Underwater Blizzards (Gulf Dispatches)

The Gulf of Mexico contains a dazzling array of tiny animals including bacteria, algae, and jellyfish. When they die, they mix with decaying plant material and fecal matter to form white fluffy bits that slowly fall toward the seafloor. This phenomenon is known as “marine snow” and it forms the food web for the deep ocean.

After the Deepwater Horizon spill, wherever the currents took the oil, gently falling marine snow suddenly turned into a blizzard as it mixed with oil and dispersants. The seafloor was covered with an area of oiled sediments the size of Delaware. Research scientists at Texas A&M University in Galveston are investigating the interaction between marine snow, oil, and dispersants. Their first challenge was to create marine snow in the laboratory.

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Dispatches from the Gulf is a multimedia initiative featuring documentaries, short videos, and podcasts that examine science, innovation, community, and recovery in the Gulf of Mexico in the years after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
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Funding was provided by a generous grant from GoMRI — scientists investigating impacts of oil and dispersants on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.
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Dispatches is part of the award-winning “Journey to Planet Earth” documentary series that helps viewers understand and cope with the most important environmental issues of the 21st century.