RAPID Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Deep pelagic and benthic impacts of the oil spill

智力优势。沉积物微生物介导的过程能够氧化环境中的石油和甲烷。PI将检查深水地平线石油泄漏（以下简称BP泄漏）对泄漏现场附近深水沃茨和沉积物中微生物介导过程的影响。这是一次前所未有的石油泄漏，必须清楚地了解其对墨西哥湾沃茨和沉积物中微生物过程的影响。这项工作将补充几个资助或计划的地球化学和微生物取样计划，重点是石油泄漏的反应。他们将评估泄漏现场周围多个地点的水柱甲烷氧化率、沉积物硫酸盐还原率和甲烷生成率。其他实验将量化营养物质，氧气和底物浓度对这些重要的微生物介导的过程的影响。更广泛的影响：这项工作将阐明深水沃茨和沉积物中微生物过程对深水地平线泄漏的反应。该项目将支持一名博士后助理（女性，西班牙裔）和一名本科生（女性，非洲裔美国人）。拟议的工作是由NOAA资助的杠杆，这将使我们能够扩大研究地点的数量和采样巡航的数量。将建立一个网站，突出我们的工作，并向科学界的其他人和公众传达我们的成果。

Intellectual Merit. Sediment microbial mediated processes are capable of oxidizing oil and methane in the environment. The PI's will examine the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (hereafter BP spill) on microbially mediated processes in the deep waters and sediments in the vicinity of the spill site. This is an unprecedented oil spill and it is essential to obtain a clear understanding of its impacts on microbial processes in the waters and sediments of the Gulf of Mexico. The work will complement several funded or planned geochemical and microbiological sampling programs focused on the oil spill response. They will evaluate rates of water column methane oxidation and sediment sulfate reduction and methanogenesis at multiple sites around the spill site. Additional experiments will quantify the impact of nutrients, oxygen and substrate concentrations on these important microbially mediated processes. Broader Impacts: This work will clarify the response of microbial processes in deep waters and sediments to the Deepwater Horizon spill. The project will support a post doctoral associate (female, Hispanic) and an undergraduate student (female, African American). The proposed work is leveraged by NOAA funding which will permit us to expand the number of study sites and number of sampling cruises. A web site will be developed to highlight our work and convey our results to the others in the scientific community as well as to the public.