Invisible oil beyond the Deepwater Horizon satellite footprint

Igal Berenshtein, Claire B. Paris, Natalie Perlin, Matthew M. Alloy, Samantha B. Joye, Steve Murawski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Major oil spills are catastrophic events that immensely affect the environment and society, yet determining their spatial extent is a highly complex task. During the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout, ~149,000 km2 of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) was covered by oil slicks and vast areas of the Gulf were closed for fishing. Yet, the satellite footprint does not necessarily capture the entire oil spill extent. Here, we use in situ observations and oil spill transport modeling to examine the full extent of the DWH spill, focusing on toxic-to-biota (i.e., marine organisms) oil concentration ranges. We demonstrate that large areas of the GoM were exposed to invisible and toxic oil that extended beyond the boundaries of the satellite footprint and the fishery closures. With a global increase in petroleum production-related activities, a careful assessment of oil spills' full extent is necessary to maximize environmental and public safety.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbereaaw8863
JournalScience advances
Volume6
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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