deep water horizon oil spill (bp) oil spill in the gulf of mexico, april 20 th 2010. largest...
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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