Scientists Report on Latest Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Impacts

LSU scientists will present new research at the 2017 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference in New Orleans next week. These experts will be among hundreds of oil spill-related researchers from academia, state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations and industry, who will share the latest oil spill and ecosystem scientific discoveries, innovations, technologies and policies on Feb. 6-9.

LSU faculty will lead an important session, where key information on how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has affected coastal ecosystems will be presented. Multi-year Signatures of the DWH Oil Spill in Coastal Systems will be presented on Wednesday, Feb. 8, and led by LSU Boyd Professor R. Eugene Turner and Shell Oil Endowed Chair Nancy Rabalais in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences in the LSU College of the Coast & Environment, along with LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources Associate Professor Sabrina Taylor.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted various ecological communities differently over time. The scientists will present their findings in two parts. In Part I, the scientists will present research on marsh erosion, stability, microbes and vegetation. In Part II, they will share information on how specific ecological communities and animals that live on land and in shallow water have responded as well as the implications for the larger picture as depicted in food web studies. All of these findings affect how we prepare to avoid, minimize and mitigate activities on the coast.

See more at: http://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/news/2017/02/2docs_gomriconf.php#sthash.0SwS7dHF.dpuf

Photo Credit: Phil Stouffer / Louisiana State University