TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) funded research for 10 years following the Deepwater Horizon incident to address five themes, one of which was technology developments for improved response, mitigation, detection, characterization, and remediation associated with oil spills and gas releases. This paper features a sampling of such developments or advancements, most of which cite studies funded by GoMRI but also include several developments that occurred outside this program. We provide descriptions of technological developments, including new techniques or the novel application or enhancement of existing techniques, related to studies of the subsurface oil plume, the collection of data on ocean currents, and oil spill modeling. Also featured are developments related to interactions of oil with particulate matter and microbial organisms, analysis of biogeochemical processes affecting oil fate, human health risks from inhalation of oil spill chemicals, impacts on marine life, and alternative dispersant technologies to Corexit. Many of the technological developments featured here have contributed to complementary or subsequent research and have applications beyond oil spill research that can contribute to a wide range of scientific endeavors.

Automated summary

The paper details technological advancements in response, mitigation, detection, and remediation of oil spills and gas releases, including new techniques and enhancements of existing methods. Developments related to subsurface oil plumes, ocean current data collection, oil spill modeling, interactions of oil with particulate matter and microbial organisms, biogeochemical processes affecting oil fate, human health risks, marine life impacts, and alternative dispersant technologies are discussed. Many of these advancements have broader applications beyond oil spill research.