At a critical moment in the effort to end one of the world’s worst oil spills, one scientist holed up in his office and pulled an all-nighter to calculate the well’s aquifer support.
oil spills
Posted inNews
Oil-Exposed Mahi-Mahi More Likely to Lose Oil-Avoidance Behavior
Contact with oil may make it harder for the fish to avoid additional exposure, creating a vicious cycle following offshore oil spills.
Posted inNews
Keystone Pipeline Spills 9,120 Barrels of Oil in Dakota Wetlands
The leak took place along a preexisting section of the Keystone Pipeline. This is the pipeline’s fourth spill in 9 years.
Posted inNews
Brazil’s Oil Spill Is a Mystery, so Scientists Try Oil Forensics
Thousands of barrels of oil have been tarring Brazil’s beaches since September, and no one knows why. An oil spill scientist is running oil forensics to find out.
Posted inNews
Oil Spill Response Knowledge Grows, but New Risks Emerge
Oil spill expert Nancy Kinner discusses lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon, dangers of aging infrastructure and atomized dispersants, and a Russian plan that imperils Arctic waters.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Spills, Sediment, and Shoreline Contamination
A recent paper in Reviews of Geophysics describes the formation and behavior of oil-sediment residues in marine and coastal environments following an oil spill.
Posted inNews
Deepwater Horizon Dispersant Cleared the Air, New Model Shows
A simulation of oil and gas leakage during the Deepwater Horizon disaster finds that the main chemical dispersant used improved air quality for emergency responders.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Oil Residues Accelerate Coastal Wetland Losses
Coastal wetland loss after an oil spill can be more extensive than after a hurricane.
Posted inNews
Soil Bacteria Could Help Absorb Natural Gas Leaks
For the first time, new research examines the response of terrestrial soil microbes to a massive natural gas blowout and offers hope for new remediation strategies.
Posted inNews
Deepwater Horizon Oil Lingered and Sank, Stuck to "Marine Snow"
A new study may explain how supposedly buoyant oil from the huge 2010 oil spill coated corals and other organisms on the ocean floor.