RV WEATHERBIRD

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RV WEATHERBIRD 652213

Researchers from the University of South Florida aboard the "Weatherbird II" departed for a research expedition to areas impacted by the "Deepwater Horizon" spill on Aug 6, 2010. They went 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. The researchers this time will primarily study the effect of oil on the plankton and microscopic organisms. They'll also be looking for signs of dispersants and for oil in the sand. Scientists will then compare their findings to previous research during a late May mission in the same area and a July mission.