The Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact:Extending science for collaborative
management
GCFI 2016
Christine Hale
Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Source: Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)
April 20, 201011 people killed
Oil flowed for 87 days200 million gallons oil
1.84 million gallons dispersant
Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative
$500 million, 10-year investment
Goal - Improve society’s ability to understand, respond to, and mitigate the effects of petroleum pollution and related stressors
Focus areas: 1. How do oil and dispersants move around the
environment?2. How do oil and dispersants break down over time? 3. How do oil and dispersants impact the environment?4. How can technology be improved? 5. How do oil spills impact people?
Learn more at gulfresearchinitiative.org
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Photos: GoMRI
• University-based programs (33)
• Partially funded by NOAA and states
• Three areas of emphasis– Research
– Education
– Extension
• Service-oriented
• Trusted/non-advocacy honest brokers
• 50 years of serving the nation’s coasts
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
What is Sea Grant?
Mission: Enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources in order to create a sustainable economy and environment
Oil Spill Science – Outreach Team
Chris Hale
Larissa Graham
Monica Wilson
Emily Maung-Douglass
Steve Sempier
&
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Tara Skelton
• Fishing industry, commercial
• Fishing industry, for-hire
• Fishing industry, recreational
• Policy makers
• Emergency responders/managers
• Environmental non-profit staff
• Natural resource managers
• Public health officials
• Tourism industry
• GoMRI outreach specialists
• University/college researchers
• Oil & gas industry consultants
Our Target Audiences
A BP decontamination facility in the Pascagoula River, MS. Credit: NOAA.
Booms made out of pom-poms are set to protect the sandy beach area. Credit: NOAA.
Researchers discuss field observations with NOAA's Natural Resources Damage Assessment. Credit: NOAA.
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Oil Spill Science – Outreach products
Sharing peer-reviewed, published science
– Science outreach publications
• Focused on science topics identified by our audiences
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
• Fisheries management• Seafood testing• Series about dispersants• Frequently asked questions• Oil on our beaches• Fish health• Impacts on fisheries
Oil Spill Science – Outreach products
Sharing peer-reviewed, published science
– Science seminars & input sessions
• Presentations by experts
• Continue to identify needs of audiences
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Ecosystem Impacts
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Understanding fisheries impacts from oil spills: 3 level approach
How do oil spills impact a group of living things of the same species?
How do oil spills impact many different kinds of living things in an area or habitat?
How do oil spills impact individuals?
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
BUT chemicals in oil can cause: • Decreased swimming speed• Decreased size• Deformities• Sensitivity and impact varies
by fish life stage/age, & concentration of oil
FISH are good at breaking down the bad stuff in oil!• Oil metabolizing gene (CYP1A) triggers
production of proteins that will breakdown PAHs in fish
• Animals without CYP1A bioaccumulate• CYP1A is a biomarker for oil exposure in fish
Individual fish impacts
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreachgulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Mager et al. 2014; Incardona et al. 2014; Dubansky et al. 2013
B. Dubansky
A. Bullard
http://gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cause skin lesions on fish?
• There was an increase in skin lesions on offshore marine fish
• There was an increase in PAHs in locations with lesioned fish during the same time period
• The PAHs found in the lesioned fish were similar to the PAHs in DWH oil samples, but it is not 100% certain that DWH oil caused the lesions
Murawski et al. 2014
Individual fish impacts
van der Ham & der Mutsert 2014
Population impacts
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Community Impacts
• Pre-spill normal diet :
– shrimp, crabs, squid but also a 15 – 20% zooplankton
• Post-spill diet shift attributed to DWH
– more fish & crustaceans and less zooplankton
Tarnecki & Patterson 2015
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
• Deep sea fish are exposed to PAHs in different ways
• Fish habitat and fish behavior play a key role in exposure
• Oiled sediments exposed golden tilefish to higher levels of PAH for a few years after the oil spill
• Episodic exposure; source of PAH not determined
Community Impacts
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
(art by Able, Grimes & Jones)
Snyder et al. 2015
Oil spill planning & management
Flower Garden Banks National
Marine Sanctuary 2016 workshop
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Potential oil producing areas in the North Cuban Basin. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
Oil spill planning & management
Spill map (Source: Center of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution)
• University of Puerto Rico workshop 2017…Stay tuned!
• Tomorrow! Join us at 2 pm for our Sea Grant input session to continue the conversation! We want your feedback!
• “GOMOSES” conference in February 2017
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Upcoming opportunities
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach
Thank you!
Science and Information Needs for Gulf and Caribbean Regional Stakeholders
Christine Hale
Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program
GCFI 2016
We want your input!
• What oil spill-related information needs do you or your communities have?
• Have you or your communities been affected by an oil spill? How?
• Are you involved in oil spill response, management, policy, or research?
• How do you envision collaborating across the region?
gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach