Press Release 10-142 Gulf Oil Spill: NSF Awards Grant to Study
Effects of Oil and Dispersants on Louisiana Salt Marsh Ecosystem
Researchers measuring impacts of short- and long-term exposure
in extensive Gulf Coast marshes August 16, 2010 As oil and
dispersants wash ashore in coastal Louisiana salt marshes, what
will their effects be on these sensitive ecosystems? The
National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a rapid response
grant to scientist Eugene Turner of Louisiana State University
and colleagues to measure the impacts on Gulf Coast salt
marshes. The researchers will track short-term (at the current
time, and again at three months) and longer-term (at 11 months)
exposure to oil and dispersants. The coast of Louisiana is lined
with extensive salt marshes whose foundation is two species of
Spartina grass. In brackish marshes, Spartina patens is the
dominant form. It's locally known as wiregrass, marsh hay and
paille a chat tigre (hair of the tiger). In more saline marshes
closer to the Gulf of Mexico,