Promoting Ecological Sustainability and Community Resilience in the US Gulf Coast after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Abstract

On 20 April 2010, the 5000-foot-deep Macondo Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (MC252) well erupted after a blowout caused a catastrophic explosion and fire aboard the BP PLC-leased Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling platform (owned by Transocean Ltd.) about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of the Louisiana coast. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf Coast oil spill now imperils ecologically sensitive lands, affects the livelihoods of thousands of workers, and threatens a way of life that has been passed down for generations. An oil spill management Decision Support System (DSS) architecture is put forth that integrates the latest advances in MCDA and geomatics engineering in order to cope with the worst environmental disaster in US history. It is shown that policy-makers should improve the sustainability and resilience of Gulf Coast ecosystems and communities so that they are healthier and more robust than before the oil spill. Policy recommendations with respect to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill are put forth. We discuss how to best assist disrupted businesses, rehabilitate polluted ecosystems, and improve regulatory oversight of the oil and gas industry in order to prevent future oil spill disasters.

Behavioral and reproductive effects of bird-borne data logger attachment on Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) on three temporal scales

“…Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) have long been a focal species for coastal conservation and oil spill restoration (Levy and Gopalakrishnan 2010). Their sensitivity to contaminants exposure (Blus et al 1979) and high mortality and morbidity during oil spills (Anderson et al 1996;Haney et al 2014;Jernelöv and Lindén 1981), combined with their large population sizes and visibility and tendency to nest in dense colonies, make them a strong indicator species for studying ecological functioning of nearshore marine systems.…”

Kонтејнери Као Градивни Блокови У Кризним Подручјима

“…Однос између човека и природних катастрофа као услов да човек и природа хармонично коегзистирају, значајан је за разумевање катастрофа с научног становишта како би се што боље одговорило на изазове природе. [2] Префабрикована кућа је била стална тема у архитектури XX века, и често је с подсмехом описивана као "најстарија нова идеја" Модерне архитектуре. [3] На прагу XXI века започеле су многобројне позитивне трансформације, инспирисане напредним идејама које су у великој мери усавршиле начине смештаја угроженог становништва, а самим тим и представиле нове програме становања после катастрофа.…”

“…До сада су ове алтернативне методе изградње успешно остварене у омладинским центрима, за учионице (слика 5), Јулија П. Алексић Контејнери као градивни блокови у кризним подручјима [2] Примена транспортних контејнера у архитектури има велике предности. Најзначајније су: издржљивост, транспорт, доступност и цена [6].…”

Effects of dispersant used for oil spill remediation on nitrogen cycling in Louisiana coastal salt marsh soil

“…In total, approximately 795 million liters (5 million barrels) of oil were released from the seabed into Gulf of Mexico waters (Natter et al, 2012), 90 km offshore of the Mississippi River Delta (Klemas, 2010). Much of the south Louisiana (LA) light crude oil rose to the surface and washed ashore in the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida driven by wind, waves, tides and currents (Levy and Gopalakrishnan, 2010).…”