352
functions and connectivity between deep-sea habitats and communities also
lacked adequate scientific study. In short, our limited understanding of deep
benthic resources, especially regarding long-term trends, stability of communities, recruitment, and resiliency (or the ability of populations to recover after
significant deepwater pollution incidents), limited our ability to identify and
make claims for resource injuries.
21.3 Discussion
Although the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a modern tragedy, the likes of which
the public had never before experienced, the subsequent investigations that ensued,
and continue at the time of this publication, represented a watershed moment in our
understanding of the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico. This is evidenced by the range
of literature that has been published over the past eight years since the release,
which includes documentation of newly identified species, novel chemical techniques, advances in modeling, and an increased understanding of the fate and transport in, and impacts of oil on, the environment. The disaster also provided us an
opportunity to redouble our efforts to ensure that oil and gas development is conducted in a safe manner for both workers and the environment.
Nevertheless, gaps in our understanding of effects of deep spills remain. These
gaps stem primarily from the fact that the deep ocean is, relatively, inaccessible. The
logistical challenges of studying the deep ocean are great, due primarily to the difficulties associated with accessing and working in deep water. In implementing
studies of sediment infauna for the assessment, for example, it was highlighted that
it took one hour simply to lower and raise the sediment coring equipment when
working in 1500 m of water depth. This severely limited the overall number of sediment samples that could even be taken in the vicinity of the wellhead. Further, much
of the historical research that has been done has been focused more on serving the
oil and gas industry, as opposed to understanding the ecosystem. Biological surveys
are often limited in geographic scope—many times restricted to areas where drilling
is planned or oil extraction is underway. These limited surveys provide valuable
information, but extrapolating to areas further removed creates unacceptable uncertainty for use in damage assessments and understanding potential impacts when
habitats and communities are as patchy as they are in the deep sea. Clearly the work
by the oil industry has yielded very helpful information, and the tools developed for
deep- sea oil and gas development, ranging from remotely operated and autonomous
underwater vehicles to undersea sonar and other imaging techniques, have served
the academic research community immensely.
There are also real technical challenges associated with conducting valid scientific experiments under the harsh conditions present in the deep sea. For example,
organisms adapted to the cold, darkness, and high pressure of the deep ocean are
difficult to study ex situ, and conducting experiments at depth is challenged by the
issues of inaccessibility noted above and all of the confounding factors associated
C. G. Lewis and R. W. Ricker
functions and connectivity between deep-sea habitats and communities also
lacked adequate scientific study. In short, our limited understanding of deep
benthic resources, especially regarding long-term trends, stability of communities, recruitment, and resiliency (or the ability of populations to recover after
significant deepwater pollution incidents), limited our ability to identify and
make claims for resource injuries.
21.3 Discussion
Although the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a modern tragedy, the likes of which
the public had never before experienced, the subsequent investigations that ensued,
and continue at the time of this publication, represented a watershed moment in our
understanding of the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico. This is evidenced by the range
of literature that has been published over the past eight years since the release,
which includes documentation of newly identified species, novel chemical techniques, advances in modeling, and an increased understanding of the fate and transport in, and impacts of oil on, the environment. The disaster also provided us an
opportunity to redouble our efforts to ensure that oil and gas development is conducted in a safe manner for both workers and the environment.
Nevertheless, gaps in our understanding of effects of deep spills remain. These
gaps stem primarily from the fact that the deep ocean is, relatively, inaccessible. The
logistical challenges of studying the deep ocean are great, due primarily to the difficulties associated with accessing and working in deep water. In implementing
studies of sediment infauna for the assessment, for example, it was highlighted that
it took one hour simply to lower and raise the sediment coring equipment when
working in 1500 m of water depth. This severely limited the overall number of sediment samples that could even be taken in the vicinity of the wellhead. Further, much
of the historical research that has been done has been focused more on serving the
oil and gas industry, as opposed to understanding the ecosystem. Biological surveys
are often limited in geographic scope—many times restricted to areas where drilling
is planned or oil extraction is underway. These limited surveys provide valuable
information, but extrapolating to areas further removed creates unacceptable uncertainty for use in damage assessments and understanding potential impacts when
habitats and communities are as patchy as they are in the deep sea. Clearly the work
by the oil industry has yielded very helpful information, and the tools developed for
deep- sea oil and gas development, ranging from remotely operated and autonomous
underwater vehicles to undersea sonar and other imaging techniques, have served
the academic research community immensely.
There are also real technical challenges associated with conducting valid scientific experiments under the harsh conditions present in the deep sea. For example,
organisms adapted to the cold, darkness, and high pressure of the deep ocean are
difficult to study ex situ, and conducting experiments at depth is challenged by the
issues of inaccessibility noted above and all of the confounding factors associated
C. G. Lewis and R. W. Ricker