The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) during the spring spawning season of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT). Overlap between BFT spawning habitat and surface oil in the northern GOM was examined using satellite-derived estimates of oil coverage, and spawning habitat models. Results suggested that although eggs and larvae were likely impacted by oil-contamina...

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from satellite missions provide a significant support to oil spill detection applications. On the other hands recent studies have demonstrated the potentialities of artificial neural networks for discrimination, starting from SAR imagery, between oil spills and objects which resemble oil spills (called “look-alikes”). The oil spill detection algorithm basic...

We have applied the SIPE system (a classical planning tool, see [1] ) to the Coast Guard’s problem of oil spill response. The Coast Guard has final responsibility for cleanup actions when an oil spill occurs in coastal waters. Oil spill actions fall into two types, "deploying" clean up equipment from the site near the coast where it is stored, and once deployment is complete, "employing" the eq...

Oil spills generate a large cost in environmental and economic terms. Their identification plays an important role in oil-spill response. We propose an oil spill detection method with improved adaptive enhancement on X-band marine radar systems. The radar images used in this paper were acquired on 21 July 2010, from the teaching-training ship "YUKUN" of the Dalian Maritime University. According...

M arbled murrelets, Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus, are small seabirds of the Alcid Family. Alcids are diving seabirds inhabiting the north Pacific and include murres, puffins, auklets, murrelets, and guillemots. Marbled murrelets occur in nearshore marine environments from California to Alaska, nesting primarily in old-growth forests. A larger subspecies, B. m. perdix, is found along the ...

After the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill began in April 2010, studies were initiated on northern Gulf of Mexico common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Mississippi Sound (MSS) to determine density, abundance, and survival, during and after the oil spill, and to compare these results to previous research in this region. Seasonal boat-based photo-identification surveys (2010-2012) w...

Halomonas species are recognized for producing exopolysaccharides (EPS) exhibiting amphiphilic properties that allow these macromolecules to interface with hydrophobic substrates, such as hydrocarbons. There remains a paucity of knowledge, however, on the potential of Halomonas EPS to influence the biodegradation of hydrocarbons. In this study, the well-characterized amphiphilic EPS produced by...

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill triggered a complex cascade of microbial responses that reshaped the dynamics of heterotrophic carbon degradation and the turnover of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in oil contaminated waters. Our results from 21-day laboratory incubations in rotating glass bottles (roller bottles) demonstrate that microbial dynamics and carbon flux in oil-contaminated surface wa...

The risk of oil spills is a major environmental issue in the siting of proposed coastal refineries, oil terminals, deepwater ports, and in the leasing of offshore lands for oil exploration and development. As with any kind of risk, oil spill risk assessment is inherently judgmental and no analytic method can eliminate the need for judgment. This paper compares representative examples of oil spi...