WOODS HOLE, Mass., June 15 (UPI) -- Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution say they've formed a consortium with two Louisiana institutions to study the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
WHOI officials say they have joined with Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium to determine the myriad impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil discharge and to devise and implement possible solutions to the disaster.
The three institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding forming a consortium called the Gulf Oil Research Program.
"The purpose of the consortium is to work cooperatively to plan, secure funding for, execute and report on a program of scientific research to describe and quantify the effects of the oil spill on varied environments, communities and species in the affected region, and to develop and implement remediations where feasible," the memorandum said. "Effects of the discharged oil and dispersant chemicals are expected to be widespread and long lasting in many environments of the Gulf of Mexico, including deep sea benthos and water column, sub-tidal benthos, coastal marshes and beaches, with significant economic impacts to fisheries, tourism and coastal development."
The memorandum will be in effect for an initial term of three years.
