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Current and Potential Impacts of the Gulf Oil Spill
Megan Westmeyer
Timeline• Deepwater Horizon
> floating rig > exploratory drilling 50 miles southeast of Venice> water nearly 1 mile deep > only 40-50 rigs in Gulf drilling this deep
• April 20, 2010 – explosion – methane gas
• April 22, 2010 – rig topples, oil begins to leak from well in sea floor> Blow-out preventer failed> Three leaks, one has been sealed
Current situation• Leaking ~210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels)
per day> Exxon Valdez in 1989 was 11 million gallons
• Attempted to place large “funnel” over leak on Saturday 5/8 > Gas-water crystals clogged
• Mitigation: booms, skimming, burning, dispersants (bad weather disrupts)
• Oil started showing up on shore over the weekend
What next for BP?
• Drilling relief well (2-3 months)
• Retry box, but higher in water column
• Other kind of box with heat source to prevent crystallization
• Pump mud and concrete into blowout preventer (2-3 weeks)
• Cut the pipe, connect larger pipe – could make it worse, could contain completely
Is Gulf seafood safe to eat?
• If it makes it to market, yes
• Affected portions of Gulf closed to harvest
• Federal and state agencies testing seafood in Gulf and on land (established benchmarks first)
• Scientists testing Gulf water and sediments
Fishery Closures
• From http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/
• Current Federal Closure
• Office of Response and Restoration – daily updates and projections> http://response.restoration.noaa.gov
• Also see Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at www.wlf.louisiana.gov for state water closures and oyster closures
Affected seafood products
• Gulf seafood production
• Oysters
• Shrimp
• Crab
• Snapper and grouper
Oysters
• Immobile, filter feeders
• 67% of U.S. oysters
• LA dominates; substantial production in TX, MS, wFL
• Affected portions of LA and MS produce >50% of U.S. oysters
• MS scheduled to close on April 30; re-open in fall
Shrimp• Spring and summer - adult shrimp leave the
salt marshes and move offshore to spawn
• Affect adults and offspring (next year’s crop)
• Gulf of Mexico produces about 73% of the U.S. harvested shrimp> Dominated by LA, TX close second, AL, MS, and
wFL smaller but substantial amounts
• Closed areas are about 40-45% of Gulf production or about 30% of national production
Crab
• Crab harvest in near shore waters - harvest typically peaking during the summer and spawning peaking during the fall
• Most of Gulf harvest in LA – 26% of U.S. harvest
Snapper and grouper
• More likely to be affected in the long-term
• Spawning throughout the late spring and summer
• Larvae and juveniles inhabit shallower and inshore waters – vulnerable to chemicals
• Dispersants may make oil more available to adults
Dispersants
• Separates the oil into smaller droplets> Dispersed throughout the water column> Prevent surface slick – affects beaches, marshes,
animals – immediate damage
• Does not destroy or eliminate oil – dilutes and alters until natural degradation
• Where does it go? – complex currents, water vs sediment
• What does it do? – food chain, toxicity
Sea Grant Info Hub
• www.gulfseagrant.org > Developments > Recovery > Economic Value > Human Health > Oil and Wildlife > Maps and Map Services > Background Information
Websites
• NOAA Fishery Closures http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/
• NOAA oil spill daily updates and predictions http://response.restoration.noaa.gov
• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries closures www.wlf.louisiana.gov
• Gulf Sea Grant information hub www.gulfseagrant.org
• For more info contact: Megan Westmeyer at [email protected]