Technological Developments Since the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Abstract

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) program 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 we also include several developments that occurred outside this program. We provide descriptions of new techniques or the novel application or enhancement of existing techniques related to studies on the evolution of the subsurface oil plume, the collection of data on ocean currents to support oil transport modeling, and oil spill modeling. We also feature developments related to the interactions of oil with particulate matter and microbial organisms, sampling for studies and analysis of biogeochemical processes related to oil fate, human health risks from inhalation of oil spill chemicals, impacts on marine life, and alternative dispersant technologies to Corexit®. Many of the techniques 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.