The National Academies' Gulf Research Program has awarded projects that research the combination of natural processes and human decisions that are affecting the ecosystems of the Gulf Coast region, and translate their research into actionable tools and information.

A team of three UM researchers -- Zhiqu Lu (National Center for Physical Acoustics), Likun Zhang (Department of Physics & Astronomy), and Lei Cao (Department of Electrical Engineering) -- received a grant from the Gulf Research Program to assist in the Acoustic Detection for Undersea Oil Leaks Project, their research focused on utilizing acoustic technologies to develop a functional real-time monitoring system that can find leaks in deep-water oil and gas production in the Gulf over a large area while still being cost-effective. Early detection and location of leaks could minimize their impact. Current monitoring techniques are limited, including being unable to monitor in real time.