University Experts: Gulf Coast, Oil Spill Impacts
Geosystems Research Institute
Robert Moorhead
, 662-325-2850 (o), 662-312-3066 (c)
Areas of Expertise: High-resolution modeling of coastal hydrodynamics, wind fields, plumes from burning oil, and oil slick trajectories. Geospatial imaging, climatological and meteorological observations and forecasting. Remote sensing of water quality, oil/water interaction, and vegetation stress. Data source for past/current/future status of water qualities (optical and biological). Coastal plant ecology expertise. Extensive expertise in visualizing disparate datasets in common view volume to assist analysts in understanding data and data interactions. Extensive GIS expertise, proven in Hurricane Katrina response. Analysis of hyperspectral imagery (HSI), as well as multispectral imagery. Cleared employees, capable of dealing with imagery collected by DoD, DHS, and National Guard assets.
Northern Gulf Institute
Mike Carron
, 228-688-3228 (o), 228-342-6086 (c)
Areas of Expertise: NGI Ecosystem data Assembly Center (EDAC) Server (in collaboration with the NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center) provides up-to-date Navy ocean models to NOAA operational units. Remote Sensing Imagery processing ocean-current models and measurements and delivers up-to-date data sets to the Deep Water Horizon incident responders Ongoing baseline habitat and animal sampling and assessment for response and recovery efforts. Ongoing oil burn smoke cloud modeling for response and recovery efforts. Active collaboration with NOAA's Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaboration Team for informed and coordinated efforts. NGI economists actively support NOAA's impact assessments and collaboration with the Economic Development Administration.
GIS Mapping
Louis Wasson, Satellite Data Acquisitions Coordinator, Geosystems Research Institute
, 662-325-3167 (o)
Areas of Expertise: extensive experience with the ASD sensor for ground-truthing.
Ocean Color Remote Sensing
Zhongping Lee, Research Professor, Geosystems Research Institute
, 228-688-3085 (o)
Areas of Expertise: Currently using satellite measurements to observe the development of this oil spill, and doing research to refine/develop oil-detection techniques.
Remote Sensing and Geospatial Technologies
Scott A. Samson, Extension Professor and Geospatial Extension Specialist, Geosystems Research Institute
, 662-325-9491 (o)
Areas of Expertise: Mississippi representative to the International Space Charter, an international organization that supplies remote sensing products gathered over a disaster area.
Visualizations of Physical Oceanography Data, and Meteorology and Storm Surge Data
Robert Moorhead, Director of Geosystems Research Institute and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
, 662-325-2850 (o)
Numerical Ocean Prediction, Open Ocean and Coastal Oceanography
John Harding, Chief Scientist, Northern Gulf Institute
, 228-688-3626 (o)
Hyperspectral Imaging for Food and Food Safety Inspection
Haibo Yao, Assistant Research Professor, Geosystems Research Institute
, 228-688-3742 (o)
Areas of Expertise: Currently working on using hyperspectral imaging to document oil characteristics in coastal waters and oil contamination detection in seafood.
Bioremediation
Hamid Borazjani, Professor of Forest Products
, 662-325-3106 (o)
Susan Diehl, Associate Professor of Forest Products
, 662-325-3101 (o)
Areas of Expertise: Finding and deploying suitable, environmentally-friendly agents to clean contaminated water and land.
Center for Sustainable Design
Pete Melby, Co-Director
Professor Landscape Architecture, , (662) 325-3012 (o), (662) 324-1287 (h)
Tom Cathcart, Co-Director
Professor Ag & Bio Engineering, , (662) 325-3282 (o)
The Center for Sustainable Design has worked extensively with the coastal communities in establishing, restoring, and improving beach areas.
Areas of Expertise: beach ecology (including plant/wildlife and human interaction).
Both possess expertise in beach management and how management affects the stability of the sand and growth of the beach, as well how environmental factors can negatively impact plant and wildlife ecology.
Coastal Research and Extension Center
Dave Burrage, Extension Marine Resources Specialist
, 228-388-1375 (o)
Areas of Expertise: fisheries, coastal zone management, economic development, environmental protection, recreation and tourism, and marine education.
Burrage and Extension fisheries technician Peter Nguyen have fielded calls and worked with seafood industry clientele since the beginning of the spill. They also have engaged the Vietnamese-American community which would be an otherwise unreached audience. The Electronic Logbook Program is being used to document and mitigate the effects of fishery closures on the Gulf shrimp fishery and Burrage's input has been critical in the opening of some areas for sport fishing to mitigate the impact of the spill on the industry.
Ben Posadas, Extension Economist
, 228-546-1024 (o)
Areas of Expertise: Fisheries economics, environmental valuation, economic recovery
On April 30, 2010, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources requested Posadas to represent the department at the NOAA Technical Working Group on Human Use Impacts of the MS Canyon 252 (Deepwater Horizon) oil spill. This group is conducting daily benchmark monitoring of human uses of the state's marine resources.
Mark Woodrey, MAFES senior research associate, director Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
, 228-475-7047 (o)
Areas of Expertise: Ecology of birds in coastal marshes
As a trustee of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Avian Bird Work Group, Woodrey participates in daily conference calls to provide technical guidance for the development of natural resource damage assessments from the bird's perspective. He also serves as a technical member of the Marsh Bird Sub-Working Group to develop sampling protocols to evaluate the long-term ecological effects of the oil spill on ecology of secretive marsh birds. In addition, he is coordinating the collection of environmental monitoring data for pre-spill assessment at the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Sampling efforts include marsh fishes, bird counts, submerged aquatic vegetation, water quality data, oysters, diamondback terrapin nesting surveys, periwinkle snails, fiddler crabs, and photo-monitoring.
Economic Impacts of Fisheries and related-activities
Stephen C. Grado, Forestry Professor
, 662-325-2792 (o)
Areas of Expertise: Economic impacts of eco-tourism and natural resources. Grado has studied the economic impact of recreational and commercial fisheries on the coast.
Public, Environmental Policy
Gerald "Jerry" A. Emison, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration
, 662-325-7865 (o)
Areas of Expertise: environment-air and water quality policy and management; pollution-air and water quality; environmental policy; public management; and management of public organizations.
Emison worked as a deputy regional administrator for the EPA and has taught courses in national environmental policy and program evaluation. He is available to discuss the oil spill crisis from the public policy perspective, along with what this will mean for the environment.
Social Science Research Center
Art Cosby, Director
, 662-325-8587 (o)
The SSRC has a long history of researching human and community aspects of disasters, including the Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill (over 20 years of research), Hurricane Katrina, and the San Diego County Wildfires of 2007. The Center's Media Laboratory has the capacity to monitor and analyze the communications, including crisis communications, associated with the oil leak. The laboratory has begun initial monitoring.
Tonya Neaves, Project Coordinator
, 662-325-7033 (o)
Areas of Expertise: Economic impact studies and security and health related research
Neaves is the principal investigator for a project to collect data on the responses and concerns of residents of the Gulf Coast to natural disasters. A component directly related to the oil spill is being added to that study.
Wildlife, Fisheries, Wetlands, Water Quality
Deepak Mishra, Assistant Professor of Geosciences
, 662-325-5821 (o)
Currently studying impact of oil on marshes.
Don Jackson, Professor of Fisheries
, 662-325-7493 (o)
Jackson was involved in the recovery effort of fisheries following Hurricane Katrina. His expertise includes recovery of shrimp, red snapper, blue craps, among other fish.
Jeanne Jones, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management
, 662-325-2219 (o)
Jones is currently working on the coast in the recovery of wildlife. Jones has extensive experience in wildlife habitat restoration and monitoring.
Peter Allen, Assistant Professor of Aquatic Sciences
, 662-325-4768 (o)
J. Brian Davis, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management
, 662-325-4790 (o)
Eric Dibble, Professor of Aquatic Sciences
, 662-325-7494 (o)
Richard M. Kaminski, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management
, 662-325-2623 (o)
Robert Kroger, Assistant Professor of Aquatic Sciences
, 662-325-4731 (o)
Steve Miranda, Professor of Fisheries
, 662-325-3217 (o)
Wes Neal, Assistant Extension Professor of Fisheries
, 662-325-8363 (o)
Harold Schramm, Professor of Fisheries
, 662-325-7495 (o)