9
of weathered oil would be transported to the deep sea bottom via a complex set of
mechanisms is an important and, prior to DWH, a poorly understood phenomenon.
Ecosystem-level effects (3) from an ultra-deep spill integrate the full range of benthic, water column, sea surface, and coastal ecosystems (Fig. 1.1). This is due to the
complex transport mechanisms affecting the fate of oil and gas. Because oil in various
states of weathering (fresh crude, dissolved, weathered oil components, emulsified
oil, etc.) will be transported both vertically and horizontally in a large ultra-deep spill,
the potential environmental and human impacts are much more diverse and complex
than in typical surface oil spills. Because response measures can influence the fate and
thus the exposure vectors of spilled oil, spill response managers are thus faced with
the challenge of balancing trade-offs among ecosystem components, recognizing that
there are no benign options in oil spill mitigation and cleanup. For example, the use of
SSDI in large quantities is likely to toxify deep benthic and mesopelagic realms where
highly diverse, but relatively unproductive communities exist (Fisher et al. 2016;
Romero et al. 2018). However, allowing oil to surface in large droplet sizes may
increase the oil volume affecting surface- dwelling and coastal animals and plants
(French-McCay et al. 2018). The ultimate choice of response measures for a particular
spill must be made with transparency and forethought and not simply left to ad hoc,
situational decision-making, particularly since the nature and implications of such
choices are becoming more clear with additional research.
The concept of this two-volume series (e.g., this book, Deep Oil Spills, Facts, Fate
and Effects, and the companion volume – Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep
Oil Spills: Fighting the Next War) is to synthesize some of the salient research examining key issues that have emerged since the DWH casualty and from other deep oil
spills and experiments. Much of the scientific research summarized in these volumes
was sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI), funded by a grant
of $500 million from BP. Additionally, under the DWH Response and Natural
Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) programs following DWH, a large number of
studies examined the impacts on wildlife and lost human uses of the environments
affected by the spill. Much of that research has now been widely disseminated in
reports and scientific publications (e.g., Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource
Damage Assessment Trustees 2016). The GoMRI Research Board, chaired by
Eminent Biologist Dr. Rita Colwell, overseen by Chief Scientist Dr. Charles “Chuck”
Wilson, and comprised of experts in many scientific domains, has consistently encouraged synthesis of research findings as a way to improve the rigor and relevance of the
research applied to real-world issues. These books are meant to contribute to the ongoing and important task of synthesizing what we know now and for identifying critical
“known-unknowns” for future investigation. How can society minimize the risks and
make informed choices about trade-offs, such as the use of subsurface injection of
dispersants at the wellhead in the advent of another ultra- deep blowout? Finally, what
research questions, experiments, and approaches remain to be undertaken which will
aid in reducing risk if similar incidents and their ensuing impacts should ultra-deep
blowouts reoccur? It is to these questions that this volume intended to contribute.
This book is organized into eight thematic sections, generally following the fate
and effect scheme outlined in Fig. 1.1. Each section is introduced with a brief chapter
1 Introduction to the Volume
of weathered oil would be transported to the deep sea bottom via a complex set of
mechanisms is an important and, prior to DWH, a poorly understood phenomenon.
Ecosystem-level effects (3) from an ultra-deep spill integrate the full range of benthic, water column, sea surface, and coastal ecosystems (Fig. 1.1). This is due to the
complex transport mechanisms affecting the fate of oil and gas. Because oil in various
states of weathering (fresh crude, dissolved, weathered oil components, emulsified
oil, etc.) will be transported both vertically and horizontally in a large ultra-deep spill,
the potential environmental and human impacts are much more diverse and complex
than in typical surface oil spills. Because response measures can influence the fate and
thus the exposure vectors of spilled oil, spill response managers are thus faced with
the challenge of balancing trade-offs among ecosystem components, recognizing that
there are no benign options in oil spill mitigation and cleanup. For example, the use of
SSDI in large quantities is likely to toxify deep benthic and mesopelagic realms where
highly diverse, but relatively unproductive communities exist (Fisher et al. 2016;
Romero et al. 2018). However, allowing oil to surface in large droplet sizes may
increase the oil volume affecting surface- dwelling and coastal animals and plants
(French-McCay et al. 2018). The ultimate choice of response measures for a particular
spill must be made with transparency and forethought and not simply left to ad hoc,
situational decision-making, particularly since the nature and implications of such
choices are becoming more clear with additional research.
The concept of this two-volume series (e.g., this book, Deep Oil Spills, Facts, Fate
and Effects, and the companion volume – Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep
Oil Spills: Fighting the Next War) is to synthesize some of the salient research examining key issues that have emerged since the DWH casualty and from other deep oil
spills and experiments. Much of the scientific research summarized in these volumes
was sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI), funded by a grant
of $500 million from BP. Additionally, under the DWH Response and Natural
Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) programs following DWH, a large number of
studies examined the impacts on wildlife and lost human uses of the environments
affected by the spill. Much of that research has now been widely disseminated in
reports and scientific publications (e.g., Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource
Damage Assessment Trustees 2016). The GoMRI Research Board, chaired by
Eminent Biologist Dr. Rita Colwell, overseen by Chief Scientist Dr. Charles “Chuck”
Wilson, and comprised of experts in many scientific domains, has consistently encouraged synthesis of research findings as a way to improve the rigor and relevance of the
research applied to real-world issues. These books are meant to contribute to the ongoing and important task of synthesizing what we know now and for identifying critical
“known-unknowns” for future investigation. How can society minimize the risks and
make informed choices about trade-offs, such as the use of subsurface injection of
dispersants at the wellhead in the advent of another ultra- deep blowout? Finally, what
research questions, experiments, and approaches remain to be undertaken which will
aid in reducing risk if similar incidents and their ensuing impacts should ultra-deep
blowouts reoccur? It is to these questions that this volume intended to contribute.
This book is organized into eight thematic sections, generally following the fate
and effect scheme outlined in Fig. 1.1. Each section is introduced with a brief chapter
1 Introduction to the Volume