USF Marine Scientists Respond to Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Source: USF Channel and YouTube

The University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science was one of the “first responders” to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. From the first day of the blowout, the college’s scientists, researchers, staff and graduate students have been involved in tracking the spill and assessing its environmental impact. The college, located in St. Petersburg, Fla., continues to be involved analyzing and assessing the spill’s impact.
In this video you hear from the scientists who raced to the Gulf to collect water and oil samples and who helped predict where the oil was moving with ocean currents and wind. You also hear from the team that found the sub surface oil. Interviews include David Hollander (Associate Professor in Chemical Oceanography), John H. Paul (Distinguished University Professor in Biological Oceanography), Robert H. Weisberg (Distinguished University Professor in Physical Oceanography), Ernst B. Peebles (Associate Professor in Biological Oceanography) and William Hogarth, the Dean of the College from 2008-2010. We also hear from two graduate students who worked on the oil spill research, Greg Ellis and Kara Radabaugh.

The video also shows the College’s state of the art research vessel R/V Weatherbird II, which was has been with the college since February 2009. The 115-foot, 194-ton vessel has since become one of the nation’s most storied research vessels after its repeated voyages to carry out scientific missions in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill catastrophe.

The Weatherbird II is equipped with advanced laboratories, oceanographic devices and sensor technology designed to enable scientists and students to study and learn about various aspects of the ocean’s biological, chemical, geological and physical characteristics. Researchers use the vessel to support advanced studies on myriad of complex issues impacting global and coastal oceans, as well as life in the sea.