A realistic regional ocean model is used to investigate the Gulf of Mexico circulation and 3-dimensional distrubtion and age of oil released by the BP Deepwater Horizon well. Circulation simulations are performed by SABGOM, a ROMS model of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Bight for the time period of this oil spill. Modeled ocean states are gauged against in-situ observations, including ship CTD, glider transects, AXBT profiles, drifter trajectories, and HF Radar surface currents. Along with circulation prediction, Eulerian tracers were used to simulate the dispersion and age of oil plume over time. The plume prediction and its skill assessment against subsurface dissolved oxygen anomaly observations (as the proxy of oil plume) will be presented and discussed.

Dr. He received his Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from the University of South Florida in 2002. He was a postdoctoral scholar and then an assistant scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 2003 to 2006, before he joined North Carolina State University as an associate professor in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. Dr. He's research interests include coastal circulation dynamics, numerical modeling and data assimilation, bio-physical interactions, and satellite oceanography.

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