The Deepwater Horizon accident released roughly 150 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. While unprecedented efforts went into cleaning it up, vast amounts of oil ended up on beaches, coastal estuaries, and the seafloor. In these places, microscopic organisms are important drivers of crude oil breakdown and removal.

Senior Research Scientist Beth Orcutt has been studying oil- and gas-eating microbes in the Gulf of Mexico for more than 15 years. Join her for Café Sci on Aug. 8 from5 to 6:30 p.m. to discuss the importance of microbes in degrading oil in the ocean and how lessons from the Gulf of Mexico apply to increasing commercial activity in the Arctic Ocean.

This fun, free event is open to the public and will be held at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay. Learn more and register at www.bigelow.org/cafesci.