An Ecosystem Services Approach to
Assessing the Impacts of the
DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
in the Gulf of Mexico
Committee on the Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Mississippi
Canyon-252 Oil Spill on Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Mexico
Ocean Studies Board
Division on Earth and Life Studies
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard to appropriate balance.
This study was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under contract number 10-DELS-294-01. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-28845-3
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-28845-2
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2013952269
Cover photograph by Andy Levin, “BP Oil Spill” © 2010.
Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; Internet, http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2013 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
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COMMITTEE ON THE EFFECTS OF THE DEEPWATER HORIZON MISSISSIPPI CANYON-252 OIL SPILL ON ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
LARRY A. MAYER (Chair), University of New Hampshire, Durham
MICHEL C. BOUFADEL, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark
JORGE BRENNER, The Nature Conservancy, Corpus Christi, Texas
ROBERT S. CARNEY, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
CORTIS K. COOPER, Chevron Energy Technology Company, San Ramon, California
JODY W. DEMING, University of Seattle, Washington
DAVID J. DIE, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
JOSH EAGLE, University of South Carolina, Columbia
JOSEPH R. GERACI, University of Maryland, Baltimore
BARBARA A. KNUTH, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
KENNETH LEE, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Perth, Western Australia
JAMES T. MORRIS, University of South Carolina, Columbia
STEPHEN POLASKY, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
NANCY N. RABALAIS, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin
CHRISTOPHER REDDY,* Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
RALPH G. STAHL, JR., DuPont Company, Wilmington, Delaware
DAVID W.YOSKOWITZ, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
Staff
KIM WADDELL, Study Director
SHERRIE FORREST, Associate Program Officer
LAUREN HARDING, Senior Program Assistant (until October 2012)
HEATHER CHIARELLO, Senior Program Assistant
JESSICA DUTTON, Mirzayan Fellow (until May 2012)
CONSTANCE KARRAS, Postgraduate Fellow (from September 2012)
DEBRA DAVIS, Editor
_________________
* Resigned from the committee.
OCEAN STUDIES BOARD
ROBERT A. DUCE (Chair), Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
E.VIRGINIA ARMBRUST, University of Washington, Seattle
EDWARD A. BOYLE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
RITA R. COLWELL, University of Maryland, College Park
SARAH W. COOKSEY, State of Delaware, Dover
CORTIS K. COOPER, Chevron Corporation, San Ramon, California
ROBERT HALLBERG, NOAA/GFDL and Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
DAVID HALPERN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
BARBARA A. KNUTH, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
GEORGE I. MATSUMOTO, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California
STEVEN A. MURAWSKI, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
CLAUDIA BENITEZ-NELSON, University of South Carolina, Columbia
JOHN A. ORCUTT, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
H.TUBA ÖZKAN-HALLER, Oregon State University, Corvallis
STEVEN E. RAMBERG, Penn State Applied Research Lab, Washington, DC
ANDREW A. ROSENBERG, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, Massachusetts
DANIEL L.RUDNICK, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
MARTIN D. SMITH, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
PETER L. TYACK, University of Saint Andrews, Fife, Scotland
DON WALSH, International Maritime Incorporated, Myrtle Point, Oregon
DAWN J.WRIGHT, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California
JAMES A. YODER, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Ex-Officio
MARY (MISSY) H. FEELEY, ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Houston, Texas
OSB Staff
SUSAN ROBERTS, Director
DEBORAH GLICKSON, Senior Program Officer
CLAUDIA MENGELT, Senior Program Officer
KIM WADDELL, Senior Program Officer
PAMELA LEWIS, Administrative Coordinator
SHERRIE FORREST, Associate Program Officer
HEATHER CHIARELLO, Senior Program Assistant
LAUREN HARDING, Senior Program Assistant (until October 2012)
CONSTANCE KARRAS, Postgraduate Fellow (from September 2012)
Acknowledgments
This report was greatly enhanced by the participants of the meetings held as part of this study. The committee would like to acknowledge the efforts of those who gave presentations at the committee meetings: Jackie Antalan (Operation Homecare), Natalie Bergeron (Project LEARN–LaTerre), George Crozier (Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory), Alyssa Dausman (U.S. Geological Survey), Lisa Dipinto (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Charlie Henry (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Elena Kobrinski (University of the Virgin Islands), Shirley Laska (University of New Orleans), Chris Madden (South Florida Water Management District), Maryal Mewherter (United Houma Nation), Steve Murawski (University of South Florida), Khai Nguyen (Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community Development Corporation), Denise Reed (University of New Orleans), Marc Russell (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), and Sandra Werner (ExxonMobil)
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
DONALD BOESCH, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge
ROBERT DIAZ, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (retired), Ware Neck
MERV FINGAS, Spill Science, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
JÖRG IMBERGER, University of Western Australia, Crawley
DAVID KARL, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
JUDY MCDOWELL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
PAUL MONTAGNA, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
STEVE MURAWSKI, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
GARRY PETERSON, Stockholm University, Sweden
CHRISTOPHER M. REDDY, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
KATHLEEN SEGERSON, University of Connecticut, Storrs
HEATHER TALLIS, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
MICHAEL ZICCARDI, University of California, Davis
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by John J. Boland, The Johns Hopkins University, appointed by the Divison on Earth and Life Studies, and David A. Dzombak, Carnegie Mellon University, appointed by the Report Review Committee, who were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
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