Scenarios and Responses to Future Deep Oil Spills

It has often been said that generals prepare for the next war by re-fighting the last.  The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was unlike any previous - an underwater well blowout 1,500 meters deep.  Much has been learned in the wake of DWH and these lessons should in turn be applied to both similar oil spill scenarios and those arising from "e;frontier"e; explorations by the marine oil industry.  The next deep oil well blowout may be at 3,000 meters or even deeper.  This volume summarizes regional (Gulf of Mexico) and global megatrends in marine oil exploration and production.  Research in a number of key areas including the behavior of oil and gas under extreme pressure, impacts on biological resources of the deep sea, and the fate of oil and gas released in spills is synthesized.  A number of deep oil spills are simulated with detailed computer models, and the likely effects of the spills and potential mitigation measures used to combat them are compared.  Recommended changes in policies governing marine oil exploration and development are proposed, as well as additional research to close critical and emerging knowledge gaps.  This volume synthesizes state-of-the-art research in deep oil spill behavior and response.   It is thus relevant for government and industry oil spill responders, policy formulators and implementers, and academics and students desiring an in-depth and balanced overview of key issues and uncertainties surrounding the quest for deep oil and potential impacts on the environment.

It has often been said that generals prepare for the next war by re-fighting the last.  TheDeepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was unlike any previous – an underwater well blowout 1,500 meters deep.  Much has been learned in the wake of DWH and these lessons should in turn be applied to both similar oil spill scenarios and those arising from “frontier” explorations by the marine oil industry.  The next deep oil well blowout may be at 3,000 meters or even deeper.  This volume summarizes regional (Gulf of Mexico) and global megatrends in marine oil exploration and production.  Research in a number of key areas including the behavior of oil and gas under extreme pressure, impacts on biological resources of the deep sea, and the fate of oil and gas released in spills is synthesized.  A number of deep oil spills are simulated with detailed computer models, and the likely effects of the spills and potential mitigation measures used to combat them are compared.  Recommended changes in policies governing marine oil exploration and development are proposed, as well as additional research to close critical and emerging knowledge gaps.  This volume synthesizes state-of-the-art research in deep oil spill behavior and response.   It is thus relevant for government and industry oil spill responders, policy formulators and implementers, and academics and students desiring an in-depth and balanced overview of key issues and uncertainties surrounding the quest for deep oil and potential impacts on the environment.

Section I Overview.- 1 Introduction to the volume.- 2 Deep-water oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, and related global trends.- 3 Spilled oil composition and the natural carbon cycle: The true drivers of environmental fate and effects of oil spills.- Section II Geological, Chemical, Ecological and Physical Oceanographic Settings and Baselines for Deep Oil Spills in the Gulf of Mexico.- 4 An overview of the geologic origins of hydrocarbons and production trends in the Gulf of Mexico.- 5 Gulf of Mexico (GoM) bottom sediments and depositional processes: A baseline for future oil spills.- 6 Benthic faunal baselines in the Gulf of Mexico: A precursor to evaluate future impacts.- 7 Linking abiotic variables with macrofaunal and meiofaunal abundance and community.- 8 The asphalt ecosystem of the southern Gulf of Mexico: abyssal habitats across space and time.- 9 Geochemical and faunal characterization in the sediments off the Cuban north and northwest coast.- 10 Mapping isotopic and dissolved organic matter baselines in waters and sediments of Gulf of Mexico.- 11 Toward a predictive understanding of the benthic microbial community response to oiling on the northern Gulf of Mexico coast.- 12 Combining isoscapes with tissue-specific isotope records to re-create the geographic histories of fish.- 13 The utility of stable and radio isotopes in fish tissues as biogeochemical tracers of marine oil spill food web effects.- 14 Modernizing protocols for aquatic toxicity testing of oil and dispersant.- 15 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon baselines in Gulf of Mexico fishes.- 16 Case Study: Using a combined laboratory, field, and modeling approach to assess oil spill impacts.- Section III Simulations of Future Deep Spills.- 17 Testing the effect of MOSSFA (Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation) events in benthic microcosms.- 18 Physical processes influencing the sedimentation and lateral transport of MOSSFA in the NE Gulf of Mexico.- 19 Simulating deep oil spills beyond the Gulf of Mexico.- Section IV Comparisons of likely impacts from simulated spills.- 20 Comparison of the spatial extent, impacts to shorelines, and ecosystem and 4-dimensional characteristics of simulated oil spills.- 21 A predictive strategy for mapping locations where future MOSSFA events are expected.- 22 Connectivity of Gulf of Mexico continental shelf fish populations and implications of simulated oil spills.- 23 Evaluating the effectiveness of fishery closures for deep oil spills using a 4-dimensional model.- 24 As Gulf oil extraction goes deeper, who is at risk? Community structure, distribution, and connectivity of the deep-pelagic fauna.- 25 Evaluating impacts of deep oil spills on oceanic marine mammals.- 26 Comparative environmental sensitivity of offshore Gulf of Mexico waters potentially impacted by ultra-deep oil well blowouts.- Section V Preparing for and Responding to the Next Deepwater Spill.- 27 Preparing for the inevitable: ecological and indigenouscommunity impacts of oil spill-related mortality in the United States Arctic marine ecosystem.- 28 Summary of contemporary research on use of chemical dispersants for deep sea oil spills.- 29 Perspectives on research, technology, policy and human resources for improved management of ultra-deep oil and gas resources and responses to oil spills.- Index.