Using Ecology-on-a-Chip (eChip) to Examine Degradation and Microbial Colonization of Rising Oil and Dispersed Oil Droplets

The goal of this project is to use a microfluidic platform (known as eChip) to assess key degradation hypotheses related to dissolution and microbial degradation of untreated and dispersed oil droplets. The objectives are two-fold:
(1) Determine if the degradation rate of rising oil microdroplets (through dissolution and microbial degradation) can be quantified using the eChip by measuring degradation on both untreated and dispersed oil during 14-day biodegradation studies using multiple oils; and 
(2) Assess the impact of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) streamers over oil microdroplets on a larger scale for fate and transport models.