GoMRI announced that it has approved funding for 19 new grants that will support studies of the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico as part of the RFP II program. Roughly $20 million will be awarded to these researchers over the next three years. RFP II is a continuation of RFP I (awarded in 2011) for individuals or small groups of researchers.
“We have complemented the eight research consortia we have already funded with important smaller grants that significantly extend the scope of work being done by GoMRI,” commented Dr. Rita Colwell, chairman of the GoMRI Research Board. “These grants help fill some gaps in GoMRI’s research portfolio that existed between the consortia.”
The GoMRI has now awarded more than $130 million of the $500 million that BP committed to independent research into the effects of the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico.
The new research grant recipients are:
Defining Ecologically Relevant Sublethal Effects: How Do Low Levels of Exposure to Oil and Dispersants Affect Performance and Survival of Larvae of Gulf Nekton? Edward J. Chesney, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium
Dynamics of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon and Dissolved Oxygen Following Natural or Manmade Petroleum Carbon Release into Marine Environments Wei-Jun Cai and Xinping Hu, University of Georgia
Using Embryonic Stem Cell Fate to Determine Potential Adverse Effects of Petroleum/Dispersant Exposure Demetri D. Spyropoulos, Satomi Kohno, John E. Baatz, and Louis J. Guillette, Medical University of South Carolina
Multifunctional Colloidal Particles as Dispersants for Maximizing Biodegradation of Crude Oil Arijit Bose, University of Rhode Island; Anubhav Tripathi, Brown University; Mindy Levine, University of Rhode Island; and Anuj Chauhan, University of Florida
Analysis of Continental Shelf Meiofauna in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Investigated During a Long-Term Community Study (2007-Present) Stephen C. Landers, Troy University; Frank A. Romano, III, Jacksonville State University; Kewei Yu, Troy University; and Martin V. Sorensen, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Accelerating Recovery after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Response of the Plant-Microbial-Benthic Ecosystem to Mitigation Strategies Promoting Wetland Remediation And Resilience Irving A. Mendelssohn, Qianxin Lin, Aixin Hou, and Kevin R. Carman, Louisiana State University
Creating a Predictive Model of Microbially Mediated Carbon Remediation in the Gulf of Mexico Jack Gilbert, University of Chicago
Large Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Dispersion of Oil in the Ocean Surface Layers: Development, Testing and Applications of Subgrid-Scale Parameterizations Charles V. Meneveau, Johns Hopkins University; and Marcelo Chamecki, The Pennsylvania State University
Resolving Deepwater Horizon Impacts on Highly Variable Ichthyoplankton and Zooplankton Dynamics in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Frank J. Hernandez, Jr., University of Southern Mississippi/Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
Monitoring of Oil Spill and Seepage Using Satellite Radars Hans Graber, CSTARS-University of Miami; Brian Haus and Roland Romeiser, RSMAS-University of Miami; and John Hargrove, Sr., CSTARS-University of Miami
Effect of Photochemistry on Biotransformation of Crude Oil Matthew A. Tarr, University of New Orleans; Russell Schmehl, Tulane University; Amy Callaghan and Joseph Suflita, University of Oklahoma
The Effect of Sediment Bioturbators on the Biological Degradation of Petroleum in Coastal Ecosystems Paul L. Klerks, Darryl Felder, Andrei Chistoserdov, and Febee Louka, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The Environmental Effects of an Oil Spill on Blue Crabs in the Gulf of Mexico and the Dynamics of Recovery: Integrating Oceanography and Molecular Ecology Joseph E. Neigel, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; and Caroline M. Taylor, Tulane University
Novel Sensor System for the Early Detection and Monitoring of Offshore Oil Spills Wei-Chuan Shih, Craig Glennie, and Zhu Han, University of Houston
Spatial and Temporal Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Growth and Productivity of Important Recreational and Commercial Fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico Debra J. Murie, Daryl C. Parkyn, and Robert Ahrens, University of Florida
Characterizing the Composition and Biogeochemical Behavior of Dispersants and their Transformation Products in Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ecosystems Kevin L. Armbrust, Mississippi State University; P. Lee Ferguson, Duke University; Bruce J. Brownawell and Anne E. McElroy, Stony Brook University
Weathering of Petroleum and Dispersant Components in the Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Elizabeth B. Kujawinski, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; and Helen K. Whilte, Haverford College
Development of Cost-Efficient and Concentration-Independent Dispersants for Improved Oil Spill Remediation Scott M. Grayson, Tulane University; Daniel A. Savin, University of Southern Mississippi; and Wayne Reed, Tulane University
The Combined Effect of Environmental and Anthropogenic Stressors on Fish Health Thijs Bosker, University of Connecticut; Joseph Griffitt, University of Southern Mississippi; Maria S. Sepulveda, Purdue University; and Christopher Perkins, University of Connecticut