On April 20, 2010, the "Deepwater Horizon" drilling platform suffered a loss of well control that resulted in a large explosion and fire, killing eleven men. Two days later, on April 22, 2010, the drilling platform sank, severing the riser pipe at the seabed and initiating an uncontrolled discharge of oil and gas from the broken wellhead. Joye began studying methane and hydrocarbon dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico in 1994, putting her in a strong position to contribute to the scientific response efforts during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. Joye was a member of the shore-based scientist team in the first academic expedition in response to the oil spill on board the &lt;a href="R/V%20Pelican"&gt;R/V Pelican&lt;/a&gt; (May 5, 2010) that was led by Arne Diercks and Vernon Asper. She was the chief scientist on the second academic research expedition on board the F.G. Walton Smith, which sailed in late May 2010.