The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has called for international, multi-institutional research, observation, and analysis of the Gulf of Mexico’s loop current system (LCS).
The position, strength, and structure of the gulf’s dominant ocean circulation feature has major implications for oil and gas operations, oil spill response, hurricane intensity, commercial fishing, tourism, and other aspects of the region’s economy, NASEM said in aJan. 3report.
The report identifies complementary research efforts, which would take nearly 10 years to prepare and cost $100-125 million. The research would provide critical information about the LCS to help promote safer offshore operations, better understand the gulf’s complex oceanographic systems, facilitate disaster response, help protect coastal communities, protect and manage ecological resources, and predict and forecast weather and climate impacts, it said.
The recommended research campaign is critical for more accurate predictions of the current’s path, the report noted.
A webinar about the report and the first NASEM Gulf Research Program funding opportunity related to it is scheduled for Jan. 18. The funding opportunity will open in early February and will focus on the report’s near-term recommendations, which address activities that can be started before extensive planning for the larger research campaign gets under way.
Contact Nick Snow at[email protected]
