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 years 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 mwestmeyer@scaquarium.org