Oil on Troubled Waters: Recovery in the Gulf of Mexico

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1 Oil on Troubled Waters: Response and Outlook for Recovery in the Gulf of Mexico Nancy E. Kinner Coastal Response Research Center University of New Hampshire UNH Homecoming October 8, 2010

2 University of New Hampshire in Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Coastal Response Research Center Research Computing Center Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center Hubbard Center for Genomics Carsey Institute 2

3 Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) Creation NOAA s Office of Response and Restoration (ORR)/UNH Spill Partnership in 2004 Funding for Oil Spill Research Decreasing Government Private sector Many Research Needs Exist Regarding Spill Response, Recovery and Restoration 3

4 CRRC Mission Conduct and Oversee Basic and Applied Research and Outreach on Spill Response and Restoration Transform Research Results into Practice Serve as Hub for Oil Spill R&D Educate/Train Students Who will Pursue Careers in Spill Response and Restoration 4

5 DWH 5

6 Overview of DWH Spill DWH Rig Had Finished Drilling Well ~50 miles Off Mississippi River Delta 5,000 ft of water 13,000 ft of sediment/rock Total rig to oil reservoir = 18,000 ft (3.5 mi) April 20 Explosion on Rig/Fire/11 Killed July 15 Well Killed from Top Ending Release Total Oil Release (est.) = 200 Million Gallons Biggest Oil Spill in Recorded History! 6

7 Estimated DWH Footprint 7

8 Crude Oil Properties Oil Usually Floats on Water May sink if associated with sediment particles Composition Varies with Source Louisiana Sweet Crude Oil Some Solubility Soluble is most toxic fraction 250+ Hydrocarbons Mostly carbon and hydrogen nydailynews.com Quinn / AP 8

9 Fate of Oil Function of Environmental Conditions Temperature (H 2 O, Air) Wind Oil Type Currents, Tides 9

10 Emulsified Oil chocolate mousse Oil + Water Mixture 10

11 Emulsified Oil chocolate mousse Oil + Water Mixture 11

12 Tarballs 12

13 Tarballs 13

14 Oil Spill Response in U.S. OPA (Oil Pollution Act) 1990 National Contingency Planning Area Committees (State, Fed, Local Gov t) develop detailed location specific plans Owners/Operators of vessels, platforms and facilities prepare response plans 14

15 Priority #1 = Stop Fire, Rescue People 15

16 Priority it #2 - Stop Source of Leak Start Relief Well Install Cap to Stop Flow High ambient water pressure, cold and dark 2200 psi High exit pressure of oil, hot (212 o F) 6500 psi Well Head ~ 7 inches diameter; 1 mile below water s surface 16

17 Relief Wells 17

18 Capping Well 18

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20 Priority #3 Identify Natural Resources at Risk Crabs, Shrimp, Oysters, Blue Fin Tuna, Charismatic Marine Mammals Recreational Beaches Commercial Fishing Subsistence Fishing Shorelines on ESI maps are color-coded by sensitivity to oil. Symbols mark localized areas for biological and human-use resources. 20

21 Priority #4 Minimize Damage to Natural Resources This Is Purpose of Response Technology Key Is Select Most Appropriate Response Techniques Unique to Each Spill 21

22 Response Selection When: How Recently Did Spill Occur? Where is Spill? Bay, estuary Beach, salt marsh Type of Oil + Condition Volume Spilled Weather Conditions Personnel safety Effectiveness of response equipment Resources to Protect 22

23 Di Drivers of fresponse Selection Habitat(s) Impacted Natural Resources Impacted Economics Stakeholders Views (Pre-Spill Involvement) Availability 23

24 Response Tracking: Allow Natural Weathering Processes to Clean-Up Oil 24

25 Satellite Image of Oil Slick 25 25

26 Response: Sorbents Sorbents: Materials Applied to Oil on Surface that Absorb the Oil e.g., Poly-plastics, straw Materials removed from surface after oil is sorbed to them Disposed by burning or in landfills 26

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28 Oily Waste Collected Landfills Burned 28

29 Booms Capture and Concentrate Oil, Deflect Oil from Critical Area 29

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33 Response: se Skimmers Collect Oil From Surface 33

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35 Response: InSitu Burning 35

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38 Response: Chemical Dispersants Surface Application 38

39 Response: Dispersants Sub-Surface Application 39

40 K. Lee, CAN DFO,

41 K. Lee, CAN DFO,

42 K. Lee, CAN DFO,

43 K. Lee, CAN DFO,

44 Why Use Chemical Dispersants? Wind and Waves Often Too High to Allow Mechanical Removal (Booms & Skimmers) or Burning Kept Oil Out of Nearshore Waters and Marshes Where organisms were breeding and juveniles Marshes hard to clean if repeatedly fouled with oil 44

45 Some Factors Affecting Toxicity it Type of Hydrocarbons Concentration of Hydrocarbons Length of Exposure Ability of Organisms to Accumulate/Metabolize Hydrocarbons Life Stage of Organism 45

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47 Response: Natural Dispersion, Evaporation and Dissolution into Water 47

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49 Fate of Dissolved Oil Fate of Dissolved Oil Dissolved Oil Biodegraded 49

50 Response: se Biodegradation o Every Year, ~ 20M Gallons of Oil Enter GOM from Natural Seeps Naturally Occurring Bacteria Live in GOM Waters That Use This Oil as a Food Source to Grow Oil + Oxygen Water+ Carbon Dioxide + Energy DWH Oil is More Food Takes <10 days to Degrade Oil Mass by Half 50

51 Gulf of Mexico Oil Degrading Microbes T. Hazen, LBL,

52 T. Hazen, LBL,

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54 Tarballs 54

55 Biological Impacts of Spill 55

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57 Key Biota in DWH Spill Coral Oysters Shrimp Crabs Blue Fin Tuna Intertidal/Marsh Vegetation (Marsh as Nursery Grounds) Biota That Cannot Swim Away Are Most Impacted 57

58 Biological Impacts of Spill What Are the Biological Impacts of the Spill? Lethal (acute) vs. Sublethal (chronic) When Has Complete Recovery Occurred (if ever)? Is Recovery to Organisms and Community Before Spill? How Clean is Clean Enough? All Compared to Natural Variation 58

59 Perturbation (e.g., oil spill) Normal Variability # of Individuals Recovery Spill Impact (Source: NAS, 2003) Time 59

60 Issues in Assessing Biological Impacts Oil vs. Other Anthropogenic Impacts What is pristine? If there are other sources of oil, what are impacts from this spill vs. others Most spills in urban/developed coastal/estuarine environments that are not pristine Ideal = Before vs. After, Control vs. Impact (BACI) Observations Multiple sites (spatial effects) Multiple l times (time series) 60

61 Impact of Deepwater Horizon o on Gulf of Mexico Short Term, Acute Toxicity (Immediately Lethal) = Lower Than Expected (>4,000 birds DWH 200M gal vs. >100,000 birds in Exxon Valdez 11M gal) Long Term, Chronic Toxicity =???? Only Time Will Tell Months to years of data needed 61

62 Other Spill-Related Issues Need R&D on Response/Restoration More Oversight of Off-Shore Drilling Better Offshore Drilling Methods and Development of Containment Technology Risk Communication with Public Human Dimensions Subsurface Detection Arctic Response??????? 62

63 Thanks for Coming! CRRC Website: 63