USF research vessel to study effects of oil spill on ecosystem

ST. PETERSBURG – Researchers from the University of South Florida prepared to depart Friday on another research expedition to areas impacted by the Deepwater Horizon spill.

The research vessel Weatherbird II will go on a 10-day journey to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Researchers will return to the same area that USF scientists discovered clouds of degraded oil in the depths of the gulf. Those clouds were later scientifically established to be the results of the well blowout.

Researchers said this time, they will primarily study the effect of oil on the smallest members of the food stream — plankton and microscopic organisms. They'll also be looking for signs of dispersants and for oil in the sand.

"This is probably the first comprehensive study of this magnitude," College Dean Bill Hogarth said as crew members.

Scientists will investigate the British Petroleum oil spill's impact on the ecosystem in the area, focusing on plankton and microscopic organisms on the lower end of the food web. Scientists will then compare their findings to previous research during the late May mission in the same area and the July mission on the west Florida shelf.

It's hard for people to understand what the impact is on the ocean ecosystem because it's out of sight, said USF oceanographer Kendra Daly.

"We can certainly tell when there's an oil spill on land," she said. "But we can't see below the sea surface."