Perplexing physics of oil dispersants

Scientist and author M. Mitchell Waldrop accompanied researchers, funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, who were conducting the largest experimental simulation to-date of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil intrusion. Researchers are hoping to provide solid science on the dispersant(s) effectiveness in the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon. The June 2018 experiment took place at the New Jersey-based Ohmsett facility, which was designed for testing oil cleanup methods. Researchers are investigating still unknown factors regarding dispersant effectiveness, specifically the first-time-ever deep-sea injection of dispersants during the spill. Researchers discovered through lab experiments and computer modeling that a closer-to-true-scale experiment mimicking conditions during the oil spill is what was needed to get more complete answers. In the 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' (PNAS) feature, entitled The perplexing physics of oil dispersants, Waldrop captures the increasingly complex cascade of questions, answers, and more questions as scientists grappled with underlying physical and chemical processes involved with the use of sub-surface chemical dispersants. (Source: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative 07/18/19)