Technological Developments Since the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Abstract

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.

Summary of Findings and Research Recommendations from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

“…The severity and unusual circumstances of the DWH incident called for innovative technological developments to mitigate and investigate the fate and impacts of the released material and the physical, chemical, and biological processes involved. The technological developments highlighted in Dannreuther et al (2021, in this issue) represent only a small sampling of such developments. However, this small representation demonstrates the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of innovation with application to a wide range of scientific endeavors.…”

Bursting of Underwater Oil Drops

“…From a practical standpoint, it indicates that drops bursting at an water-air interface from underwater oil spills can disperse daughter droplets deep inside the oceans. Furthermore, marine biosurfactants within the oceans [27,28] can arrest daughter droplet generation cascade and prolong oil droplet lifetimes, aspects which can be explored in future studies. Finally, we are concerned with drop distortion which leads to daughter droplets of size, O (100𝜇m) unlike previously reported [29] bubbles of secondary jets which are produced downward but much smaller in size O (4 − 5 𝜇m).…”