The Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, Frank Brogan, has established a clearinghouse for all things related to the massive oil slick slowly moving its way towards Florida.
It's called the Oil Spill Academic Task Force, and will provide assistance to local, state and federal agencies in dealing with the spill and it's aftermath. Some of the initiatives that the task force will work on include:
- coordinating with state and other academic resources in the Florida University system,
- measuring and modeling the rise trajectory of oil escaping from the well,
- conducting pre-spill and post-spill assessments of coastal ecological communities,
- planning logistics and evaluating risk, and
- coordinating citizen response efforts (e.g., training and health protection).