Scientists to Meet With Federal Officials at LSU to Discuss Gulf Oil Spill

Academic and government scientists will meet with officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other federal agencies at a daylong meeting next Thursday to discuss cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which officials have declared the largest in U.S. history. Some scientists have complained that they have not been consulted, according to a report in Nature. About 150 scientists are expected to attend the invitation-only meeting on Louisiana State University’s main campus, said Gregg M. Schmidt, director of media relations for the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, one of the groups helping to organize the event. Among the break-out sessions planned are “Determining the Extent and Magnitude of the Spill,” “Tracking Dispersed Oil at the Surface and Depth,” and “Evaluating the Ecological and Socioeconomic Impacts of Oil.”