Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation (MOSSFA) Workshop

The MOSSFA hypothesis is that the formation of marine snow/oil aggregates and its accumulation at the seafloor is related to events associated with the oil spill, various mitigation measures (e.g., the use of dispersants and in situ burning), and increased sediment-laden fresh water releases from Mississippi River impoundments. If this hypothesis is correct then this phenomenon takes on an added global significance as 85% of deep-water oil exploration occurs adjacent to deltaic systems. To better understand the sequence of events and the oceanographic processes involved, three of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) funded Centers (C-IMAGE, DEEP-C and ECOGIG), all of which have Principal Investigators involved in the various aspects of the MOSSFA question, received funding to conduct two workshops related to Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation Flocculent Accumulation (MOSSFA). The intent of the first workshop was to bring together researchers working on MOSSFA to provide a synthesis of known facts, identify data gaps and propose follow-up research to help resolve key questions and uncertainties regarding the MOSSFA hypothesis