Scientists at the U. Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory are hard at work studying the effects of the oil spill on the delicate ecosystem of the gulf.
According to current estimates by the US Department of Energy, which puts the current flow rate at 1.47 million gallons per day, over 80 million gallons of crude oil have leaked into the gulf so far. The focus of the GCRL’s research is on the marine biological resources being affected by the spill, which has been spewing oil into the gulf since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling ship and resulting collapse of a BP oil rig on April 20.
“We have more than doubled the [Exxon-Valdez] spill by conservative estimates,” Dr. Bill Hawkins, the director of the GCRL, said. The original estimate of 5k barrels spilling per day “undershot the mark by a factor of 10,” he said.
Researchers from all areas of expertise at the laboratory have been working on ways to fight the spill in both near and offshore environments using money granted to them by BP, Hawkins said. Most of those studies will not be able to take place until “T=0”, or “when the spill stops,” he said.
One of the scientists learning about the effects of the spill now is the lab manager for marine microbiology, Kim Griffitt.
Scientists in Griffitt’s lab are studying microorganisms of the genus Vibrio. The specific organisms, V. parahaenolyticus and V. vulnificus are naturally occurring bacteria in the waters of the gulf. The bacteria usually consume oil that seeps naturally from the ocean floor.
The scientists have, so far, noticed an increase in the number of the bacteria in the water.
Adding more of the bacteria to the water seems like it could help to quicken the process of getting rid of the oil, Griffitt said, but that solution is not plausible. Fertilizing the bacteria can help because the process facilitates the reproduction of the microorganisms so that more of them will be present, she said.
Specifically, the bacteria consume the polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which make up the oil. The increase in the presence of these compounds causes an increase in the number of these bacteria. The use of chemical dispersants breaks apart the oil on the surface and makes it easier for these bacteria to consume.
Wildlife in the gulf, specifically the bluefin tuna population, will be affected by what has become the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history.
Dr. Bruce Comyns, who is studying the effects that the bluefin tuna population is bearing from the spill, said that the fish are affected from the spill because they eat the plankton in the warm water current that rounds the Florida panhandle. “The tuna spawn on the on the edge of the loop current because there is a lot of food there for the larvae,” he said.
The plankton, which live at the top of the water column will be the first affected by the spill. The effect on the plankton would then trickle down to the bluefin tuna and other species in the complex ecosystem of the gulf, Comyns said.
Students taking classes over the summer are being affected by the spill as well. Melanie Mituta and Chloe Nichols, students studying marine mammals at the GCRL, said they missed out on an overnight trip as a result of the oil spill. The trip was to see some of the offshore marine life, such as whales.
“We can only really see dolphins near shore,” said Mitatu.
With finals only a day away, the girls were busy studying in the dining hall on campus. Their classes have not been affected, but the girls joked about their careers possibly suffering.
“We’re probably screwed for the next 20 years,” Nichols said.
As far as the magnitude of the effects of the spill, Hawkins said there is no way to tell until the oil stops flowing.
Hawkins feels that some good can come from the spill, however, even though it will undoubtedly have profound negative effects for years to come.
“We weren’t prepared for something of this magnitude,” Hawkins said. “Next time we will be.”