An interesting investigation is developing and we're "invited along for the ride" for the next week!
I'm not sure where the text below originated so I'll quote it without a source. But the embedded link will be the developing story if you're interested...
"Researchers on an expedition in the Gulf of Mexico to view first-hand the possible effects of the oil spill on the sea floor are posting daily reports of their explorations on the web. Chuck Fisher, a biological oceanographer from Penn State University, is the Chief Scientist on this research expedition. The research team's daily updates, photos, and videos will be added to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI) "Dive and Discover" website, divediscover.whoi.edu until 14 December. To follow the activities during the expedition, click on the "Expedition 13" link at the Dive and Discover website.
Dive and Discover : Expedition 13 : Gulf of Mexico : Day 2
The expedition is part of the effort to determine the full impact on the Gulf of Mexico of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from the Macondo 252 well, which poured oil into the Gulf for 86 days beginning on 20 April 2010. During this research expedition, the first dive site likely will be the same location where, on 2 November 2010, researchers including Chief Scientist Fisher were the first to find signs of dead and dying corals associated with the Macondo well. "During one of the current expedition's dives, we plan to return to the impacted coral site that we discovered in November to check on the state of the animals there," Fisher said. "Another focus of this expedition is to discover and characterize new sites with communities of deep-sea corals and other animals close to the Macondo well. We expect to find coral and hydrocarbon-seep communities that never before have been visited by a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a submarine."
The team will make six dives during this expedition with the human-piloted submersible Alvin, which is owned by the U.S. Navy, to document the ocean bottom and collect samples of animals and sediment. The scientists also will use the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, for overnight missions to map and photograph the sea floor. The expedition is the first dual use both an AUV and a manned submersible in the Gulf since the blowout of the Macondo 252 well.
Also during this research expedition, the scientists will attempt to retrieve collections made by autonomous sediment traps put down in June. Similar instruments were deployed during September 2009, providing a time-series of samples that will help reveal the effect of oil and dispersants. "The combination of the exploration and mapping capabilities of the AUV Sentry, with the sampling and close-up imaging capabilities of the Alvin submarine, will allow us to discover, characterize, and sample new deep-sea communities very efficiently and thoroughly," Fisher said.
This expedition to probe the Gulf for impacts of the oil spill on the organisms of the deep-ocean communities there involves scientists from many institutions and is led by Penn State University, Temple University, Haverford College, and WHOI. The co-principal investigators for this expedition are Tim Shank and Chris German of WHOI."
I'm not sure where the text below originated so I'll quote it without a source. But the embedded link will be the developing story if you're interested...
"Researchers on an expedition in the Gulf of Mexico to view first-hand the possible effects of the oil spill on the sea floor are posting daily reports of their explorations on the web. Chuck Fisher, a biological oceanographer from Penn State University, is the Chief Scientist on this research expedition. The research team's daily updates, photos, and videos will be added to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI) "Dive and Discover" website, divediscover.whoi.edu until 14 December. To follow the activities during the expedition, click on the "Expedition 13" link at the Dive and Discover website.
Dive and Discover : Expedition 13 : Gulf of Mexico : Day 2
The expedition is part of the effort to determine the full impact on the Gulf of Mexico of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from the Macondo 252 well, which poured oil into the Gulf for 86 days beginning on 20 April 2010. During this research expedition, the first dive site likely will be the same location where, on 2 November 2010, researchers including Chief Scientist Fisher were the first to find signs of dead and dying corals associated with the Macondo well. "During one of the current expedition's dives, we plan to return to the impacted coral site that we discovered in November to check on the state of the animals there," Fisher said. "Another focus of this expedition is to discover and characterize new sites with communities of deep-sea corals and other animals close to the Macondo well. We expect to find coral and hydrocarbon-seep communities that never before have been visited by a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a submarine."
The team will make six dives during this expedition with the human-piloted submersible Alvin, which is owned by the U.S. Navy, to document the ocean bottom and collect samples of animals and sediment. The scientists also will use the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, for overnight missions to map and photograph the sea floor. The expedition is the first dual use both an AUV and a manned submersible in the Gulf since the blowout of the Macondo 252 well.
Also during this research expedition, the scientists will attempt to retrieve collections made by autonomous sediment traps put down in June. Similar instruments were deployed during September 2009, providing a time-series of samples that will help reveal the effect of oil and dispersants. "The combination of the exploration and mapping capabilities of the AUV Sentry, with the sampling and close-up imaging capabilities of the Alvin submarine, will allow us to discover, characterize, and sample new deep-sea communities very efficiently and thoroughly," Fisher said.
This expedition to probe the Gulf for impacts of the oil spill on the organisms of the deep-ocean communities there involves scientists from many institutions and is led by Penn State University, Temple University, Haverford College, and WHOI. The co-principal investigators for this expedition are Tim Shank and Chris German of WHOI."
