The Gulf Sea Grant programs (Florida, Mississippi-Alabama, Louisiana and Texas) are hosting an oil spill science seminar titled, “Navigating Shifting Sands.” The seminar will take place Wednesday, August 5, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the J. Earle Bowden Building located at 120 Church St. in Pensacola. The seminar is free and open to the public.
In this seminar, scientists will be sharing their work to answer lingering questions about oil that washed up on Alabama and Florida beaches during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Speakers will include:
- Scott Zengel, Research Planning Inc. – What happened during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?
- Joel Hayworth, Auburn University – How did the oil spill impact beaches?
- Patricia (Soupy) Dalyander, U.S. Geological Survey – How does oil found off of our beaches move around?
- Prabhakar Clement, Auburn University – How do we know where the oil is from and how long will it take to break down?
- Patricia Sobecky, University of Alabama – What microbes are on tar balls?
- Markus Huettel, Florida State University – What is the fate of oil buried in Pensacola Beach sands?
There will also be a short facilitated discussion to determine what questions are still unknown and to identify future research priorities. The results of the discussion will be shared with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, which is investing $500 million in oil spill-related research over a 10-year period.
To register:
If you would like to attend this seminar, it is free and open to the public. We encourage you to reserve a seat by registering at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/shiftingsands.
Sea Grant is organizing and leading the seminar as part of the new Oil Spill Outreach Science Program: https://gulfseagrant.wordpress.com/oilspilloutreach/. If you have any questions about this seminar, please contact Larissa Graham with Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant at Larissa.Graham@auburn.edu or 251-348-5436.
Download the event flyer: Oil Spill Science Seminar: Navigating Shifting Sands
