The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative From Response to Coordinated Research Consortium for Ocean Leadership Policy Forum March 7 2012 Margaret Leinen Vice-Chair, GoMRI
Deepwater Horizon Credit: US Chemical Safety Board
Origin The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative was announced by BP in May 2010 BP pledged $500M in research funding to be administered using a peer-reviewed process over a 10 year period under the independent management of a Research Board BP announced the first six members of the Research Board, chaired by Rita Colwell, in May 2010 The Research Board was subsequently expanded to 20 members with 10 members being appointed by BP and 10 members appointed by the Governors of the 5 Gulf States.
Mission The mission of Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) is to implement an independent research program that will (1) Study the effects of the Deepwater Horizon incident and the potential associated impact of this and similar incidents on the environment and public health and (2) Develop improvements for spill mitigation, oil detection and characterization, and advanced remediation technologies.
Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Research Themes 1. Physical distribution and ultimate fate of contaminants associated with the Deepwater Horizon incident 2. Chemical evolution and biological degradation of the contaminants 3. Environmental effects of the contaminants on Gulf of Mexico ecosystems, and the science of ecosystem recovery 4. Technology developments for improved detection, characterization, mitigation, and remediation of offshore oil spills 5. Impacts of oil spills on public health
Research Board • Rita Colwell – UMD & JHU • Jürgen Rullkötter – University of – Chair Oldenburg, Germany • Margaret Leinen – FAU • David Shaw – MSU – Vice Chair • John Shepherd – University of • Debra Benoit – Nicholls State U Southampton, UK • Peter Brewer – MBARI • Bob Shipp – U South Alabama • Richard Dodge – NOVA SE U • Burton Singer – U Florida • John Farrington – WHOI • Ciro Sumaya – Texas A&M • Kenneth Halanych – Auburn • Dennis Wiesenburg – USM • David Halpern – NASA • Charles Wilson – LSU • William Hogarth – FIO • Dana Yoerger – WHOI • Jörg Imberger – U Western • Michael Carron – GOMA Australia, Australia – Ex Officio • Raymond Orbach – UT-Austin
Scientific Integrity • GoMRI uses National Science Board peer evaluation protocols to select funded research • Independent reviews by scientific peers not affiliated with institutions who propose projects or with BP to avoid conflict of interest in the selection of funded research • All reviewers sign conflict of interest and non-disclosure statements • BP has no role in the peer-review process or selection of awardees • Individual researchers will comply with professional standards as defined by the National Academies of Science • All GoMRI-funded researchers conduct independent and objective work with no influence from BP • Researchers independently publish their results in peer-reviewed scientific journals with no requirement for BP approval
Year One Block Grants • To allow rapid research response $45M was provided directly from BP to the Gulf States and to the National Institutes of Health to establish critical baseline data as the foundation for subsequent research • Block grant recipients included : – Louisiana State University – Florida Institute of Oceanography – Northern Gulf Institute – Alabama Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium – National Institutes of Health
• Alabama State • Mississippi State University • University of Mississippi • Auburn • Mote Marine Lab • University of New Orleans • Dauphin Island Sea Lab • National Institutes of Health • University of South Alabama • Florida A&M • Nova Southeastern • University of South Florida University • Florida Atlantic • U. of Southern Mississippi • Samford University • Florida Gulf Coast University • University of West Alabama • Troy University • Florida Institute of • University of West Florida Technology • Tuskegee University • Florida International • University of Alabama • 33 institutions total University • U. Alabama at Birmingham • Florida State University • U. Alabama at Huntsville • Harte Research Institute • U. Alabama at Tuscaloosa • Jackson State University • University of Central Florida • Jacksonville State University • University of Florida • Louisiana State University • University of Miami .
RFP-III (Summer Sampling) To ensure continuity of observations and sampling while the peer-review of consortium proposals was underway, $1.5 million in grants were issued in June 2011 to the following institutions through our peer-reviewed process: • University of South Florida • University of Louisiana at Lafayette • Johns Hopkins University • Texas AgriLife Research • Auburn University • Dauphin Island Sea Lab • University of Georgia Research Foundation • Florida State University • Texas Tech University • Mississippi State University • University of Southern • Louisiana State University Mississippi • Woods Hole Oceanographic • LSU Agriculture Center Institute
WHOI Johns Hopkins GA Research Foundation Texas Tech MSU Auburn USM LSU FSU Texas AgriLife DISL ULL USF Tulane
RFP-I (Consortia) • RFP released in April 2011 for proposals from consortia of four or more institutions for interdisciplinary approaches to the research themes over 3 years • 76 proposals received proposing more than $500M • $112.5M awarded August 2011 to 8 consortia over 3 years • Consortia represent 96 academic and research institutions from 24 states and three foreign countries • Awards included cruise-intensive research, modeling- intensive research, field-intensive and lab/technology intensive research
Yr-1, RFP-I and RFP-III
GoMRI Funds Awarded as of December 31, 2011
RFP-II (PI-based) • RFP – II released in December 2011 • Single projects with up to 3 co- investigators • $100,000 – $1,000,000 each • $7.5M/year for 3 years • 630 Letters of Intent received • Proposal deadline is March 8
Data Management Policy Guiding Principles • Timely submission of data and model outputs by RC and Principal Investigators (PIs) to the GoMRI “Research Database” • Timely submission of data to existing national repositories • Data, results, and ancillary information are made fully accessible to the public with minimum time delay • Use of existing data standards and management systems as much as practicable • Ensure data interoperability to the greatest extent possible • Employ best practices for data policy and data management as elucidated by NSF and NOAA or other agency appropriate for the topic of study • A strong commitment to data management by each RC and participating PI
GoMRI Annual Meeting • Jan 21 – 25, 2013 • New Orleans Marriott • NSF, NIH, NOAA participating • Call for papers April 2012
RFP-I (Consortia) • The Impact of Biological, Physical and Chemical Processes on the Fate of Oil Spills – Bridging Small-Scale Processes with Meso-Scale Modeling – University of Texas at Austin - Marine Science Institute • Gulf of Mexico Integrated Spill Response Consortium – Texas A&M University at College Station • Deepsea to Coast Connectivity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico – Florida State University • The Effects of the Macondo Oil Spill on Coastal Ecosystems – Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium
RFP-I (Consortia) • Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of the Gulf Ecosystems – University of South Florida • Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbons in the Environment – University of Miami • The Science and Technology of Dispersants as Relevant to Deep-Sea Oil Releases – Tulane University • Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf – University of Mississippi
The Impact of Biological, Physical and Chemical Processes on the Fate of Oil Spills – bridging small scale processes with meso-scale modeling (DROPPS) Clarkson Lead Investigator: Edward J. Buskey Minnesota Wisconsin PENN Increasing velocity JHU SINTEF, Norway U. Texas
Gulf of Mexico Integrated Spill Response Consortium (GISR) Lead Investigator: Piers Chapman, Ph.D. MIT WHOI Berkeley Maryland Stanford NC State GIT UT Austin TAMU Hawaii Manoa
Deepsea to Coast Connectivity in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Deep-C) Lead Investigator: Eric Chassignet, FSU WHOI SAIC Norwegian Meteorological Institute GIT West Florida NRL FSU FIO Dauphin USF Island Sea Lab Miami
The Effects of the Macondo Oil Spill on Coastal Ecosystems Lead Investigator: Nancy N. Rabalais, LUMCON WHOI Connecticut College BYU Rutgers Maryland VIMS Tennessee UNC LSU Ag LSU Lafayette Florida Gulf Coast LUMCON
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