$125M Gulf Loop study needed

A better understanding of the deep-water Loop Current System of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) that had contributed to the rapid intensification of hurricanes Katrina and Ike will require a 10-year international research effort costing about $125M, according to a Jan. 3 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The academies will begin part of the research effort that is to include forecasting improvements for hurricane intensification. The report is available online at the Academies website. The current is a river of warm water, some 3,200 feet, which flows from the Caribbean Sea into the GoM through the Yucatan Channel. The system was also responsible for a two-year delay in the installation of Chevron's $4B Big Foot deep-water platform (about 225 miles south of New Orleans in the GoM). The study program will be partially funded by the Gulf Research Program, which is underwritten by $500M paid by BP and its drilling partners as part of Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlements. Recommendations are intended to guide future funding. (Source: NOLA.com 01/03/18) A webinar about the report, and GRP funding opportunities, is slated for 2 p.m. (CT) on Jan. 18. Updates about the program are available online at www.nas.edu/gulf/enews.