BP-Sponsored Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Announces Availability of Research Funding
Research Board Requests Proposals to Establish Consortia to Study Effects of Deepwater Horizon on the Gulf of Mexico
Reporters contact: Dr. Robert Gropp
202-628-1500 x 250 or [email protected]
Washington, DC – The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI) Research Board announced today the availability of a minimum of $37.5 million per year to establish four to eight Research Consortia to study the effects of the Deepwater Horizon incident on the Gulf of Mexico. The research that will be conducted through these consortia will inform the scientific understanding of oil spill and dispersant impacts on ocean and coastal systems in the Gulf region, as well as other ocean and coastal systems, and how these systems respond to oil and gas inputs, especially large accidental inputs. The grant application guidance and requirements, along with the research themes that will be funded, are described in the GRI Research Board request for proposals (RFP-I).
“Today is a significant milestone in our efforts to understand the effects of the Deepwater Horizon incident on the Gulf of Mexico,” said GRI Research Board Chair Dr. Rita Colwell. “The Research Board was created by BP and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance to develop an independent, merit-based process to identify and fund the best possible research into the fate and effects of oil and oil dispersants on the Gulf of Mexico. This request for proposals is a major step toward that goal.”
On 24 May 2010, BP committed $500 million over a 10-year period to create a broad, independent research program to be conducted at research institutions primarily in the US Gulf Coast States. The program is known as the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI).
On 15 June 2010, BP announced the names of the scientific experts who would form GRI’s independent Research Board. In consultation with the White House and the Governors of the five Gulf Coastal States, BP later expanded the GRI Research Board by adding additional scientific expertise. The GRI Research Board has 20 members, 10 appointed by BP and 2 recommended by the Governor of each of the five Gulf Coast States and appointed by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. The GRI Research Board is responsible for preparing this and subsequent requests for proposals, enabling an open and transparent peer-review process, selecting proposals for funding, and reviewing annual progress for continuation funding.
The GRI will investigate the impacts of the oil, dispersed oil, and dispersant on the ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico and affected Gulf Coastal States in a broad context of improving fundamental understanding of the dynamics of such events, the associated environmental stresses, and the public health implications. The GRI will also develop improved spill mitigation, oil and gas detection, characterization, and remediation technologies. The ultimate goal of the GRI is to improve society’s ability to understand and respond to the impacts of petroleum pollution and related stressors of marine and coastal ecosystems, with an emphasis on conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. Knowledge accrued will be applied to restoration and to improvement of the long-term environmental health of the Gulf of Mexico.
Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010, the oceanographic and environmental communities have strongly advocated the importance of research in the Gulf of Mexico and the affected Gulf States for characterization of the event, elucidation of the processes affecting the oil/dispersant system, and assessment of the long-term impact.
“The Research Board has had numerous discussions and has been informed by past research results and the results of three important public scientific meetings to receive input and to help define the intellectual themes for research,” said Colwell.
The first meeting was convened by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on 19 May 2010 in Washington, DC, and was hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The meeting included approximately 40 leaders from major ocean research institutions, with strong representation from Gulf Coast States. The second meeting was held on 3 June 2010 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, and was co-sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL). This meeting included about 200 researchers representing the major oceanographic institutions and academic departments in the United States, including representatives from all of the affected Gulf States. The meeting was convened to address both short-term response actions and long-term monitoring and understanding of environmental impacts. The third meeting was held 22–23 June 2010 at New Orleans, LA, and was sponsored by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. Over 300 participants attended the workshop, including representatives from all of the affected Gulf States. The meeting considered public health impacts and responses to them in the short- and long-term, including monitoring and surveillance of potentially affected populations.
“The output from these meetings is the basis for the major research themes addressed in RFP-I,” said Colwell. “Under RFP-I, proposals are being sought that address one or some combination of the following five areas.”
- Physical distribution, dispersion, and dilution of petroleum (oil and gas), its constituents, and associated contaminants (e.g., dispersants) under the action of physical oceanographic processes, air–sea interactions, and tropical storms.
- Chemical evolution and biological degradation of the petroleum/dispersant systems and subsequent interaction with coastal, open-ocean, and deep-water ecosystems.
- Environmental effects of the petroleum/dispersant system on the sea floor, water column, coastal waters, beach sediments, wetlands, marshes, and organisms; and the science of ecosystem recovery.
- Technology developments for improved response, mitigation, detection, characterization, and remediation associated with oil spills and gas releases.
- Fundamental scientific research integrating results from the other four themes in the context of public health.
According to Colwell, “The Research Board is funding consortia in this initial request for proposals because some of the research will be so complex that it necessitates contributions by multiple institutions and multi-disciplinary science teams.”
Each Research Consortia proposal is expected to develop and enunciate a clear plan to address any one of the themes or a cross-disciplinary program of work involving a grouping of some of these topics. Successful applications will clearly describe how the proposed research will accomplish the long-term goals of the GRI.
The annual funding level for all GRI activities is $50 million, with a minimum of $37.5 million available per year to fund between four and eight Research Consortia. Awards made in response to RFP-I will be for years two through four of the 10-year GRI program. It is anticipated that funding for each selected Research Consortia will range between $1 million and $7.5 million per year.
The GRI Research Board will issue a second request for proposals (RFP-II) at a later date. Through RFP-II, the GRI Research Board will award grants that focus on activities involving less money and less internal management than a Research Consortium. Individuals or smaller collaborative efforts involving a principal investigator (PI) and co-PIs from up to three additional institutions will be focused on the same research themes as described in RFP-1. Grants awarded under RFP-II will be for up to a 3-year period. A maximum of $7.5 million per year will be available for RFP-II grants. These grants, on average, will range from $100,000 to $1 million per year.
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About GRI:
For more information about the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, including the Research Board and current Requests for Proposal, please visit GoMRI.
About Dr. Colwell:
Dr. Rita R. Colwell is an internationally recognized environmental microbiologist and scientific administrator. Dr. Colwell serves as the Chairman of the GRI Research Board, and is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland at College Park and in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at The Johns Hopkins University. She has previously served as Director of the National Science Foundation. The recipient of numerous honorary degrees and the Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan, in 2006 Dr. Colwell received the National Medal of Science. In 2010, Dr. Colwell was honored with the Stockholm Water Prize for her contributions to solving water-related public health problems. Dr. Colwell has authored or co-authored 17 books and more than 700 scientific publications.
GRI Research Board Members:
Rita R. Colwell, PhD
Research Board Chairman
Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland College Park and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Margaret Leinen, PhD
Research Board Vice Chairman
Associate Provost for Marine and Environmental Initiatives of Florida Atlantic University, Executive Director of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Debra S. Benoit, MEd
Director of Research and Sponsored Programs, Nicholls State University
Peter G. Brewer, PhD
Senior Scientist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Richard E. Dodge, PhD
Professor, Dean, Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Executive Director, National Coral Reef Institute
John W. Farrington, PhD
Professor and Interim Dean, School of Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Scientist Emeritus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Kenneth M. Halanych, PhD
Alumni Professor and Coordinator, Marine Biology Program, Auburn University
David Halpern, PhD
Senior Advisor for Earth Science Research, NASA Headquarters, Senior Research Scientist, California Institute of Technology/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
William T. Hogarth, PhD
Interim Director, Florida Institute of Oceanography, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida
Jorg Imberger, PhD
Director, Centre for Water Research, Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Western Australia
Raymond L. Orbach, PhD
Director, Energy Institute, University of Texas at Austin
Jürgen Rullkötter, PhD
Professor of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM)
David R. Shaw, PhD
Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Mississippi State University
John Shepherd, PhD
School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton
Bob Shipp, PhD
Chairman, Department of Marine Science, University of South Alabama
Burton Singer, PhD
Courtesy Professor, Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida
Ciro V. Sumaya, MD, MPHTM
Professor, Health Policy and Management, Cox Endowed Chair in Medicine, Founding Dean (1997-2008), School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center
Denis Wiesenburg, PhD
Vice President for Research, University of Southern Mississippi
Charles Wilson, PhD
Professor and Executive Director, Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, Louisiana State University
Dana Yoerger, PhD
Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
