A Multifaceted Approach to Advance Oil Spill Modeling and Physical Oceanographic Research at the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

• Published in: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
• Main Authors: Zhen Li, Caryn Smith, Christopher DuFore, Susan F. Zaleski, Guillermo Auad, Walter Johnson, Zhen-Gang Ji, S. E. O’Reilly
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2021
• Subjects: oil spill; oil spill modeling; remote sensing of oil spill; Loop Current; Deepwater Horizon; Gulf of Mexico; coupled ice-ocean model; Beaufort and Chukchi Seas; landfast ice; Cook Inlet; Pacific; Chukchi; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9050542

The Environmental Studies Program (ESP) at the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is funded by the United States Congress to support BOEM’s mission, which is to use the best available science to responsibly manage the development of the Nation’s offshore energy and mineral resources. Since its inception in 1973, the ESP has funded over $1 billion of multidisciplinary research across four main regions of the United States Outer Continental Shelf: Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, Alaska, and Pacific. Understanding the dynamics of oil spills and their potential effects on the environment has been one of the primary goals of BOEM’s funding efforts. To this end, BOEM’s ESP continues to support research that improves oil spill modeling by advancing our understanding and the application of meteorological and oceanographic processes to improve oil spill modeling. Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, BOEM has invested approximately $28 million on relevant projects resulting in 73 peer-reviewed journal articles and 42 technical reports. This study describes the findings of these projects, along with the lessons learned and research information needs identified. Additionally, this paper presents a path forward for BOEM’s oil spill modeling and physical oceanographic research.