants were tested at concentrations above 10 parts per million, the scientists said. However, they note that “there are other routes by which chemicals can cause endocrine disruption, as well as other types of toxicity that have not been tested for here.” read more

  • Oil dispersants a threat to Gulf breeding grounds, fishery experts say
    The dispersed oil makes matters worse, because when it sinks to the ocean floor, bottom-dwelling organisms eat it and may in turn be eaten by larger organisms. Along the coast, droplets of oil are being found in the shells of young crabs that are a mainstay in the diet of fish, turtles and shorebirds. read more

  • Dispersant Discussion: Living on Earth Podcast
    Nearly 2 million gallons of chemical dispersants have been applied to the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the BP oil leak. Host Jeff Young reports that many of the country's leading marine scientists have signed a consensus statement against the use of dispersants on that scale.
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  • Where Oysters Grew on Trees
    Key to the gulf’s productivity are its marshes, the nurseries of the sea. Fed by the regular supply of sediment washed over them by the Mississippi and its distributaries, the marshes have built up over 5,000 years into the vast network of estuaries we know today. Tucked safely into its marshes, sea-grass meadows, oyster reefs and other critical habitats form the base of the marine food chain. read more

  • FWC: 2 red lionfish collected from Gulf of Mexico
    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission researchers say two juvenile red lionfish were collected from the Gulf of Mexico

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  • Scientists check deep water reefs for damage from oil spill
    They use small submarines to reach the ocean floor.
    Water samples are collected, analyzed for oxygen levels and any evidence of oil or dispersants.

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  • The effects of the oil spill on human health
    The purpose of the workshop was to explore the potential short-term and long-term health impact of the oil spill, identify major concerns and appropriate ways to monitor and address the potential risks. read more

  • Smithsonian holdings to aid researchers in Gulf
    Smithsonian scientists began putting their collection to use just days after the oil spill, creating a digital map showing where each specimen was collected in the Gulf. Information from the collection could help settle conflicts about how much damage the spill caused, said Jonathan Coddington, head of research and collections at the National Museum of Natural History. read more

  • Progress continues after Bonnie blows over
    Q4000 is inspecting the yellow pad, which is the control device that's placed below sea level to operate hydraulics. Its valve was replaced and will be installed later today and then will begin preparations for the static kill operations. read more

  • How oil-damaged marsh grasses recovery could affect gulf's rebound
    The real proof of the grasses' success, scientists say, won't come until next spring. If oiled plants such as these survive, boaters in the marsh will see another waving expanse of green shoots. read more

  • Scientists Confirm Underwater Plumes Are From Spill
    The announcement by the Florida researchers came as federal scientists released their own report on the oil formations. The multiagency report describes the presence of large plumes of microscopic oil droplets within several miles of the wellhead at a depth of 3,280 to 4,265 feet. Oil concentrations there are as high as 10 parts per million, or the equivalent of one tablespoon of oil in 130 gallons of water. read more

  • Taking a dive in a research sub in the Gulf of Mexico
    A mini-submarine stationed on the Research Vessel Seward Johnson is looking at the effect on the coral reefs 200 miles from the source of the spill. read more

  • Foundation's grant to give a push to science and math
    The money will also enable schools to work with local businesses to provide internships for students, and some will be able to earn college scholarships to go on and study the sciences. Local businesses and professional groups, including Tervis Tumbler, Mote Marine Laboratory and area hospitals, have already offered their support in helping students earn experience in the sciences. read more

  • Important Insights to Gulf Oil Spill Gleaned From Modeling Past Hurricanes
    Clint Dawson and collaborators Joannes Westerink at the University of Notre Dame and Rick Luettich at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill are using the ADCIRC (ADvanced CIRCulation Model for Coastal Ocean Hydrodynamics) code on the Ranger supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) to model past hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike to see how a hurricane could affect the region. Dawson is head of the Computational Hydraulics Group at ICES and a professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics. read more

  • Women of the Storm Launch Campaign to Restore the Gulf
    "The Gulf Coast is an American treasure and its deterioration affects us all," said Sandra Bullock. "The solution begins with each American demanding the restoration of the Gulf of Mexico, its coastlines and its wetlands for ourselves and for future generations." read more

  • LSU researchers study impacts of oil spill
    The studies, funded by the National Science Foundation, seek to determine how people affected by the disaster cope with it and what effect the oil will have on bacteria that naturally grow in oyster beds. The two studies are among numerous projects involving researchers across the country.
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