MRI RAPID: Acquisition of an Integrated Detection and Oil Sampling Array in Louisiana Estuaries

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This Major Research Instrumentation award to the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) funds the acquisition of an automated water sampling array to enhance the scientific response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and its effects on coastal ecosystems in Louisiana. The array consists of six automated telemetry capable ISCO water samplers with data loggers that are fully integrated with YSI sondes and Turner Designs Cyclops Oil Fluorometers. The combination of sensors with the water samplers permits automated sample triggering when oil fluorescence increases above a programmed threshold. The remote sampling will allow better temporal and spatial resolution as to when the estuarine environments are impacted and the short and long term impacts of the oil on ecosystem processes that range from biogeochemical cycling to composition and distribution of phytoplankton, zooplankton and larvae that reside in these critical coastal ecosystems. An expected result of this investment, through the NSF-RAPID mechanism, is timely and critical information to inform policy and remediation efforts in response to the oil spill. The sensor array will also be incorporated into the LUMCON educational activities. Results from the studies will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journal publications, though participation at regional and national scientific meetings and through planned regional outreach meetings with affected citizens.