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Gulf Integrated Spill Research Consortium

Jim Ledwell was Chief Scientist on three cruises (G02, G03, G05) in the Gulf of Mexico, as a participant among the research group for the Gulf Integrated Spill Response Consortium (GISR). The lead institution for GISR was Texas A&M University (TAMU).

GISR Cruise G02

G02 took place 30 July to 9 August 2012, from Pensacola to Pensacola, Florida, on the R/V Brooks McCall. The objectives of the first leg of the cruise were to deploy a tracer, 16.8 kg of trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride (CF3SF3), and RAFOS floats on a surface of constant density at approximately 1100 m depth within the GISR mooring array deployed along the continental slope to the east of the Mississippi canyon. The objectives of the second leg of the cruise were to sample the early distribution of the tracer for the initial conditions of a one-year study of dispersion of a passive tracer released in deep water near the north-central boundary of the Gulf of Mexico.

Dispersion of the tracer is to be compared with realistic numerical simulations of the circulation of the Gulf. Such simulations will help in responding to accidental petroleum releases in the deep waters of the Gulf.

GISR Cruise G03

G03 took place 28 November to 20 December 2012, from Cocodrie to Cocodrie, Lousiana, on the R/V Pelican. The objectives were to locate and sample the tracer (CF3SF3) that was released during GISR Cruise G02, and to survey hydrography and chemistry of the north-central Gulf of Mexico.

The movement of the tracer patch is to provide an example of the circulation of the northern Gulf for comparison with numerical simulations of that circulation and subsequent improvement of the models.

GISR Cruise G05

Jim Ledwell conducted his third tracer cruise (GISR G05) from 31 July to 27 August 2013, from Cocodrie to Cocodrie, Lousiana, aboard the R/V Pelican. The science crew searched for the tracer trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride (CF3SF3) released on the G02 cruise in 2012 and collected samples for analysis, including oxygen, salinity, temperature, chlorophyll, and nutrients.

Information

Funding for the GISR Consortium is provided by British Petroleum through the Gulf of Mexico Research Institute (GoMRI) and is administered by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.