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Taking a Dip

January 4, 2013

In October 2012, WHOI research specialist Bob Nelson used a piece of super-clean Teflon netting to sample a sheen of oil on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. The sheen appeared near the site of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, raising concerns that the well or its containment structure might be leaking. Nelson, WHOI chemist Chris Reddy, and Dave Valentine of the University of California-Santa Barbara made a quick trip to the Gulf to collect samples for later analysis at WHOI that could determine the source of the oil. The team, whose work is sponsored by the DEEP-C consortium, returned to the site in December to take further samples.(Photo courtesy of Chris Reddy, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)