BATON ROUGE, LA - Ocean Alliance, the University of Southern Maine and Albemarle Corporation launched a 14-week scientific voyage on June 8, 2011 to study the impacts of recent oil spills and natural disasters on the Gulf of Mexico, one of the world's most important ocean habitats.
The scientific mission left Key West, Florida with a ten-person team aboard the 93-foot floating laboratory, Odyssey. The team will collect samples from fish, squid, krill, sperm and Brydes whales, and the water from depths of up to 3,000 feet to try to monitor and gauge the health of the Gulf ecosystem. The expedition, set to leave on World Oceans Day, is supported by a number of foundations and individuals as well as by primary sponsor Albemarle.
