The Loop takes a deep dive into the Gulf of Mexico with the researchers studying the processes, mechanisms, and impacts of oil spills. The Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of Gulf Ecosystems (C-IMAGE) is an international research group studying mud, microbes and mammals after two mega spills, Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc I. Researchers from C-IMAGE discuss their studies with David Levin of Mind Open Media. The goal of C-IMAGE is to advance understanding of the fundamental processes and mechanisms of marine blowouts and their consequences, ensuring that society is better-prepared to mitigate future events. C-IMAGE research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.

The Loop-mud, microbes, and mammals after Gulf of Mexico oil spills

It might be possible to predict the long term impacts of the Deepwater Horizon spill by studying another major spill, one that happened in 1979. “These are two of the largest spills in the world’s history as far as blowouts go and they were both in the Gulf of Mexico”. Wes Tunnell is a marine biologist who is looking at the aftermath of both spills. It’s almost like his looking at the same crime scene, separated by more than three decades. How? Give a listen. Mind Open Media producer David Levin talks to Wes Tunnell and John Farrington about their experiences during the 1979 Ixtoc spill and the applications to new blowouts thirty years later.

The Ixtoc Spill: Reflections-Episode 7

“We were of the mind that with studying the Deepwater Horizon in the northern Gulf we weren’t getting a full Gulf of Mexico perspective.” Geochemist David Hollander is travelling with an international team of scientists aboard a Mexican research vessel. Over the last few years, his team has studied the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. But today, they’re looking back at a spill that happened 35 years ago and what they learn on this trip might help them understand the future of the Gulf. Mind Open Media producer David Levin talks to David Hollander, Joel Ortega Ortiz, Isabel Romero, Adriana Gaytán-Caballero, and Travis Washburn about their experiences on the RV Justo Sierra in the southern Gulf of Mexico during the research on the Ixtoc spill.

In the Mud in Mexico-Episode 8

In February 2018, a pair of unrelated science conferences were hosted in New Orleans, LA during the same week: Underwater Intervention, and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Sciences Conference. This coincidence provided the opportunity for a Marine Technology Society TechSurge workshop to bring engineers and oil spill researchers together to discuss common problems and future efforts between the groups. The podcast gathers the perspectives of Andrew Ziegwied (ASV Global), Rick Spinrad (Oregon State University), and Susan Roberts (Ocean Studies Board Director) to see what these parallel communities can learn from one another when the next oil spill occurs.

Ecosystem services are benefits the environment provides to humans. Oil spills harm the environment and these services, like preventing marshlands from naturally dispersing storm surges. Measuring the cost of these services, economists are polling households asking how much someone would pay to prevent a spill or keep their marshlands protected. These estimates should be considered a factor when assessing the full economic damage of a spill, and how much someone is willing to pay to prevent them in the future.

MTS TechSurge-Episode 12

C-IMAGE collaborated with researchers from the University of Havana for the first join U.S.-Cuban expedition in over 50 years. This 2017 expedition invited students and researchers from the University of Havana-Centro de Investigaciones Marinas to partner with C-IMAGE as part of the OneGulf expeditions.

The Cuban Connection: Spills, Science Diplomacy-Episode 11

Ecosystem services are benefits the environment provides to humans. Oil spills harm the environment and these services, like preventing marshlands from naturally dispersing storm surges. Measuring the cost of these services, economists are polling households asking how much someone would pay to prevent a spill or keep their marshlands protected. These estimates should be considered a factor when assessing the full economic damage of a spill, and how much someone is willing to pay to prevent them in the future.

David Levin sits down with David Yoskowitz from the Harte Research Institute of Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to discuss the economics behind oil spill response and recovery. When oil spills are assessed through an economic viewpoint, both environmental and human impacts must be considered to provide a full picture.

For a few dollars more: costs and ecosystem services after spills-Episode 13

Mind Open Media's David Levin talks with C-IMAGE PI Steven Murawski and scientists from the Technical University of Hamburg at Harburg Michael Schluter and Karen Malone about their high pressure experiments ongoing at their facilities. They are looking at oil and gas droplets under high pressure to learn more about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Pressure is On!-Episode 5

C-IMAGE scientists want to know more about how oil-eating microorganisms behave in the cold deep ocean to learn more about what happened to the oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout. High pressure experiments underway at our high pressure facility at the Hamburg University of Technology focus on how these microbes use oil and what happens to them in the process. Results from these studies may lead to a new way to clean up spills by eliminating its most poisonous ingredients.

Oil: It's what's for dinner...-Episode 6

Listen to learn how scientists reanalyzed remotely sensed data taken in the late 1970s to study the Ixtoc 1 oil spill. Dr. Chuanmin Hu and his graduate student Shaojie Sun use the Landsat and Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) data to develop "treasure maps" of oil from the IXTOC-1 spill to steer field studies. Listen in to find out how they did it.

Forensic Oceanography-Episode 9

What happened to the fish in the days and weeks after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? With a suite of exposure studies, C-IMAGE researchers are monitoring fish health after oil exposure in order to find out. Dr. Dana Wetzel and Kevan Main of Mote Marine Laboratory give fish a small does of oil through either their food, water, or the sea floor sediments, then analyze how their bodies recover.

The Risks for Fish-Episode 10

David Levin talks with C-IMAGE members Cameron Ainsworth, Jason Lenes, Michelle Masi and Brian Smith about building an Ecosystem Model of the Gulf of Mexico to describe how oil spills impact marine life.

Fitting the Gulf of Mexico inside a computer: how to build an ecosystem model-Episode 4

Three years after the BP oil well disaster, scientists are struggling to understand the effects on the Gulf ecosystem. From Mind Open Media, David Levin reports on the oil's impact on the tiny creatures that form the base of the food chain.

The "not-so-visible" impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico-Episode 3

C-IMAGE PI's Steven Murawski and David Hollander on board the Weatherbird II in August of 2012 talking to David Levin about looking for impacts of the Deepwater Horizon spill on the mud and the fish in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mud and the Blood-Episode 2

C-IMAGE PI Dr. Steven Murawski talks to David Levin about the research goals of our center and the importance of integration when tackling large scale impacts.

Overview of C-IMAGE-Episode 1

A research consortium of 17 institutions from 5 countries studying the impacts of oil spills on the Gulf of Mexico.

The Loop-mud, microbes, and mammals after Gulf of Mexico oil spills

C-IMAGE Consortium