Florida briefing on the oil spill

WASHINGTON - A Florida oceanographer told the state’s congressional delegation that research and science must be used to solve the crisis of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
 

Tuesday marks day 57 since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil well exploded and began spewing oil into the water.
Robert H. Weisberg, distinguished professor of physical oceanography at the University of South Florida, shared his research Tuesday with two Florida House members, 20 staff members and several reporters.
Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., set up the briefing.
 

“The solution will fall upon academic marine scientists and academic researchers, like Dr. Weisberg, to truly understand and analyze the impact of this horrendous disaster upon the Gulf Coast,” Castor said.
Rep. Gus Bilirakis R-Fla., agreed.
 

“It is clear that efforts to mitigate the effects of the spill would be bolstered if the administration would share its data with scientists, researchers and industries,” he said in an e-mail after the meeting.
Weisberg’s solution has three parts.
First, he said researchers need to gather more three-dimensional samples from the Loop Current-Florida Current-Gulf Stream system, where oil is gathering in deep-water systems.
 

“It is critical to look at the ocean in a 3-D way, which requires models and not just looking at the surface,” Weisberg said. “A disappointment I have is that we still don’t have reasonable mapping to show the subsurface oil, which is critical for agencies to map out.”

The next step involves using these models to predict how the oil will affect estuaries, which Weisberg said are “arguably the most productive and fragile of the ocean environments.”
He said it is important to form partnerships with other organizations to end the crisis.
 

“No group by themselves has the expertise to solve this crisis,” he said. “It really does require partnerships with groups like NOAA [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] and other agencies and private sectors.”
 

Finally, he explained how the Integrated Ocean Observing System needs to integrate with the Regional Coastal Ocean Observing Systems to receive funding and work regionally to solve the crisis.
 

By working regionally and predicting short-term forecasts, he said he hopes to see big improvements by the end of this summer.
“All we can do is make short-term forecasts with accuracy and make long-term forecasts using other information,” Weisberg said. “Unless there are researchers like me that have the tenacity and the desire to take initiative to do stuff like this, it’s not going to get changed.”