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Masked Researchers

March 14, 2018

At times during the Deepwater Horizon crisis, WHOI researchers had to take safety precautions. From left, WHOI’s Sean Sylva, Chris Reddy, and Rich Camilli, and U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jarrett Parker donned respirators and small orange badges to monitor air quality. Their mission was to collect a crucial sample of oil directly from the gushing broken riser pipe nearly a mile deep and to map a plume of hydrocarbons flowing in the deep ocean. In a 2017 study, Reddy and colleagues found that chemical dispersants released during the spill dramatically improved the air quality and presumably allowed responders to continue cleanup efforts. (Photo by Cameron McIntyre, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)