The Oceanographic Center received a financial award from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, also known as GoMRI, making NSU one of 12 organizations selected to receive part of $140 million for continued research in oil spills and response to spills.
Tracey Sutton, associate professor at the OC and research director, said receiving the grant award was a very competitive process.
“GoMRI sent a request for a proposal that included a search for a consortium with a desired research plan,” Sutton said. “Our major plan revolves around understanding the Gulf of Mexico, the effects of the spill and its long term consequences.”
The NSU-led research consortium is called Deep-Pelagic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico.
Sutton and OC scientists Tamara Frank, Joseph Lopez and Mahmood Shivji, alongside OC students, will team with scientists from Florida International University, Texas A&M University, the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida Atlantic University, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the San Antonio Zoo.
Sutton said NSU researchers will be working specifically on the deep water aspect of the BP oil spill, as well as study the deep sea communities’ structure, genetic diversity within the Gulf of Mexico and microbial communities.
“Most research conducted has only been performed in shallow water (200 meters or 600 ft. deep), our research will happen in the very deep waters, as deep as a mile or more, which is where the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill actually occurred.”
Sutton said researchers know very little about most of the oceans, which is why their project will be centered on determining what the long-term consequences of a disturbance to the ocean would be.
“During this time, we have industry going out and operating in environments where we don’t understand the ecosystem yet, so it’s very difficult to recognize the impact of something, like the oil spill, on an ecosystem we don’t understand,” he said.
This is not the first time the OC was awarded a financial grant. Sutton said the center has a rich history of funded research.
“For this specific project, we have a lot of different goals,” he said. “We have a total of seven different teams and principle investigators from nine different institutions all working on different projects.”
For more information about the research, contact Sutton at 954-262- 3692 or tsutton1@nova.edu.
