Preventing Future Oil Spills with Software-Based Event Detection

O n 20 April 2010, the BP-owned, Transoceanoperated Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling rig exploded, killing 11 workers and injuring 17, and sending massive quantities of crude oil riddled with lethal toxins from the sea floor into the Gulf of Mexico. Geophysicists, Earth-space scientists, and policymakers continue to debate the cause of the explosion, how much oil has been released, how best to contain it, and the long-term impact. As BP made one futile attempt after another to cap the well, hundreds of millions of gallons poured into the gulf, eclipsing the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in less than a week and causing incalculable environmental damage. More than 2,500 animals have already been killed, including hundreds of endangered sea turtles, and the marshes and wetlands that protect Louisiana’s coast from erosion are seriously threatened. Scientists also fear that a hurricane could churn the oil-soaked waters, endangering many inland areas and landmarks. And should the oil reach the Gulf Stream loop current, it will wash up on Florida’s beaches and may even reach the Atlantic seaboard. The oil spill has also decimated the local economy, much of which relies on fishing, tourism, and deepwater drilling (banned by the federal government in the wake of the spill), and the ultimate cleanup, reclamation, and litigation costs will be in the billions of dollars. In short, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is one of the largest and costliest in history, with far-reaching effects on the Gulf Coast that will be felt for decades to come.