NOAA Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment
The Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest oil spill in U.S. waters to date. RPS was part of the initial field response to monitor the oil spill, developed a new model to simulate the behavior of oil at deep release depths, and quantified injury to marine biota from the spilled oil for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Key Details
Project Name
NOAA Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Client
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Sector
- Oil and gas
Location
- Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, USA
Services Provided
- Natural resource damage assessment
- Data collection and data management
- Numerical modelling
- Marine biology
- Environmental impact assessment
Challenge
Deepwater Horizon was a large spill from deep water that released oil for many months. The numerical models developed by RPS had to be modified to simulate the complicated oil trajectory from deep water and behavior of the oil over many months, including the application of subsea dispersant.
Solution
RPS supported NOAA and federal agencies by:
- designing offshore biota sampling cruise plans to characterize the deep pelagic zone;
- using our SIMAP software to direct response vessels to areas of predicted oiling;
- participating in data collection from offshore cruises monitoring the spill;
- managing the processing of physical, chemical and biological data; and
- upgrading the SIMAP model to successfully simulate a blowout and the trajectory and fate of the oil in the deep water column and as it ascended to the water surface.
Project Statistics
180
days it took to seal the well
5,500
foot water depth
4,900,000
barrels of oil released into the Gulf of Mexico
65