Biogeochemical Processes Affecting the Fate of Discharged Deepwater Horizon Gas and Oil: New Insights and Remaining Gaps in Our Understanding

Self Cite

The severity of oil spills depends on the quantity of material released and its physical and chemical properties. The total amount of petroleum spilled during the Deepwater Horizon incident and the relative fractions of the chemical compound classes of the Macondo oil were obtained by measurements, observations, and model calculations, with a significant amount of uncertainty. Because petroleum is an extremely complex mixture of many thousands or more of gaseous, liquid, and solid constituents, full elucidation of their compositions at the molecular level is impossible with presently available analytical techniques. This paper reviews published work on widely used analytical techniques and points out that scientists’ varying approaches to research questions and preferences for methods of analysis constitute a source of uncertainty. In addition, the focus is on two technical advancements developed over the last two decades, namely two-dimensional gas chromatography and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Both were particularly valuable in the analysis of the spilled Macondo oil and its weathering products. Among the different processes of alteration of the original oil, only in situ oil burning is dealt with in this paper. This review reveals the paucity of data on this mitigation process and shows the need for more systematic coordination of methods in burned oil research studies.

Section: Analytical Chemistry Methods and Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Was Released? Assessing the Physical Properties and Chemical Composition of Petroleum and Products of Burned Oil

Rullkötter¹,

Farrington²

2021

Self Cite

“…Omics-enabled tracking of microbial dynamics in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon (Kostka et al, 2020) also revealed unexpected community dynamics following this massive environmental perturbation. These issues are considered further in Farrington et al (2021) and Weiman et al (2021), both in this issue. The application of omics approaches to other environmental disturbances, small and large, will provide an important tool in the future to reveal sentinels of change and indicators of recovery in real time.…”

Section: Gulf Microbial Communities and Their Responses To Deepwater Horizonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many questions still remain regarding the Gulf 's natural responses to anthropogenically driven insults in these areas. The microbial community of the Gulf is considered a foundational element, and understanding microbes' roles in assimilating both naturally derived and anthropogenic oil inputs depends upon understanding that broader context, as discussed in Farrington et al (2021) and Weiman et al (2021), both in this issue.…”

Section: Gulf Microbial Communities and Their Responses To Deepwater Horizonmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gulf of Mexico: An Overview

McKinney¹,

Shepherd²,

Wilson³

et al. 2021

The Gulf of Mexico is a place where the environment and the economy both coexist and contend. It is a resilient large marine ecosystem that has changed in response to many drivers and pressures that we are only now beginning to fully understand. Coastlines of the states that border the Gulf comprise about half of the US southern seaboard, and those states are capped by the vast Midwest. The Gulf drains most of North America and is both an economic keystone and an unintended waste receptacle. It is a renowned resource for seafood markets, recreational fishing, and beach destinations and an international maritime highway fueled by vast, but limited, hydrocarbon reserves. Today, more is known about the Gulf than was imagined possible only a few years ago. That gain in knowledge was driven by one of the greatest environmental disasters of this country’s history, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The multitude of response actions and subsequent funded research significantly contributed to expanding our knowledge and, perhaps most importantly, to guiding the work needed to restore the damage from that oil spill. Funding for further work should not wait for the next major disaster, which will be too late; progress must be maintained to ensure that the Gulf continues to be resilient.

“…Anthropogenic influences on the ecosystem, notably from the exploitation of oil and gas, have on occasion been extreme, with several notable largescale oil-related releases into the Gulf (Farrington et al, 2021, andWiesenburg et al, 2021, both in this issue). For example, the 1978 Ixtoc 1 spill that occurred offshore from the Bay of Campeche, Mexico, leaked 3.4 million barrels (142.8 million gallons) of crude oil over a nine-month period, some of which eventually reached the Texas coast.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Disaster to Understanding: Formation and Accomplishments of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

Zimmermann¹,

Feldman²,

Benoit³

et al. 2021

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was created in 2010 following the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. BP engaged Rita Colwell to form and lead an independent board of experts to oversee an unprecedented program of scientific research on the effects of the spill. As a new and uniquely funded organization, GoMRI quickly developed and implemented a set of management processes, policies, and frameworks while simultaneously building an interconnected research community that eventually grew to nearly 4,500 individuals. The GoMRI Research Board and Management Team successfully produced and operated a system for requests for proposals, grants management, scientific and programmatic data management, and outreach and education, and assembled a scientific synthesis of results to create a lasting legacy 10 years after the disaster. Here, we document the challenges and key decisions underlying the design and operation of GoMRI as a model for independent, industry-funded research. In short, GoMRI represents a unique multi-sector partnership and a community of researchers that will advance science in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere for decades to come.