Beachgoers and boaters may want to be on the lookout for bright yellow cards drifting in the Gulf of Mexico, in the surf or along the beach.
The small biodegradable card is part of a larger research effort to understand Gulf currents and improve future oil spill response.
The research, spearheaded by Texas A&M University, is designed to improve prediction models on how oil travels the currents of the Gulf.
“We need to know how that water moves, how we can be prepared, how it will affect the organisms,” said Dr. Bill Hogarth, Florida Institute of Oceanography, in Wednesday's In Depth report.
Each card has a unique number and instructions for the public to call or email the card number and describe where they found it.
To encourage public participation, people who report the location of cards they find will be eligible for a $25 gift card.