A review of Gulf of Mexico coastal marsh erosion studies following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and comparison to over 4 years of shoreline loss data from Fall 2010 to Summer 2015

Challenger, Greg; Gmur, Stephan; Taylor, Elliott

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.111983

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Mechanical treatment was aimed toward the same goals as manual cleanup but with anticipated increases in speed and scale; however, mechanical treatment can also be less precise, resulting in removal of soils, mixing of oil into the substrate, etc. Oiling conditions were highly consistent across all the oiled sites, characterized as heavy oiling using Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) methods 7 , although we agree that oiling in our sites could be considered “very heavy” as proposed by others 19 . Oiling conditions consisted of a continuous 6–13 meters (m) wide oiling band along the marsh shoreline, with heavily oiled wrack and vegetation mats overlying a 2–3 centimeter (cm) layer of emulsified oil on the marsh surface with ~ 90–100% oil cover 7 .…”

Section: Oiled Marsh Erosion and Soil Shear Strength Field-based Cont...supporting

confidence: 73%

“…Criticisms 18 , 19 of prior Deepwater Horizon oiled marsh erosion papers, including ours 7 , would apply to the results above as well. The most interesting of these criticisms was that Hurricane Katrina (2005) increased baseline erosion rates in the region, and that this signal was mistaken for oil spill effects 18 .…”

Section: Oiled Marsh Erosion Reconsidered Remote Sensing Before–after...mentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Most studies concluded that the spill increased shoreline erosion (linear retreat) in oiled marshes by ~ 100–200% over 2–3 years, as a result of oil spill impacts to marsh vegetation and soils (Table 1 ). However, two studies, Deis et al 18 and Challenger et al 19 , have called nearly all of this prior research into question, based on potential study design flaws and confounding factors, primarily tropical cyclone influences and differential wave exposure between oiled and unoiled or reference sites 18 , 19 . Here we report on the results of a field experiment (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accelerated marsh erosion following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill confirmed, ameliorated by planting

Zengel¹,

Nixon²,

Weaver³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Multiple studies have examined the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on coastal marsh shoreline erosion. Most studies have concluded that the spill increased shoreline erosion (linear retreat) in oiled marshes by ~ 100–200% for at least 2–3 years. However, two studies have called much of this prior research into question, due to potential study design flaws and confounding factors, primarily tropical cyclone influences and differential wave exposure between oiled (impact) and unoiled (reference) sites. Here we confirm that marsh erosion in our field experiment was substantially increased (112–233%) for 2 years in heavily oiled marsh after the spill, likely due to vegetation impacts and reduced soil shear strength attributed to the spill, rather than the influences of hurricanes or wave exposure variation. We discuss how our findings reinforce prior studies, including a wider-scale remote sensing analysis with similar study approach. We also show differences in the degree of erosion among oil spill cleanup treatments. Most importantly, we show that marsh restoration planting can drastically reduce oiled marsh erosion, and that the positive influences of planting can extend beyond the immediate impact of the spill.

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Section: Oiled Marsh Erosion and Soil Shear Strength Field-based Cont...supporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Oiled Marsh Erosion Reconsidered Remote Sensing Before–after...mentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Accelerated marsh erosion following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill confirmed, ameliorated by planting

Zengel¹,

Nixon²,

Weaver³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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show abstract

“…( 2019 ) and Challenger et al. ( 2021 ) for contrasting results and interpretations. Erosion complicates the assessment of vegetation recovery because studies with fixed sites (~68% of the sites in our analysis) lose the ability to detect impacts as sites erode and are no longer sampled, which can be misinterpreted as vegetation recovery (Hester et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta‐analysis of salt marsh vegetation impacts and recovery: a synthesis following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Zengel¹,

Weaver²,

Mendelssohn

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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Marine oil spills continue to be a global issue, heightened by spill events such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the largest marine oil spill in US waters and among the largest worldwide, affecting over 1,000 km of sensitive wetland shorelines, primarily salt marshes supporting numerous ecosystem functions. To synthesize the effects of the oil spill on foundational vegetation species in the salt marsh ecosystem, Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemerianus, we performed a meta‐analysis using data from 10 studies and 255 sampling sites over seven years post‐spill. We examined the hypotheses that the oil spill reduced plant cover, stem density, vegetation height, aboveground biomass, and belowground biomass, and tracked the degree of effects temporally to estimate recovery time frames. All plant metrics indicated impacts from oiling, with 20–100% maximum reductions depending on oiling level and marsh zone. Peak reductions of ~70–90% in total plant cover, total aboveground biomass, and belowground biomass were observed for heavily oiled sites at the marsh edge. Both Spartina and Juncus were impacted, with Juncus affected to a greater degree. Most plant metrics had recovery time frames of three years or longer, including multiple metrics with incomplete recovery over the duration of our data, at least seven years post‐spill. Belowground biomass was particularly concerning, because it declined over time in contrast with recovery trends in most aboveground metrics, serving as a strong indicator of ongoing impact, limited recovery, and impaired resilience. We conclude that the Deepwater Horizon spill had multiyear impacts on salt marsh vegetation, with full recovery likely to exceed 10 years, particularly in heavily oiled marshes, where erosion may preclude full recovery. Vegetation impacts and delayed recovery is likely to have exerted substantial influences on ecosystem processes and associated species, especially along heavily oiled shorelines. Our synthesis affords a greater understanding of ecosystem impacts and recovery following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and informs environmental impact analysis, contingency planning, emergency response, damage assessment, and restoration efforts related to oil spills.

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“…16 However, with the continuous advancement of industrialization and the oil pollution discharge and leakage accidents emerging frequently in recent years, the development of new functional materials for oil/water separation has become a focus of research and development. 17 Obviously, if the leaked oil cannot be recovered or disposed of well, it will not only cause direct harm to our entire human ecosystem but also seriously threaten the healthy development of our economy and society, such as the oil spilling accident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 18 and the oil tanker Sanchi that collided and sunk in 2018. 19 Therefore, it is very necessary to adopt simple, fast, and effective degreasing measures or technologies to reduce hazards for on-site treatment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One-Step Preparation of Robust Superhydrophobic Foam for Oil/Water Separation by Pulse Electrodeposition

et al. 2021

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Frequent leakage and pollution of oily wastewater seriously affect the world's ecosystem safety and economic development, which prompts us to urgently develop a highly effective, low-cost, wearresistant, chemically stable, and environmentally friendly new functional material for oil/water separation. In this paper, a robust superhydrophobic material was successfully electrodeposited on the porous copper foam substrates in myristic acid (CH 3 (CH 2 ) 12 COOH) and lanthanum chloride (LaCl 3 •6H 2 O) electrodeposition solution under a continuous pumping circulation and rotation condition. Moreover, SEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR, and XPS technologies were utilized to characterize the surface morphology and chemical composition information. The superhydrophobic property was evaluated by optical contact angle instrument and high-speed camera. It turned out that the micro/nanostructures were mainly composed of lanthanum myristate, and static CA of superhydrophobic copper foam (SCF) was up to 165.2°with SA ≈ 2°. Besides, the SCF exhibited a better performance with good anticorrosion, excellent chemical stability, and outstanding mechanical stability. Furthermore, the SCF can achieve up to 98.6% oil/water separation efficiency. More importantly, by employing this novel processing method, it can effectively save time and provide a promising potential way to make denser and thicker foams for continuous oil/water separation and may be easily applied to other conductive metal matrix materials.

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A review of Gulf of Mexico coastal marsh erosion studies following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and comparison to over 4 years of shoreline loss data from Fall 2010 to Summer 2015

Cited by 10 publications

References 45 publications

Accelerated marsh erosion following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill confirmed, ameliorated by planting

Accelerated marsh erosion following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill confirmed, ameliorated by planting

Meta‐analysis of salt marsh vegetation impacts and recovery: a synthesis following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

One-Step Preparation of Robust Superhydrophobic Foam for Oil/Water Separation by Pulse Electrodeposition

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