Source: NOAA
July 9, 2010

A science team on the research vessel Seward Johnson departs Fort Pierce, Fla. today for the eastern Gulf of Mexico to gather baseline data against which to measure change if oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill reaches the area. The expedition will use a submersible, a remotely operated vehicle and other technology to assess and record conditions in the water column and on the seafloor.

The mission is funded by NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology and is led by Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Other partners include SRI International in St. Petersburg, Fla. and the University of Miami.

Harbor Branch partnered with Brazilian environmental services company Cepemar for the ship's original planned mission in Brazil. At NOAA's request, these organizations agreed to delay sending the ship to Brazil, making it available to obtain scientific data as part of NOAA's response to the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.

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