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The Deepwater Horizon spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in Spring 2010, a season characterized by intense sunlight in that region. Over 4.9 million barrels of crude oil were released into the surrounding waters, making this marine oil spill the largest one in history.

Distinguished University of West Florida professor Dr. Wade Jeffrey simulated oil spills in 2016 in waters collected off Pensacola Beach in Florida to research the spill. The findings of this research,published in a paper this month by the University of Stirling: , suggest potential improvements in oil spill cleanup processes and underline the importance of continued research to enhance our understanding of these environmental challenges and inform future conservation efforts for the health of our oceans.

Biography :
Dr. Wade Jeffrey is a Distinguished University Professor, Director of the Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation and Director of the Reubin O'D. Askew Institute of Multidisciplinary Studies. Jeffrey is an oceanographer focusing on bacterial function and diversity in the ocean. He studies the effects of ultraviolet radiation on marine microbes and has worked around the globe. He has also been involved with projects examining the effects of oil on microbial communities in the Gulf of Mexico, spawned by the 2010 BP oil spill. A UWF faculty member since 1991, he has taught many courses, including Biological Oceanography, Climate Change Biology and Professional Development in Biology. Jeffrey has raised more than $6.5 million in outside funding for research projects that involved him, other faculty members and students. Jeffrey earned a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Marine Science from the University of South Florida and a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He also was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the EPA Research Laboratory on Pensacola Beach. Numerous publications have carried his findings in leading journals including Nature, Nature Microbiology, Limnology and Oceanography, and Biogeosciences. He has represented UWF on the Florida Institute of Oceanography’s advisory committee for over 15 years. In addition he has been Associate Editor since 2004 of Limnology and Oceanography, which publishes original research articles, reviews, and comments about all aspects of limnology (the study of inland waters) and oceanography.