The Loop, C-IMAGE Research

David Levin
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The Loop takes a deep dive into the Gulf of Mexico with the researchers studying the processes, mechanisms, and impacts of oil spills. The Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of Gulf Ecosystems (C-IMAGE) is an international research group studying mud, microbes and mammals after two mega spills, and . Researchers from C-IMAGE discuss their studies with David Levin of Mind Open Media. The goal of C-IMAGE is to advance understanding of the fundamental processes and mechanisms of marine blowouts and their consequences, ensuring that society is better-prepared to mitigate future events. C-IMAGE research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.

  1. 02/01/2019

    For a few dollars more: costs and ecosystem services after spills - Episode 13

    Ecosystem services are benefits the environment provides to humans. Oil spills harm the environment and these services, like preventing marshlands from naturally dispersing storm surges. Measuring the cost of these services, economists are polling households asking how much someone would pay to prevent a spill or keep their marshlands protected. These estimates should be considered a factor when assessing the full economic damage of a spill, and how much someone is willing to pay to prevent them in the future.

    8 min

  2. 02/01/2019

    MTS TechSurge - Episode 12

    In February 2018, a pair of unrelated science conferences were hosted in New Orleans, LA during the same week: Underwater Intervention and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Sciences Conference. This coincidence provided the opportunity for a Marine Technology Society TechSurge workshop to bring engineers and oil spill researchers together to discuss common problems and future efforts between the groups.

    6 min

  3. 12/20/2017

    The Cuban Connection: Spills & Science Diplomacy - Episode 11

    C-IMAGE collaborated with researchers from the University of Havana for the first join U.S.-Cuban expedition in over 50 years. This 2017 expedition invited students and researchers from the University of Havana-Centro de Investigaciones Marinas to partner with C-IMAGE as part of the OneGulf expeditions.

    7 min

  4. 02/03/2017

    The Risks for Fish - Episode 10

    When when an oil spill occurs, it's extremly hard to figure out which major commercial fish species are at risk. A team of scientists at the Mote Marine Laboratory hope to find out, however. At a facility 20 miles inland from the coast of Florida, they're growing adult fish—some of which are up to four feet long—in a series of huge tanks, and are slowly exposing them to oil. They're hoping their experients will show them how various species are affected by oil, both in the short term and the long term. If chemicals in oil affect their genes or their breeding, they say, the future of those species could be at risk.

    8 min

  5. 01/09/2017

    Mapping Oil Spills by Satellite - Episode 9

    In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the biggest environmental disaster ever to hit the Gulf of Mexico. It broke all records – including one set by the Ixtoc I, a 1979 spill off the Mexican coast that lasted nine months. Today, a joint team of US and Mexican researchers that are revisiting Ixtoc. They want to find out how, and if, the environment near the spill has recovered – which will give them a glimpse of how the area near Deepwater Horizon might look in the future. Their first step: some digital archaeology—dusting off satellite data from the late 70s.

    10 min

  6. 01/31/2016

    Return to Ixtoc - Episode 8

    For the first time in 35 years, Mexican and American scientists are collaborating to study the 1979 Ixtoc I spill, the second largest oil spill to hit the Gulf of Mexico (it was eclipsed in 2010 by the Deepwater Horizon disaster). Together, the international team is collecting samples of sediments and tiny aquatic animals aboard the R/V Justo Sierra, the Mexican national oceanographic research ship—and what they learn on this cruise might help them understand how major spills will affect the Gulf decades after they happen.

    9 min

  7. 01/30/2016

    The Gulf's Big Blowout - Episode 7

    The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a recent memory for most, although scientists are studying its impact on the Gulf, predicting how it might affect the region decades from now is a challenge. One team of resarchers, however, thinks it might be possible to predict its future impact by studying another major spill – one that happened 35 years ago.

    8 min

  8. 02/18/2014

    Dispersants and New Solutions - Episode 6

    Microbiologist Rudi Müller says that after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a large amount oil may have been eaten by bacteria—and those little critters could offer clues to new methods of cleaning up oil spills in the future. In his lab in Hamburg, Germany, Müller is growing these bacteria in metal tanks under extreme pressure, trying to simulate the conditions on the ocean floor at the site of the Deepwater Horizon blowout. Why? Find out in this episode.

    7 min
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About

The Loop takes a deep dive into the Gulf of Mexico with the researchers studying the processes, mechanisms, and impacts of oil spills. The Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of Gulf Ecosystems (C-IMAGE) is an international research group studying mud, microbes and mammals after two mega spills, and . Researchers from C-IMAGE discuss their studies with David Levin of Mind Open Media. The goal of C-IMAGE is to advance understanding of the fundamental processes and mechanisms of marine blowouts and their consequences, ensuring that society is better-prepared to mitigate future events. C-IMAGE research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.

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