Highlights

Friday, 30 August 2019

Fingerprinting Oil

Oil is no stranger to the Gulf of Mexico and recently beachgoers have come face to face with sometimes-sticky oil remnants or tar balls. Oil can be released in gulf waters from naturally occurring seeps, or through accidents associated with man-made...

Tuesday, 07 August 2018

Oil Plus Dispersants May Lead to More Red Tide Events

Harmful algal blooms, or red tides, can occur naturally, but new research indicates that after an oil spill, the application of dispersant may increase the chance of red tides. A new paper recently released in Environmental Science and Technology provides experimental...

Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Study Finds Natural Sunlight Affects Oil-Degrading Bacteria Composition and Dynamics

Dr. Hernando Bacosa works at the seawater filtration system aboard the R/V Pelican 2013 cruise to the Deepwater Horizon site in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo provided by Hernando Bacosa.Scientists at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute have demonstrated how...

Friday, 15 January 2016

Seeing Red

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill spanned 87 days during which approximately 4 million barrels of crude oil were released into the northern Gulf of Mexico; making it the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history. British Petroleum soon after committed $500...

Thursday, 03 September 2015

Study Quantifies Photooxidation and Biodegradation of Surface Oil

Scientists from the University of Texas Marine Science Institute assessed photooxidation and biodegradation rates on different hydrocarbon groups.   They found that photooxidation was the main driver for degrading aromatic hydrocarbons, and biodegradation was the key process controlling the degradation of...