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The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and these are known as the Gulf States.
Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world's oceans and large lakes. Hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration falls to or below 2 mg of O2/liter. When a body of water experiences hypoxic conditions, aquatic flora and fauna begin to change behavior in order to reach sections of water with higher oxygen levels. Once DO declines below 0.5 ml O2/liter in a body of water, mass mortality occurs. With such a low concentration of DO, these bodies of water fail to support the aquatic life living there. Historically, many of these sites were naturally occurring. However, in the 1970s, oceanographers began noting increased instances and expanses of dead zones. These occur near inhabited coastlines, where aquatic life is most concentrated.
Jane Lubchenco is an American environmental scientist and marine ecologist who teaches and conducts research at Oregon State University. Her research interests include interactions between the environment and human well-being, biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable use of oceans and the planet. From 2009 to 2013, she served as Administrator of NOAA and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. In February 2021, she was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as Deputy Director for Climate and Environment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated by BP. On 20 April 2010, while drilling at the Macondo Prospect, a blowout caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 crewmen and ignited a fireball visible from 40 miles (64 km) away. The fire was inextinguishable and, two days later, on 22 April, the Horizon sank, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and causing the largest marine oil spill in history.
The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is the only marine research institute dedicated solely to advancing the long-term sustainable use and conservation of the world's ninth-largest body of water. Established in 2001, HRI integrates outstanding scientific research with public policy to provide international leadership in generating and disseminating knowledge about the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and its critical role in the economies of the North American region.
The Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institute started in October 2006. It is one of 20 NOAA Cooperative Institutes (CIs). The NGI is a partnership of six academic institutions and NOAA. The collaboration led by Mississippi State University (MSU), includes the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Louisiana State University (LSU), Florida State University (FSU), the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL). The NGI defines the Northern Gulf of Mexico region as the upland, watershed, coastal zone, and coastal ocean areas from the Sabine River in Louisiana east to the Suwannee River in Florida.
Ocean deoxygenation is the reduction of the oxygen content in different parts of the ocean due to human activities. It occurs firstly in coastal zones where eutrophication has driven some quite rapid declines in oxygen to very low levels. This type of ocean deoxygenation is also called "dead zones". Secondly, there is now an ongoing reduction in oxygen levels in the open ocean: naturally occurring low oxygen areas are now expanding slowly. This expansion is happening as a consequence of human caused climate change. The resulting decrease in oxygen content of the oceans poses a threat to marine life, as well as to people who depend on marine life for nutrition or livelihood. Ocean deoxygenation poses implications for ocean productivity, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling, and marine habitats.
The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo; and on the southeast by Cuba. The Southern U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, which border the Gulf on the north, are often referred to as the "Third Coast" of the United States.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an industrial disaster which began on April 20, 2010, off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 MMbbl. After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. Reports in early 2012 indicated that the well site was still leaking. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history.
RV Pelican was built in 1985 as an oceanographic research vessel and is operated by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). The vessel has four laboratories and can support 16 scientists for periods up to three weeks. In May 2010, it was one of the first scientific vessels to arrive at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to begin the process of characterizing the extent and consequences of the spill.
Donald F. Boesch is a professor of marine science and, from 1990 to 2017, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. From 2006-2017, he concurrently served as Vice Chancellor for Environmental Sustainability for the University System of Maryland. In 2010, he was appointed by President Barack Obama as a member of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling to investigate the root causes of the blowout at the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hypoxia refers to low oxygen conditions. For air-breathing organisms, hypoxia is problematic but for many anaerobic organisms, hypoxia is essential. Hypoxia applies to many situations, but usually refers to the atmosphere and natural waters.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force is the organization created by President Barack Obama to recover from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and preserve the ecosystem of the Gulf Coast of the United States.
The Gulf killifish is one of the largest members of the genus Fundulus; it is capable of growing up to 7 inches (18 cm) in length, whereas the majority of other Fundulus reach a maximum length of 4 inches (10 cm). Therefore, F. grandis is among the largest minnows preyed upon by many sport fish, such as flounder, speckled trout, and red drum. Fundulus derives from the Latin meaning "bottom," and grandis means "large". The Gulf killifish is native to the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida and the eastern coast of Florida and the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean. Threats to the survival of the Gulf killifish include extreme changes in salinity, changes in temperatures, and toxic events such as the hypoxic dead zone in Louisiana and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Gulf killifish is currently being used to test the effects of oil and oil dispersants on the physiology of marine species affected by these substances. This is significant to conservation biology, because with the continued extraction of oil and other natural resources from North American waters, it has become increasingly important to understand the risks and consequences in worst-case scenarios, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the lasting effects on the marine ecosystem.
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been described as the worst environmental disaster in the United States, releasing about 4.9 million barrels of crude oil making it the largest marine oil spill. Both the spill and the cleanup efforts had effects on the environment.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was discovered on the afternoon of 22 April 2010 when a large oil slick began to spread at the former rig site. According to the Flow Rate Technical Group, the leak amounted to about 4.9 million barrels of oil, exceeding the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as the largest ever to originate in U.S.-controlled waters and the 1979 Ixtoc I oil spill as the largest spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has challenged this calculation saying that it is overestimated as it includes over 810,000 barrels of oil which was collected before it could enter the Gulf waters.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred between 10 April and 19 September 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. A variety of techniques were used to address fundamental strategies for addressing the spilled oil, which were: to contain oil on the surface, dispersal, and removal. While most of the oil drilled off Louisiana is a lighter crude, the leaking oil was of a heavier blend which contained asphalt-like substances. According to Ed Overton, who heads a federal chemical hazard assessment team for oil spills, this type of oil emulsifies well. Once it becomes emulsified, it no longer evaporates as quickly as regular oil, does not rinse off as easily, cannot be broken down by microbes as easily, and does not burn as well. "That type of mixture essentially removes all the best oil clean-up weapons", Overton said.
NOAAS Pisces is an American fisheries and oceanographic research vessel in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet since 2009.
Samantha "Mandy" Joye is an American oceanographer who is well known for her work studying the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. She is a professor at the University of Georgia in the Department of Marine Sciences. Joye has made fundamental contributions in ocean biogeochemistry and microbial ecology, and is also regularly called upon by scientific and policy agencies as well as the media for expert commentary on ocean ecology. She was the expedition scientist and a lead science advisor for The Deep episode, part of the BBC's Blue Planet II, and is featured in production videos including Brine Pools: Exploring an Alien World for Blue Planet II and Future of the Oceans. She led the “Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas in the Gulf” research consortium between 2014 and 2020 and conducts research to understand relationships between biogeochemical cycles, microbial activity, and environmental factors in many diverse ocean environments.
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) is part of the University of Texas at Austin but is located in Port Aransas, Texas. Founded in 1941, UTMSI has 15 faculty members and 21 students. Notable alumni include Nancy Rabalais. Facilities on the main campus include wet and dry lab space, a wildlife rehabilitation "keep", dormitories, boat storage, offices, and a cafeteria. UTMSI has received funding appropriated by the Texas State Legislature since 1971. In 2021, these funds totaled approximately $4.5 million.
References
- ↑ "Nancy Nash Rabalais". Honors Program. American Geophysical Union. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ↑ "Profile on Rabalais by A.J.S. Rayl - Nobel Conference - 2009". gustavus.edu. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ↑ "Coastal Command - The Scientist Magazine®". The Scientist. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ↑ "Coastal Command - The Scientist Magazine®". The Scientist. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ↑ Nuwer, Rachel (October 15, 2012). "Q and A: Tracking a Worrisome Dead Zone". The New York Times.
- ↑ Mexico, Committee on the Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon-252 Oil Spill on Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of; Board, Ocean Studies; Studies, Division on Earth and Life; Council, National Research (December 20, 2013). An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. National Academies Press. ISBN 9780309288453.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Dr. Nancy Rabalais: Troubled Waters in the Gulf of Mexico". Smithsonian Ocean Portal. March 29, 2011.
- ↑ Seideman, Yael Calhoun, series editor ; foreword by David (2005). Water Pollution. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-4381-0232-0.
{{cite book}}:|first1=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "NOAA Outlook - Earth Day (Environmental Heroes)". www.outlook.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ↑ "Aldo Leopold Leadership Program selects fellows - News and Research Communications - Oregon State University". oregonstate.edu. August 4, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ↑ "The Heinz Awards: Nancy Rabalais". The Heinz Awards. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Gulf champion Nancy Rabalais gets her due: An editorial". The Times-Picayune. September 19, 2011.
- ↑ Schleifstein, Mark (October 5, 2012). "Louisiana "dead zone" scientist wins $500,000 MacArthur "Genius Grant"". The Times-Picayune.
- ↑ "2021 NAS Election". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ↑ "Information - CWC". cwc.lumcon.edu. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ↑ Rabalais, Nancy N. (2001). Coastal Hypoxia: Consequences for Living Resources and Ecosystems - Wiley Online Library. Coastal and Estuarine Studies. Vol. 58. doi:10.1029/ce058. ISBN 978-0-87590-272-2.
- ↑ "Profile on Rabalais by A.J.S. Rayl - Nobel Conference - 2009". gustavus.edu. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
