Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill

(BP) Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, April 20th 2010.

Largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry

11 men killed and 17 others injured

About 4.9 million barrels were released of crude oil

Ecosystem Damage

• Devastating effects on animal life

• Top of the food chain• What about the base of the

food chain?

• Plankton are at the bottom of the food chain

• Population Dynamics

• Biomagnification

How are plankton affected by this oil spill?

Phytoplankton biomass

• Chlorophyll a concentration as indicator of phytoplankton biomass

• Concentrations reflect the effect the spill has on population dynamics

GIS

Oil spill data from NOAA Chlorophyll a concentration data from NASA Bayesian Kriging Interpolation Oil spill lasted ~3 months, data covers four points in

time Concentration: 0-65 mg/m3

Concentration Growth/Biomass

Oil Spill Area

Before SpillMarch 30th

Before SpillApril 15th

After SpillMay 1

After SpillMay 17

BEFORE THE SPILL

AFTER THE SPILL

Comparison

Future Work

Look at shorter periods of data Look at other potential causes: seasons,

salinity, weather conditions Compare to other years