Oil Spills
Mauritius incident was world’s first major spill of very low sulfur fuel oil
“When we analyzed several other Low Sulfur Fuel Oils, we found some contained higher concentrations of toxic components than the oil discharged in the Mauritius spill, so more research will be needed before we can conclude that all the oil types within this new class pose less of a threat to marine ecosystems than heavy fuel oils.”
Decoding Marine Oil Spills Requires Slick Detective Work
It turns out the business of solving who may have dumped something bad into the ocean in two recent local incidents is much like solving any big crime – it takes good detective work.
A Rusting Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Yemen Is an Environmental Catastrophe Waiting to Happen. Can Anyone Prevent It?
Viviane Menezes, a marine scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, has described the Red Sea as being like a “big lagoon” with “everything connected.” An oil spill at any time of year would be disastrous, she says, but seasonally variable weather and tidal patterns make contingency planning difficult. In the summer, Red Sea currents would drag an oil slick south, threatening Eritrea and Djibouti, and potentially entering the Gulf of Aden. In winter, circular currents would swirl more of the oil north.
Oil spill response beneath the ice
Successful test deployment of WHOI vehicle Polaris expands U.S. Coast Guard response to oil spills in the Arctic
Read MoreIf there is an oil spill tomorrow, will we be ready? Woods Hole engineer says yes
WHOI worked with the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday on how deploying the robot would work and to test retrieving it with a helicopter.
WHOI scientist shares her perspective on ‘imminent’ oil spill in the Red Sea
As a major oil spill looms in the Red Sea, a WHOI physical oceanographer shares her insights on where the oil might go.
Read MoreBiology Department Virtual Seminar: The Biological Basis for Remote Sensing of Oil Spill Impacts to Fish Populations
John Incardona, NOAA Sponsored by: Biology Department This will be held virtually. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85981238770 Meeting ID: 859 8123…
Read MoreMauritius oil spill: questions mount over ship fuel safety
Researchers discover an immense hydrocarbon cycle in the world’s ocean
Hydrocarbons and petroleum are almost synonymous in environmental science. After all, oil reserves account for nearly all the hydrocarbons we encounter. But the few hydrocarbons that trace their origin to biological sources may play a larger ecological role than scientists originally suspected.
Shipping-Gate Explained: How The Global Ship Fuel Scandal Came About
So until now (four months later), there has been no detailed oil fingerprinting conducted aside from a ten day old sample that some of the world’s leading oil spill scientists at U.S.-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution had conducted.
Shipping-Gate: Why Toxic VLSFO Fuel Is Such A Danger For Global Shipping
This chemical signature also reveals what would happen if that oil was ever leaked into the natural environment or made contact with humans. A process known as Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) is what is used, as the U.S. laboratory WHOI is internationally renowned for.
A checkup for the oceans reveals threats to human health
The health of the world’s ocean is in serious decline—and human health is suffering as a result. A comprehensive report from the Monaco Commission and co-authored by several WHOI researchers investigates the impacts of ocean pollution and recommends actions to safeguard human health.
Read MoreMauritius oil spill: fears for island’s marine life after initial tests fail to resolve fuel mystery
Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) said the first ultra-high-resolution analysis of an oil sample from the Mauritius spill revealed the substance to be “a complex and unusual mix of hydrocarbons.”
First Detailed Oil Sample Analysis Completed from Mauritius Oil Spill
When the Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio struck a coral reef off the coast of Mauritius on July 25, 2020, and began leaking fuel oil two weeks later, local residents and the international community sprang into action to protect the pristine habitats that fringe the Indian Ocean nation.
Read MoreWhat did we learn from the Deepwater Horizon disaster?
All existing tests on the efficacy of dispersants had been conducted on the surface of water, says Elizabeth Kujawinski, a chemical oceanographer at WHOI. There was no guarantee that they would perform the same way in the crushing depths of the ocean.
Don’t assume the worst about the Mauritius oil spill
Opinion piece written by WHOI chemist and oil spill expert Chris Reddy
As if Yemen Needed More Woes, a Decrepit Oil Tanker Threatens Disaster
The task at hand is to keep a bad situation from getting worse, said Christopher M. Reddy, a marine scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “We have a problem, it has a potential for harm, so how do we do it to create the least amount of damage?” he said.
Scientists Discover A New Material For Cleaning Up Oil Spills
In the middle of a battle like an oil spill, you want to have a very predictable material that is easily deployed and creates no uncertainty, says Chris Reddy, at WHOI. And these natural products carry just a lot more uncertainty. Despite this uncertainty, he says, maybe hair can teach us how to make better materials. And Georgia Tech’s David Hu says the study made him look at hair differently.
MC&G Department Virtual Seminar: Is Soybean Oil Part of a Potential Solution for Solving Eutrophication of Cape Cod Estuaries? and Not Normal and Mutated: Science in a Time of Crisis
Matt Charette, WHOI & Chris Reddy, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department This will be held virtually over Webex. Event address…
Read More1969 Fuel Barge Florida
Location: Buzzards Bay, off West Falmouth, Mass. Date: September 16, 1969 Lat./Long.: 41°35’57.60″N, 70°41’47.88″W Material spilled: No. 2 fuel oil Amount spilled: 189,000…
Read More1975 Oil Barge Bouchard 65
Location: Buzzards Bay, near Cape Cod Canal Date: October 9, 1974 Lat./Long.: 41°37’58.10″N, 70°43’59.09″W Material spilled: Diesel fuel Amount spilled: 11,000 to 37,000…
Read More1976 M/V Argo Merchant
Location: 29 miles southeast of Nantucket Island Date: December 15, 1976 Lat./Long.: 41°1’58.8″N, 69° 27’0″W Material spilled: No. 6 Fuel Oil and…
Read More1979 Ixtoc I Oil Well
Location: Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico Date: June 3, 1979 to March 23, 1980 Lat./Long.: 19°24’29.42″N, 92°19’36.64″W Material spilled: Crude oil…
Read More1989 Supertanker Exxon Valdez
Location: Prince William Sound, Alaska Date: March 23, 1989 Lat./Long.: 60°34’23.53″N, 147°17’9.94″W Material spilled: North Slope crude oil Amount spilled: 10.8 million gallons…
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