The Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal published an interactive tool featuring maps and graphics showing where Deepwater Horizon oil traveled. The story map also includes locations for where responders applied chemical dispersants on the Gulf’s surface and other sources where oil enters the Gulf, such as offshore oil and gas platforms and natural seeps.
Try out the story map Where Did the Oil Go in the Gulf of Mexico? Ocean Portal developed this research-based tool using data from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Response Management Applications (ERMA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and others.
Learn more about the oil spill and how it traveled:
- The Anatomy of an Oil Spill: Smithsonian Releases New Oil Spill Science in the Gulf Infographic
- Where did the Oil Go? A Deepwater Horizon Fact Sheet
- Deepwater Horizon – Where did the oil go? (8 page bulletin)
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GoMRI and the Smithsonian have a partnership to enhance oil spill science content on the Ocean Portal website.
This research was made possible in part by a grant from BP/The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) to the Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf 2 (ECOGIG 2) consortium, the Florida Institute of Technology, and to the Center for the Integrated Modeling and Analysis of Gulf Ecosystems II (C-IMAGE II).
The GoMRI is a 10-year independent research program established to study the effect, and the potential associated impact, of hydrocarbon releases on the environment and public health, as well as to develop improved spill mitigation, oil detection, characterization and remediation technologies. An independent and academic 20-member Research Board makes the funding and research direction decisions to ensure the intellectual quality, effectiveness and academic independence of the GoMRI research. All research data, findings and publications will be made publicly available. The program was established through a $500 million financial commitment from BP. For more information, visit https://gulfresearchinitiative.org/.
© Copyright 2010- 2018 Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) – All Rights Reserved. Redistribution is encouraged with acknowledgement to the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI). Please credit images and/or videos as done in each article. Questions? Contact web-content editor Nilde “Maggie” Dannreuther, Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi State University (maggied@ngi.msstate.edu).