Prospects For Gulf of Mexico Environmental Recovery and Restoration

Previous oil spills provide clear evidence that ecosystem restoration efforts are challenging, and recovery can take decades. Similar to the Ixtoc 1 well blowout in 1979, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was enormous both in volume of oil spilled and duration, resulting in environmental impacts from the deep ocean to the Gulf of Mexico coastline. Data collected during the National Resource Damage Assessment showed significant damage to coastal areas (especially marshes), marine organisms, and deep-sea habitat. Previous spills have shown that disparate regions recover at different rates, with especially long-term effects in salt marshes and deepsea habitat. Environmental recovery and restoration in the northern Gulf of Mexico are dependent upon fundamental knowledge of ecosystem processes in the region. PostDWH research data provide a starting point for better understanding baselines and ecosystem processes. It is imperative to use the best science available to fully understand DWH environmental impacts and determine the appropriate means to ameliorate those impacts through restoration. Filling data gaps will be necessary to make better restoration decisions, and establishing new baselines will require long-term studies. Future research, especially via NOAA’s RESTORE Science Program and the state-based Centers of Excellence, should provide a path to understanding the potential for restoration and recovery of this vital marine ecosystem

Chapter 12 - Paths to Sustainable Ocean Resources

Marine ecosystem services support our daily lives in a number of ways. Yet, multiple stressors acting on the marine environment, such as climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, and the overuse of marine resources threaten the continued provision of these services. While targeted actions are needed to address issue-specific threats, decision makers and the public must also concert efforts toward governance regimes that account for multiple stressors and foster ecosystem resilience. Further, while research is needed to better understand the impacts of multiple stressors, insurance-based models can be adopted to reduce risk by accounting for combined conditional probabilities of the effects of multiple stressors, including low probability but high-impact events. We must not allow the complexity of today’s challenges chart our future. We can act to avoid potentially disastrous loss and substantial costs through taking proactive measures now.https://commons.wmu.se/lib_chapters/1020/thumbnail.jp