About Us

The DROPPS Consortium is...

a team of scientists studying the effects of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. Funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI), DROPPS Researchers are examining the breakup of oil as well as the interactions of different planktonic and microbial species with oil. The information gathered from this research helps to predict the overall impact of oil spills, allowing for better protection of people and the environment.

The DROPPS consortium is investigating the following:

• The breakup of oil patches into droplets under physical conditions such as sub-surface plumes, breaking waves, and turbulent flows 
• The complex processes that breakup oil droplets when dispersant and bacteria are present 
• Measuring the transport of oil in turbulent flows 
• Interaction of oil with hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria at oil-water interfaces 
• Interaction of suspended oil droplets with marine phytoplankton and zooplankton species 
• All results will be combined into a meso-scale model used to predict the transport and fate of oil spills 

Undulated contact line owing to particle shape. (Dr. Stebe Image)Female daphnia fed Heavy Mineral Oil. Hours later her movements slowed and she died 3 days later. (Strickler image)