Ocean Alliance – Gulf of Mexico report from Iain Kerr

Hi Joey,
Its been too long since we have spoken.
We have been pretty busy at this end – moving business and home from Acton to Gloucester.  Good news to report is that we are now Gloucester residents.
I know that a lot of people follow the work we are doing at the Paint Factory but I am not sure how many people follow my real job – ocean research.
The Research vessel Odyssey is now on her 23rd day at sea for our 3rd summer expedition in the Gulf of Mexico looking at the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster on wildlife.
Every day the crew post logs on our website about the days happenings, these are more personal logs as against scientific but I think that they are good windows into life aboard a research vessel, the html is:   http://www.oceanalliance.org/category/home-page-blogs/
I have attached a photo of the Odyssey working in over 5,000 ft of water – with an oil rig right behind her.
I have also copied a bit more information about our work in the Gulf below if you think that it might be of interest to your readers.
Gulf of Mexico Odyssey Expedition Goals
·      Observe any chronic effects of the oil crisis on whales and the ecosystem
·      Collect biological samples from whales to determine a baseline of exposure to petroleum products, chemical dispersants and metals
·      Develop cell lines to determine impact of oil, chemical dispersants, mixed dispersant and oil, and metals on whale DNA
·      Collect samples from food chain, air and water to determine routes of exposure
·      Put Gulf sperm whales in global toxicological context with previous Odyssey Expedition data
Year 1 & 2 Gulf of Mexico Research Expedition Highlights

·      Ocean Alliance (OA) in partnership with the Wise Laboratory conducted two summer research expeditions in the Gulf of Mexico from aboard the Odyssey, our 93-foot, steel-hull ketch, equipped with a state of the art cell-culture laboratory.
·      More than 340 educational and scientific blogs posted on line by educators, scientists and crew from the ‘High Seas’
·      Over the 2010 & 2011 expedition, 132 whale biopsies from Humpback, fin, sperm, and Bryde’s whales were collected
·      130+ DNA, skin, and blubber samples were obtained from the whales
·      55 whale cell lines, grown from 3 whale species in year 2 – taking the total # of whale cell lines developed in 2 years to 88
·      We also collected 270 fish samples, 154 invertebrate samples, 14 dolphin blows, 200+ hours of acoustic recordings, 235 liters of seawater (from 2 depths) at 35 sites and 6.3 kilograms of sediment from 10 sites (one from 3,000 ft)
·      Established the first known culture of Bryde’s whale cells


·      Success in establishing critical baseline pollutant exposure data set for whales in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic

Outcomes
·      Scientific breakthroughs
§  First-ever mammalian cell culture laboratory on a sailboat—and possibly first at sea – 2 years in a row
§  Became first laboratory to culture whale cells at sea (88 cell lines developed from 3 species during 2010 & 2011 field season)
§  Became first laboratory to culture Bryde’s whale cells
·      Chronic toxicological exposure and impact evaluation initiated
§  Baseline exposure data samples collected
§  Baseline DNA damage assessment underway
§  Chemical dispersant, oil & metal toxicity testing begun
·      Ocean Alliance/USM marine toxicological research program established in field
§  Presence established as unique research program in Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic
§  Gulf of Mexico established as long-term ongoing toxicological research site
§  The Odyssey optimized as unique deepwater marine research platform for engaged student learning opportunities
All the best
Iain