The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative From Response to Coordinated Research Established 2011

Deepwater Horizon Credit: US Chemical Safety Board

Deepwater Horizon Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic

Deepwater Horizon U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Adrian Cadiz Credit: Reuters

Deepwater Horizon Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Mission The mission of Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) is to implement an independent research program that will (1)Study the effects of the Deepwater Horizon incident and the potential associated impact of this and similar incidents on the environment and public health and (2)Develop improvements for spill mitigation, oil detection and characterization, and advanced remediation technologies.

Goal The ultimate goal of the GoMRI is be to improve society’s ability to understand, respond to and mitigate the impacts of petroleum pollution and related stressors of the marine and coastal ecosystems, with an emphasis on conditions found in the Gulf of Mexico. Knowledge accrued will be applied to restoration and to improving the long-term environmental health of the Gulf of Mexico.

Research Themes 1.Physical distribution and ultimate fate of contaminants associated with the Deepwater Horizon incident; 2.Chemical evolution and biological degradation of the contaminants; 3.Environmental effects of the contaminants on Gulf of Mexico ecosystems, and the science of ecosystem recovery; 4.Technology developments for improved detection, characterization, mitigation, and remediation of offshore oil spills; and 5.Impacts of oil spills on public health.

Research Board Rita Colwell – UMD & JHU Margaret Leinen – FAU Debra Benoit – Nicholls State Peter Brewer – MBARI Richard Dodge – NOVA SE John Farrington – WHOI Kenneth Halanych – Auburn David Halpern – NASA William Hogarth – FIO Jörg Imberger – W. Australia Raymond Orbach – Tx Austin Jürgen Rullkötter – University of Oldenburg, Germany David Shaw – MSU John Shepherd –University of Southampton, UK Bob Shipp – South Alabama Burton Singer – Florida Ciro Sumaya – Texas A&M Dennis Wiesenburg – USM Charles Wilson – LSU Dana Yoerger – WHOI Michael Carron – GOMA – Ex Officio

Scientific Integrity GoMRI uses National Science Board peer evaluation protocols to select funded research Independent reviews are comprised of scientific peers not affiliated with institutions who lead proposed projects to avoid conflict of interest in the selection of funded research All reviewers sign conflict of interest and non-disclosure statements Individual researchers will comply with professional standards as defined by the National Academies of Science All GoMRI-funded researchers conduct independent and objective work with no influence from BP Researchers independently publish their results in peer-reviewed scientific journals with no requirement for BP approval

Year One Block Grants Provided directly from BP to the Gulf States to establish critical baseline data as the foundation for subsequent research. Block grant recipients included: – Louisiana State University – Florida Institute of Oceanography – Northern Gulf Institute – Alabama Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium – National Institutes of Health

Alabama State Auburn Dauphin Island Sea Lab Florida A&M Florida Atlantic Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Institute of Technology Florida International University Florida State University Harte Research Institute Jackson State University Jacksonville State University Louisiana State University Mississippi State University Mote Marine Lab National Institutes of Health Nova Southeastern University Samford University Troy University Tuskegee University University of Alabama U. Alabama at Birmingham U. Alabama at Huntsville U. Alabama at Tuscaloosa University of Central Florida University of Florida University of Miami University of Mississippi University of New Orleans University of South Alabama University of South Florida U. of Southern Mississippi University of West Alabama University of West Florida.

RFP-III (Summer Sampling) To ensure continuity of observations and sampling while the peer- review process was underway, $1.5 million in grants were issued in June 2011 to the following institutions: University of South Florida Johns Hopkins University Auburn University University of Georgia Research Foundation Texas Tech University University of Southern Mississippi LSU Agriculture Center University of Louisiana at Lafayette Texas AgriLife Research Dauphin Island Sea Lab Florida State University Mississippi State University Louisiana State University Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

WHOI USF Johns Hopkins Auburn GA Research Foundation Texas Tech USM ULL Texas AgriLife DISL FSU MSU LSU Tulane

RFP-I (Consortia) The Impact of Biological, Physical and Chemical Processes on the Fate of Oil Spills – Bridging Small-Scale Processes with Meso-Scale Modeling – University of Texas at Austin - Marine Science Institute Gulf Integrated Spill Research (GISR) Consortium – Texas A&M University at College Station Deepsea to Coast Connectivity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico – Florida State University The Effects of the Macondo Oil Spill on Coastal Ecosystems – Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium

RFP-I (Consortia) Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of the Gulf Ecosystems – University of South Florida Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbons in the Environment – University of Miami The Science and Technology of Dispersants as Relevant to Deep-Sea Oil Releases – Tulane University Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf – University of Mississippi

Yr-1, RFP-I and RFP-III

GoMRI Funds Awarded as of December 31, 2011

RFP-II (PI-based) RFP – II released in December 2011 Single projects $100,000 – $1,000,000 each $7.5M/year for 3 years

Data Management Policy Guiding Principles Timely submission of data and model outputs by RC and Principal Investigators (PIs) to the GoMRI “Research Database” Timely submission of data to existing national repositories Data, results, and ancillary information are made fully accessible to the public with minimum time delay Use of existing data standards and management systems as much as practicable Ensure data interoperability to the greatest extent possible Employ best practices for data policy and data management as elucidated by NSF and NOAA or other agency appropriate for the topic of study A strong commitment to data management by each RC and participating PI

GoMRI Organization Chart

The Impact of Biological, Physical and Chemical Processes on the Fate of Oil Spills – bridging small scale processes with meso-scale modeling (DROPPS) Lead Investigator: Edward J. Buskey, Ph.D SINTEF, Norway Minnesota Wisconsin Clarkson PENN JHU Increasing velocity U. Texas

Gulf Integrated Spill Research (GISR) Consortium Lead Investigator: Piers Chapman, Ph.D. MIT Stanford Berkeley NC State UT Austin WHOI Hawaii Manoa Maryland GIT TAMU

Lead Investigator: Eric Chassignet, Ph.D. Deepsea to Coast Connectivity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Deep-C) Dauphin Island Sea Lab FIO GIT NRL Norwegian Meteorological Institute USF West Florida Miami SAIC WHOI FSU

The Effects of the Macondo Oil Spill on Coastal Ecosystems Lead Investigator: Nancy N. Rabalais, Ph.D BYU Connecticut College Florida Gulf Coast LSU WHOI Rutgers Lafayette Maryland Tennessee VIMS UNC LSU Ag LUMCON

Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of the Gulf Ecosystem (C-Image) Lead Investigator: Steve Murawski, Ph.D. Eckerd West Florida FIO Texas A&M Miami Mote Penn State University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands Scripps South Alabama Hamburg University University of Calgary Wageningen University, Netherlands USF

Consortium for Advanced Research of Hydrocarbon Transport in the Environment (CARTHE) Lead Investigator: Tamay Özgökmen, Ph.D. UT Austin Texas A&M University FSU Delaware University of Arizona NRL Naval Postgraduate School Tulane College of Staten Island Nova Deltares FIO U. Miami

The Science and Technology of Dispersants as Relevant to Deep Sea Oil Releases (C-MED) Lead Investigator: Vijay T. John, Ph.D. Austin Arizona State Auburn USF Minnesota Maryland NC State NY City U. LSU USM FIU Brown Carnegie Mellon Georgetown Michigan Princeton Colorado UMASS URI Buffalo Houston Tulane

Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf (ECOGIG) Lead Investigator: Raymond Highsmith, Ph.D. Austin GaTech FSU Penn State Venter Institute Maryland UNC Oregon State Columbia USM Georgia UC Berkeley Temple U. Miss

GoMRI Annual Meeting Jan 21 – , New Orleans Marriot NSF, NIH NOAA Call for papers April 2012