LUMCON gets $4 million for dead-zone research By Nikki Buskey , Staff Writer Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected the Gulf – Caribbean Oceanographic Consortium, cooperatively led by The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), to operate the third new oceanographic research ship to carry out regional scale research in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) was formed in 1979 to coordinate and stimulate Louisiana's activities in marine research and education. Dr. Craig McClain, Executive Director of LUMCON, said, "The U.S. is a pioneer of ocean exploration and the RCRV will be fundamental to maintaining this tradition. Academic Research Fleet to the Gulf of Mexico in nearly four decades. This announcement brings the first new regional class research ship in the U.S. The Marine Center provides a coastal laboratory capable of supporting modern experimental research and field work on living marine organisms and coastal ecosystems. He and his team conduct research to improve prediction models for oil and gas transport and are refining these models using data they collect in field and laboratory experiments. Special Research Capabilities: LUMCON offers a number of resources to scientists and educators interested in coastal and open-ocean ecosystems: However, LUMCON is more than a marine laboratory. LUMCON currently operates one of the most substantial oceanographic research programs and maintains one of the largest fleets of research vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Piers Chapman at Texas A & M University is the Director of the GoMRI-funded Gulf Integrated Spill Research Consortium (GISR) and leads this Drifter Card project. The Gulf – Caribbean Oceanographic Consortium is led by USM and LUMCON, with 15 associate members located across the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, southeastern U.S. and Mexico. Academic Research Fleet to the Gulf of Mexico in nearly four decades. From this facility, LUMCON operates a world-class fleet of research vessels unmatched in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf – Caribbean Oceanographic Consortium is led by USM and LUMCON, with 15 associate members located across the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, southeastern U.S. and Mexico. This announcement brings the first new regional class research ship in the U.S. LUMCON has the diversity of tools and knowledge through Consortium partnerships to find solutions to problems facing coastal Louisiana, the Gulf of Mexico, and ocean ecosystems at large. Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) Vessel Operations Department operates a number of vessels available for research and educational programs to Consortium members, state and federal agencies, non-profit organizations and other oceanographic industries. The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative awarded the grant to sustain the consortium for two additional years beginning in January 2018, according to a news release from LUMCON. In the next two years, the group will conduct experiments to research the impacts the oil spill has had on coastal Louisiana communities since 2010. LUMCON provides coastal laboratory facilities to Louisiana universities, and conducts research and … The LUMCON Marine Center, a well-equipped research and teaching laboratory located in Cocodrie, serves as the primary base for consortium programs.