ABSTRACT ID 685153
Because of death and gravity, the bottom of the sea is the memory of the ecosystem, where a record of all past events can be found as you move into deeper layers of sediment. Thus, benthos are primary indicators for environmental assessments. As hydrocarbon exploration and production moved to deeper waters, so did environmental studies. But there were only a few Gulf-wide surveys in the deepest parts of the Gulf of Mexico, and our understanding of deep-sea processes was based primarily on other regions of the world. The intensive focus on deep-sea response during and after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) accident increased our knowledge dramatically. We learned that the deep sea is dynamic, fragile, and will take a long time to recover. There was a 50% loss of biodiversity within 9 km diameter around the DWH site, and a 10% within a 17 km of the site. But there is still much to learn. The deep-sea is a reservoir of biodiversity on Earth, but about 60% of Gulf of Mexico taxa are still unknown, which is a major hinderance to understanding the effects of oil spills. The northern Gulf of Mexico is dominated by Mississippi River outflow, but exactly how it drives deep-sea dynamics needs better resolution. Two outcomes of the last decade of research is that we know benthos diversity is a sensitive indicator of environmental change and damage, the surface sediments are the biologically active zones, and the natural process of sinking particles will eventually cover the damaged sediment leading to natural recovery. This “restoration in place” strategy must be confirmed by future monitoring and assessment studies.
A numerical investigation of salinity variations in the Barataria Estuary, Louisiana in connection with the Mississippi River and restoration activities
