
GRIIDC Teams up with GoMRI and Sea Grant at the CLEAN GULF Conference
GRIIDC participated in the 2018 CLEAN GULF Conference in New Orleans from November 14-15. Following successful partnerships at the 2017 Clean Gulf Conference and the 2017 International Oil Spill Conference, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) hosted a booth that once again brought together GoMRI, Sea Grant, and the GoMRI data management program, GRIIDC.
The CLEAN GULF Conference meets annually and focuses on solutions for improving prevention, preparedness and response to oil and hazardous materials spills in inland, offshore and marine environments. Participants represented a wide range of disciplines, and included the Coast Guard, oil and gas industry representatives, government, academia, wildlife organizations, and many more. Approximately 2,000 people attended the conference providing many opportunities for the booth staff to interact with this widely diverse group of participants.
Sessions focused on technological innovations in the field of spill response; international challenges; the health and safety of response workers; and establishing proper protocols for the collection, management, and sharing of data. GoMRI researcher Dr. Chris Reddy participated on a panel during the session “MC-20 Insight into the Longest Running Active Unified Command in Response History,” focusing on the Taylor Energy oil spill site.
At their booth, GoMRI provided promotional materials that focused on GoMRI research themes, GoMRI synthesis and legacy, and GoMRI outreach websites such as Screenscope Films and Smithsonian Ocean Portal. Information about the Dispatches from the Gulf documentary series was also distributed. Sea Grant provided copies of Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach publications.