A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution research team has been awarded US$7.6 million (~€6.98 million) to support its Gulf of Mexico Loop Current research.
The funding is from the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).
The research will be part of the third phase of the Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems program (UGOS-3), which aims to improve our understanding of the currents in the Gulf of Mexico. There are three consortia underrating phase 3 research, including WHOI, Texas A&M University and Florida State University. The total funding committed for the project is $22 million (~€20.2 million) so far.
Undersetting the Loop Current is of crucial importance to weather forecasters and industry. The deep warming eddies in the Gulf often power tropical storms in the area, not to mention its effects on any oil spills in the Gulf.
The WHOI team is being led by Amy Bower, Senior Scientist and Department Chair of the Department of Physical Oceanography, who commented about the funding:
“We are honored to receive such a generous grant from the NASEM, supporting important research on Loop Current movement and the role it plays in better understanding the Gulf of Mexico. Our team looks forward to supporting important, interdisciplinary work to help solve a variety of Gulf forecast issues.”
