MIAMI A team of dedicated South Florida researchers from the University of Miami's Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (NOAA/AOML) were determined to check on whether oil was, as predicted, being pulled into the Loop Current and carried toward the Dry Tortugas.
The University of Miami's 96-foot catamaran the RV/F.G. Walton Smith had just completed a two-week National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored cruise sampling the deep submerged plumes near the Deepwater Horizon well site. NOAA/AOML offered to pay for a few additional days, but the ship which is part of the University National Laboratory System, had to return to Miami on its tight schedule. The best they could do was extend the trip home by 18 hours.
Using funding provided through CIMAS, a team was rapidly assembled that included UM and CIMAS oceanographers Tom Lee and Nelson Melo, as well as a group of scientists led by Michelle Wood, director of the NOAA/AOML's Ocean Chemistry Division. A sampling plan was pulled together using particle trajectories calculated by the UM Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science's Coastal Shelf Modeling Group, in combination with information provided by Roffer's Ocean Fishing Forecast Service (ROFFS) and remotely sensed images from UM's Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing (CSTARS). Using these sophisticated tools, the team decided that the most likely pathway for oil to reach the Florida Keys was for it to be pulled into a counterclockwise rotating frontal eddy in the northeast corner of the Loop Current, and then south along the eastern frontal zone of the Loop Current to the Dry Tortugas.
They set out, borrowing surveying equipment from NSF scientists who were leaving the ship, including geological oceanographer Vernon Asper of the University of Southern Mississi
'/>"/>
| Contact: Barbra Gonzalez, UM Rosenstiel School barbgo@rsmas.miami.edu 305-984-7107 University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. UMCES Horn Point Laboratory scientists to study oil spill effects in Gulf of Mexico
2. Forsyth scientists support the Human Microbiome Project
3. Scripps Research scientists find new way to attack cancerous cells
4. Scientists discover ancient viral invasion that shaped human genome
5. Study of microRNA helps NIH scientists unlock secrets of immune cells
6. ARS scientists seek blight-resistant spuds
7. Scientists clarify origins of potato germplasm Neo-Tuberosum
8. Atmospheric scientists start monthlong air sampling campaign
9. Scripps research scientists determine structure of immune molecule that counteracts HIV strains
10. NYSCF awards fellowships to 8 innovative stem cell scientists
11. Scientists decipher structure of natures light switch
 |
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |