Tag Archives: gulf coast

Scientists Train the Next Generation on Oil Spill Research

As part of on-going research nearly four years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will team up with a group of high school students in Florida to collect remnants of oil from Gulf Coast beaches this week.

Marine chemist Chris Reddy studies how the many compounds that compose petroleum hydrocarbon, or oil, behave and change over time after an oil spill. He and his researchers have collected and analyzed about 1,000 oil samples from the Gulf Coast since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (more…)

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Coastal Power Surveys

UD’s Messer gauges Delaware beachgoers’ reactions to offshore energy

The University of Delaware’s Kent Messer leads a research team that is conducting two studies at the Delaware coast to determine how people would react to offshore energy production and how that could impact the state’s economy.

The first study was conducted at Cape Henlopen and Rehoboth Beach and involved students surveying beachgoers to see how open they were to the idea of offshore energy, specifically wind turbines and oil drilling platforms. (more…)

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Cracking the Oyster’s Code

International team of scientists finds adaptations to stress in oyster genome

When it comes to stress, oysters know how to deal. The tough-shelled mollusks can survive temperature fluctuations, toxic metals and exposure to air, and a new study of their genetic makeup is helping to explain how.

An international team of scientists, including the University of Delaware’s Patrick M. Gaffney, professor of marine biosciences, sequenced the genome of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, in a Nature paper published on Sept. 19. (more…)

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3-D Mapping of Isaac Water Levels

A new technology is being deployed by U.S. Geological Survey scientists this weekend to map urban flooding caused by Hurricane Isaac. Called “terrestrial lidar,” or “T-lidar”, this new capability will enable scientists to collect highly detailed information in select population areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama where the hurricane had the greatest impact.

The portable instrument allows scientists to quickly generate 3-D maps of buildings, dams, levees and other structures, and can show areas of storm damage as well. In a four-to-five minute scan, the instrument collects millions of topographic data points in a full 360-degree view to quickly produce highly accurate topographic information and can map areas up to two-thirds of a mile away. (more…)

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