Human Health and Socioeconomic Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

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: In Situ Burning Of Oil At the Sea Surfacementioning

confidence: 99%

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

Rullkötter¹,

Farrington²

2021

“…GoMRI has made major contributions to understanding all the components of this system and the interactions between them, and to modeling them (Westerholm et al, 2021, in this issue). Our understanding of the dynamics of human health and well-being (Sandifer et al, 2021, in this issue), however, needs further advances so that a truly holistic approach can become feasible (Helena Solo-Gabriele, University of Miami, pers. comm., 2021).…”

Section: Understanding Gulf Systems Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gulf of Mexico: An Overview

McKinney¹,

Shepherd²,

Wilson³

et al. 2021

Self Cite

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.

“…We also describe novel approaches for investigating oil-induced physiological and ecological impacts on commercially and environmentally important fish and marine mammal species that help to provide a more comprehensive understanding of acute and sublethal effects on long-term population dynamics. Topics related to oil spill impacts on marine life are also discussed in Farrington et al (2021), Halanych et al (2021), Quigg et al (2021), Murawski et al (2021), andSandifer et al (2021), all in this issue. White et al (2012) combined the use of technologies that can operate in the deepsea environment with three-dimensional seismic data to find, image, identify, and collect samples of a damaged octocoral community 13 km southwest of the DWH site.…”

Section: Developments In Investigating Oil Spill Impacts On Marine Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

Technological Developments Since the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Dannreuther¹,

Halpern²,

Rullkötter³

et al. 2021

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) program funded research for 10 years following the Deepwater Horizon incident to address five themes, one of which was technology developments for improved response, mitigation, detection, characterization, and remediation associated with oil spills and gas releases. This paper features a sampling of such developments or advancements, most of which cite studies funded by GoMRI, but we also include several developments that occurred outside this program. We provide descriptions of new techniques or the novel application or enhancement of existing techniques related to studies on the evolution of the subsurface oil plume, the collection of data on ocean currents to support oil transport modeling, and oil spill modeling. We also feature developments related to the interactions of oil with particulate matter and microbial organisms, sampling for studies and analysis of biogeochemical processes related to oil fate, human health risks from inhalation of oil spill chemicals, impacts on marine life, and alternative dispersant technologies to Corexit®. Many of the techniques featured here have contributed to complementary or subsequent research and have applications beyond oil spill research that can contribute to a wide range of scientific endeavors.