Oceanography The Official Magazine of
The Oceanography Society
Volume 29 Issue 03

View Issue TOC
Volume 29, No. 3
Pages 160 - 173

OpenAccess

How Did the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Affect Coastal and Continental Shelf Ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico?

By Steven A. Murawski , John W. Fleeger , William F. Patterson III , Chuanmin Hu, Kendra Daly, Isabel Romero, and Gerardo A. Toro-Farmer  
Jump to
Article Abstract Citation References Copyright & Usage
Article Abstract

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill originated at the base of the continental shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM), but large quantities of the oil were transported to the shelf (≤200 m water depth) and into coastal waters (herein defined as ≤15 km from the coast). Water-column effects were generally limited to the period of the ongoing oil releases, although, due to an extensive oil sedimentation event (“dirty blizzard”), effects on the benthos have the potential to be chronic, especially in soft sediments. Impacts on phytoplankton, zooplankton, and ichthyoplankton were relatively short-lived, and the abundance and species composition of planktonic communities returned to pre-spill conditions within a year of the event. Mortalities of larval fish were generally less than 20% of Gulf-wide species populations owing to the extensive and extended spawning periods of most species. Impacts on the productivity of the region’s fisheries were also relatively short-lived and influenced by extensive fishery closures to protect seafood safety, although long-term effects may eventually alter the productivity of some stocks.

Benthic communities exhibited effects from the spill that ranged from negligible to significant. Hard-bottom communities, including natural and artificial reefs, suffered injuries that were severe and long lasting. Due to the patchy nature of oil deposition, high tolerance of toxins, and low bioavailability, effects on soft-sediment communities appear to be minimal except in areas, such as beaches, where oil settled in very high amounts. However, DWH oil may persist in coastal and continental shelf sediments for decades if it is sequestered by continuing sedimentation in the absence of events such as tropical storms that may resuspend contaminated bottom material. Nevertheless, vertebrates and shellfish foraging or living in the sediments may be continuously exposed to weathered DWH oil. Understanding the full impacts of the spill requires sustained monitoring in order to separate event-induced impacts from normal variability, and it also requires research that spans the natural range of variation in benthic and pelagic communities. Collection of routine contaminant baselines in GoM waters, sediments, and biota should be viewed as a high priority moving forward.

Citation

Murawski, S.A., J.W. Fleeger, W.F. Patterson III, C. Hu, K. Daly, I. Romero, and G.A. Toro-Farmer. 2016. How did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill affect coastal and continental shelf ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico? Oceanography 29(3):160–173, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.80.

References
    Bianchi, T.S, R.L. Cook, E.M. Perdue, P.E. Kolic, N. Green, Y. Zhang, R.W. Smith, A.S. Kolker, A. Ameen, G. King, and others. 2011. Impacts of diverted freshwater on dissolved organic matter and microbial communities in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, U.S.A. Marine Environmental Research 72:248–257, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.marenvres.2011.09.007
  1. Bik, H.M., K.M. Halanych, J. Sharma, and W. Thomas. 2012. Dramatic shifts in benthic microbial eukaryote communities following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. PLoS ONE 7(6):e38550, https://doi.org/​10.1371/journal.pone.0038550.
  2. Brannock, P.M., D.S. Waits, J. Sharma, and K.M. Halanych. 2014. High-throughput sequencing characterizes intertidal meiofaunal communities in northern Gulf of Mexico (Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay, Alabama). Biological Bulletin 227:161–174.
  3. Brooks, G.R., R.A. Larson, P.T. Schwing, I. Romero, C. Moore, G.-J. Reichart, T. Jilbert, J.P. Chanton, D.W. Hastings, W.A. Overholt, and others. 2015. Sedimentation pulse in the NE Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 DWH Blowout. PLoS ONE 10(7):e0132341, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132341
  4. Carassou, L., F.J. Hernandez, and W.M. Graham. 2014. Change and recovery of coastal mesozooplankton community structure during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environmental Research Letters 9(12):124003, http://stacks.iop.org/​1748-9326/9/i=12/a=124003
  5. Chagaris, D., S. Binion, A. Bodanoff, K. Dahl, J. Granneman, H. Harris, J. Mohan, M. Rudd, M. Swenarton, R. Ahrens, and others. 2015. Modeling Lionfish Management Strategies on the West Florida Shelf: Workshop Summary and Results. University of Florida, Gainesville, 31 pp, https://www.flseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/Modeling_lionfish_management_strategies_WestFL_shelf.pdf.
  6. Chancellor, E. 2015. Vulnerability of Fish Larvae Populations to Oil Well Blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico. MS Thesis, University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, 74 pp.
  7. Chanton, J.P., J. Cherrier, R.M. Wilson, J. Sarkodee-Adoo, S. Bosman, A. Mickle, and W.M. Graham. 2012. Radiocarbon evidence that carbon from the Deepwater Horizon spill entered the planktonic food web of the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Research Letters 7(4):045303, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/045303.
  8. Chanton, J., T. Zhao, B.E. Rosenheim, S. Joye, S. Bosman, C. Brunner, K.M. Yeager, A.R. Diercks, and D. Hollander. 2015. Using natural abundance radiocarbon to trace the flux of petrocarbon to the seafloor following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environmental Science & Technology 49:847–854, https://doi.org/10.1021/es5046524.
  9. Cherrier, J., J. Sarkodee-Adoo, T.P. Guilderson, and J.P. Chanton. 2013. Fossil carbon in particulate organic matter in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon event. Environmental Science & Technology 1(1):108–112, https://doi.org/10.1021/ez400149c.
  10. Cooksey, C., J. Hyland, M.H. Fulton, L. Balthis, E. Wirth, and T. Wade. 2014. Ecological Condition of Coastal Ocean Waters along the US Continental Shelf of Northeastern Gulf of Mexico: 2010. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 188, NOAA National Ocean Service, Charleston, SC 29412-9110, 68 pp.
  11. Dahl, K.A., and W.F. Patterson III. 2014. Habitat-specific density and diet of rapidly expanding invasive red lionfish, Pterois volitans, populations in the northern Gulf of Mexico. PloS ONE 9(8), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105852.
  12. Daly, K., K. Kramer, and A. Remsen. 2014. Oil sedimentation pathway: Marine snow distributions in the NE Gulf of Mexico, 2010–2013. Paper presented at the 2014 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, January 27–30, Mobile, AL.
  13. Daly, K.L., U. Passow, J. Chanton, and D. Hollander. 2016. Assessing the impacts of oil-associated marine snow formation and sedimentation during and after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Anthropocene 13:18–33, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.ancene.2016.01.006.
  14. Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees. 2016. Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan.
  15. Etnoyer, P.J., I.R. MacDonald, L.N. Wickes, J.D. Dubick, E. Salgado, and L. Balthis. 2015. Decline in condition of sea fans on mesophotic reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico before and after Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Paper presented at the 2015 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, February 16–19, 2015, Houston, TX. 
  16. Felder, D.L., B.P. Thoma, W.E. Schmidt, T. Sauvage, S.L. Self-Krayesky, A. Chistoserdov, H.D. Bracken-Grissom, and S. Fredericq. 2014. Seaweeds and decapod crustaceans on Gulf deep banks after the Macondo oil spill. Bioscience 64:808–819, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu119.
  17. Fodrie, J., K.W. Able, F. Galvez, K.L. Heck Jr., O.P. Jensen, P.C. Lopez-Duarte, C.W. Martin, R.E. Turner, and A. Whitehead. 2014. Integrating organismal and population responses of estuarine fishes in Macondo Spill research. Bioscience 64:778–788, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu123.
  18. Goni, G.J., J.A. Trinanes, A. MacFadyen, D. Streett, M.J. Olascoaga, M.L. Imhoff, F. Muller-Karger, and M.A. Roffer. 2015. Variability of the Deepwater Horizon surface oil spill extent and its relationship to varying ocean currents and extreme weather conditions. Pp. 1–22 in Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation of Oil Pollution Problems. M. Ehrhardt, ed, The Reacting Atmosphere 2, Springer International, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16459-5_1.
  19. Graham, W.M., R.H. Condon, R.H Carmichael, I. D’Ambra, H.K. Patterson, L.J. Linn, and F.J. Hernandez Jr. 2010. Oil carbon entered the coastal planktonic food web during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environmental Research Letters 5(4), https://doi.org/​10.1088/1748-9326/5/4/045301
  20. Heintz, R., J.W. Short, and S.D. Rice. 1999. Sensitivity of fish embryos to weathered crude oil: Part II. Increased mortality of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) embryos incubating downstream from weathered Exxon Valdez crude oil. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 18:494–503, https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620180318.
  21. Herdter, E.S. 2014. Growth Rates in Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, Before and After the “Deepwater Horizon” Blowout. MS Thesis, University of South Florida, College of Marine Science.
  22. Hoff, D., W. Lehmann, A. Pease, S. Raimondo, C. Russom, and T. Steeger. 2010. Predicting the Toxicities of Chemicals to Aquatic Animal Species. US Environmental Protection Agency White Paper, 127 pp.
  23. Hu, C., F.E. Muller-Karger, D.C. Biggs, K.L. Carder, B. Nababan, D. Nadeau, and J. Vanderbloemen. 2003. Comparison of ship and satellite bio-optical measurements on the continental margin of the NE Gulf of Mexico. International Journal of Remote Sensing 24:2,597–2,612, https://doi.org/10.1080/​0143116031000067007.
  24. Hu, C., R.H. Weisberg, Y. Liu, L. Zheng, K.L. Daly, D.C. English, J. Zhao, and G.A. Vargo. 2011. Did the northeastern Gulf of Mexico become greener after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? Geophysical Research Letters 38, L09601, https://doi.org/​10.1029/2011GL047184
  25. Incardona, J.P., L.D. Gardner, T.L. Linbo, T.L. Brown, A.J. Esbaugh, E.M. Mager, J.D. Stieglitz, B.L. French, J.S. Labenia, C.A. Laetz, and others. 2014. Deepwater Horizon crude oil impacts the developing hearts of large predatory pelagic fish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111(15):E1510–E1518, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1320950111.
  26. Jochens, A.E., S.F. DiMarco, W.D. Nowlin, Jr., R.O. Reid, and M.C. Kennicutt II. 2002. Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Chemical Oceanography and Hydrography Study: Synthesis Report. Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, LA, MMS contract 1435-01-97-CT-30851, OCS Study/
    MMS 2002–055.
  27. Kourafalou, V.H., and Y.S. Androulidakis. 2013. Influence of Mississippi River induced circulation on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill transport. Journal of Geophysical Research 118:3,823–3,842, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrc.20272
  28. Landers, S.C., A.C. Nichols, N.K. Barron, C.A. Schimmer, R. Tao, K. Yu, P.M. Stewart, and E. Olafsson. 2014. Nematode and copepod diversity (2012) from Louisiana near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 127:47–57, https://doi.org/10.2988/0006-324X-127.1.47.
  29. Lohrenz, S.E., G.L. Fahnenstiel, D.G. Redalje, G.A. Lang, X. Chen, and M.J. Dagg. 1997. Variations in primary production of northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf waters linked to nutrient inputs from the Mississippi River. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 155:45–54.
  30. Mager, E.M., A.J. Esbaugh, J.D. Stieglitz, R. Hoenig, C. Bodinier, J.P. Incardona, N.L. Scholz, D.D. Benetti, and M. Grosell. 2014. Acute embryonic or juvenile exposure to Deepwater Horizon crude oil impairs the swimming performance of mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus). Environmental Science & Technology 48(12):7,053–7,061, https://doi.org/10.1021/es501628k
  31. McEachran, J.D., and J.D. Fechhelm. 2005. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, vol. 2. University of Texas Press, Austin, 1,004 pp.
  32. McNutt, M., S. Chu, J. Lubchenco, T. Hunter, G. Dreyfus, S.A. Murawski, and D. Kennedy. 2012. Applications of science and engineering to quantify and control the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109:20,222–20,228, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1214389109.
  33. Mitra, S., and T. Bianchi. 2003. A preliminary assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon distributions in the lower Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. Marine Chemistry 82:273–288, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4203(03)00074-4.
  34. Muhling, B.A., M.A. Roffer, J.T. Lamkin, G.W. Ingram Jr., M.A. Upton, G. Gawlikowski, F. Muller-Karger, S. Habtes, and W.J. Richards. 2012. Overlap between Atlantic bluefin tuna spawning grounds and observed Deepwater Horizon surface oil in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Marine Pollution Bulletin 64(4):679–687, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.marpolbul.2012.01.034.
  35. Murawski, S.A., W.T. Hogarth, E.B. Peebles, and L. Barbieri. 2014. Prevalence of external skin lesions and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in Gulf of Mexico fishes, post-Deepwater Horizon. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 143(4):1,084–1,097, https://doi.org/10.1080/00028487.2014.911205.
  36. Nababan, B., F.E. Muller-Karger, C. Hu, and D.C. Biggs. 2011. Chlorophyll variability in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. International Journal of Remote Sensing 32(23):8,373–8,391, https://doi.org/​10.1080/01431161.2010.542192.
  37. National Research Council. 2003. Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. Committee on Oil in the Sea: Inputs Fates and Effects, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 280 pp., https://doi.org/10.17226/10388.
  38. NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 2015. Marine recreational fisheries data, http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/recreational-fisheries/data-and-documentation/run-a-data-query.
  39. Norberg, M.A. 2015. The Ecology of Tomtate, Haemulon aurolineatum, in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. MS thesis, University of South Alabama.
  40. O’Connor, B.S., F.E. Muller-Karger, R.W. Nero, C. Hu, and E.B. Peebles. 2016. The role of Mississippi River discharge in offshore phytoplankton blooming in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico during August 2010. Remote Sensing of Environment 173:133–144, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.rse.2015.11.004.
  41. Parsons, M.L., W. Morrison, N.N. Rabalais, R.E. Turner, and K.N. Tyre. 2015. Phytoplankton and the Macondo oil spill: A comparison of the 2010 phytoplankton assemblage to baseline conditions on the Louisiana shelf. Environmental Pollution 207:152–160, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.envpol.2015.09.019.
  42. Passow, U., and K. Ziervogel. 2016. Marine snow sedimented oil released during the Deepwater Horizon spill. Oceanography 29(3):118–125, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.76.
  43. Passow, U., K. Ziervogel, V. Asper, and A. Dierks. 2012. Marine snow formation in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Research Letters 7, 035301, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/3/035301.
  44. Paul, J.H., D. Hollander, P. Coble, K.L. Daly, S. Murasko, D. English, J. Basso, J. Delaney, L. McDaniel, and C.W. Kovach. 2013. Toxicity and mutagenicity of Gulf of Mexico waters during and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environmental Science & Technology 47:9,651−9,659, https://doi.org/10.1021/es401761h
  45. Peterson, C.H., S.D. Rice, J.W. Short, D. Esler, J.L. Bodkin, B.E. Ballachey, and D.B. Irons. 2003. Long-term ecosystem response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Science 302:2,082–2,086, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1084282.
  46. Reddy, C.M., J.S. Arey, J.S. Seewald, S.P. Sylva, K.L. Lemkau, R.K. Nelson, C.A. Carmichael, C.P. McIntyre, J. Fenwick, G.T. Ventura, and others. 2011. Composition and fate of gas and oil released to the water column during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109:20,229–20,234, https://doi.org/​10.1073/pnas.1101242108.
  47. Romero, I.C., P.T. Schwing, G.R. Brooks, R. Larson, D.W. Hastings, G. Ellis, E.A. Goddard, and D.J. Hollander. 2015. Hydrocarbons in deep-sea sediments following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout in the northeast Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128371.
  48. Ryerson, T.B., R. Camilli, J.D. Kessler, E.B. Kujawinski, C.M. Reddy, D.L. Valentine, E. Atlas, D.R. Blake, J. de Gouw, S. Meinardi, and others. 2012. Chemical data quantify Deepwater Horizon hydrocarbon flow rate and environmental distribution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109:20,246–20,253, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1110564109.
  49. Schaefer, J., N. Frazier, and J. Barr. 2016. Dynamics of near-coastal fish assemblages following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 145:108–119, https://doi.org/10.1080/​00028487.2015.1111253.
  50. Schwing, P.T., I.C. Romero, G.R. Brooks, D.W. Hastings, R.A. Larson, and D.J. Hollander. 2014. A decline in benthic foraminifera following the Deepwater Horizon event in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0120565.
  51. SEDAR (Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review). 2013. Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Stock Assessment Report. SEDAR 31. Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review, North Charleston, SC, http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/sedar/Sedar_Workshops.jsp?WorkshopNum=31. 
  52. SERO (Southeast Regional Office, National Marine Fisheries Service). 2015. Archive of DWH fishery closures: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon/closure_info.
  53. Silva, M., P.J. Etnoyer, and I.R. MacDonald. 2016. Coral injuries observed at mesophotic reefs after the Deepwater Horizon oil discharge. Deep Sea Research Part II 129:96–107, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.05.013
  54. Snyder, S.M., E.L. Pulster, D.L. Wetzel, and S.A. Murawski. 2015. PAH exposure in Gulf of Mexico demersal fishes, post-Deepwater Horizon. Environmental Science & Technology 49(14):8,786–8,795, https://doi.org/​10.1021/acs.est.5b01870.
  55. Tarnecki, J.H., and W.F. Patterson III. 2015. Changes in red snapper diet and trophic ecology following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Marine and Coastal Fisheries 7:135–147, https://doi.org/10.1080/​19425120.2015.1020402
  56. Thorne, R.E., and G.L. Thomas. 2008. Herring and the “Exxon Valdez” oil spill: An investigation into historical data conflicts. ICES Journal of Marine Science 65:44–50, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsm176.
  57. Turner, R.E, E.B. Overton, B.M. Meyer, M.S. Miles, G. McClenachan, L. Hooper-Bui, A. Summers Engel, E.M. Swenson, J.M. Lee, C.S. Milan, and H. Gao. 2014 Distribution and recovery trajectory of Macondo (Mississippi Canyon 252) oil in Louisiana coastal wetlands. Marine Pollution Bulletin 87:57–67, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.marpolbul.2014.08.011.
  58. Valentine, D.L., G.B. Fisher, S.C. Bagby, R.K. Nelson, C.M. Reddy, S.P. Sylva, and M.A. Woo. 2014. Fallout plume of submerged oil from Deepwater Horizon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111:15,906–15,911, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1414873111.
  59. Wade, T.L., M.C.K. Ii, and J.M. Brooks. 1989. Gulf of Mexico hydrocarbon seep communities: Part III. Aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in organisms, sediments and water. Marine Environmental Research 27:19–30, https://doi.org/10.1016/0141-1136(89)90016-0.
  60. Wang, Z., M. Fingas, Y.Y. Shu, L. Sigouin, M. Landriault, P. Lambert, R. Turpin, P. Campagna, and J. Mullin. 1999. Quantitative characterization of PAHs in burn residue and soot samples and differentiation of pyrogenic PAHs from petrogenic PAHs: The 1994 Mobile burn study. Environmental Science & Technology 33:3,100–3,109, https://doi.org/10.1021/es990031y.
  61. Ylitalo, G.M., M.M. Krahn, W.W. Dickhoff, J.E. Stein, C.C. Walker, C.L. Lassitter, E.S. Garrett, L.L. Desfosse, K.M. Mitchell, B.T. Noble, and others. 2012. Federal seafood safety response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109(50):20,274–20,279, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1108886109.
Copyright & Usage

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.