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Exploring the USS Arizona

November 20, 2018

In July 2018, WHOI chemist Chris Reddy traveled to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to collect oil samples from surface sheens near the USS Arizona, which has been leaking oil since it sank during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. It was a rare opportunity to collect samples of the previously unexplored oil in the harbor. Reddy and colleagues will analyze the samples to help pinpoint the sources from the ship’s tanks, which may help inform plans to abate or diminish leaks in the future. The samples will also help scientists understand how the oil changes once it flows from the ship into the ocean. (Photo courtesy of Chris Reddy, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)