From the early hours after the spill began, science began guiding the decisions.
At 11p.m. on April 20, a massive explosion erupted on the Deepwater Horizon rig. An estimated 700,000 gallons of diesel fueled the explosion and fire.
By 2a.m., the newly constituted Unified Command in Robert, Louisiana, had at its fingertips a trajectory forecast showing where the oil would be headed should it appear. This trajectory forecast was produced by NOAA.
Less than 20 hours later, the first spot weather forecast was issued by NOAA’s National Weather Service Forecast Office in Slidell, Louisiana at the request of the Unified Command. These special forecasts consider time, topography, and weather, providing more detailed, timely, and specific information than regular zone forecasts.
These two NOAA science tools – oil trajectory forecasts and specialized weather forecasts – were critical elements of the good science that enabled informed response throughout the effort.
How were these tools so helpful?
They told responders where to deploy boom, where to skim and burn, and they told us which fisheries might have to be closed.
They gave us the vital information needed to mount a smart, tactical response.
Day after day, from the early hours after the explosion until 4 months later when the sheen of oil had not been visible on the surface for 3 weeks, these tools provided information that told us where the oil was headed 24, 48, and 72 hours in advance.
Scientists in NOAA’s war room in Seattle ran oceanographic and atmospheric models day after day, using the latest satellite, plane, and ship observations to initialize models and predict patterns of movement. Day after day, National Weather Service meteorologists produced spot weather forecasts; with over 4,000 having been produced from the Slidell office alone.
When responders had to make decisions about where to lay the boom, the information was at hand to inform their decisions: weather forecasts, trajectory maps, wind, tide and current data.
Science was transformed into a tool that people could use for real-time decision making.
Science also provided guidance for NOAA’s second concern: seafood safety.
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To protect people, NOAA closed fisheries as the first line of defense to prevent contaminated seafood from entering the marketplace. The fishermen in Plaquemines Parish supported our closing oiled waters, but they also wanted life lines - safe places to fish. And so scientific information – the location of oil and forecasts showing us where the oil likely was going – guided NOAA’s decisions on where we would close fisheries and where areas could stay open safely.
At the height of closures, 37% or 88,522 square miles of federal Gulf waters was closed to fishing. Today, 60% of the previously closed areas have been re-opened under the protocol and sampling regime agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states. Today 13% of the Federal waters in the Gulf are still closed to fishing. [As of Oct. 1, 11% of Federal waters are closed.]
Like closures, fishery re-openings depend on good science.
NOAA, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Gulf states agreed to a science-based protocol for re-opening a closed area. Three criteria must be satisfied for re-opening: (1) The area must be free of sheen for 30 days, (2) the area must not be likely to become contaminated in the future, and (3) seafood from the area must pass multiple, rigorous laboratory tests to ensure it is free from oil or dispersant contaminants. If all criteria are met, an area will be reopened. In addition, NOAA and the FDA are conducting dockside and market-based sampling as extra measures of safety.
I have confidence in our protocols and have enjoyed Gulf seafood each trip I’ve made to the region.
The third of NOAA’s five oil spill responsibilities is protecting wildlife and habitat. NOAA is responsible for sea turtles, dolphins, whales and other marine protected species.
Almost immediately after the explosion, we began collecting baseline data. We conducted overflights almost daily to monitor marine mammals, turtles, specific fisheries, wetlands and marshes. NOAA research ships initiated ongoing investigations of the impact of the oil on marine mammals and fisheries.
NOAA experts are part of the Federal team documenting impacts as well as rescuing and rehabilitating sea turtles. Five of seven species of sea turtles live in the Gulf. All are threatened or endangered. Any additional mortality can be a serious threat to any of the species.
To date, 592 turtles have died, primarily Kemp’s Ridley turtles. NOAA is conducting autopsies to understand the cause of death. And we realize that hidden casualties are likely.
In parallel, we have been engaged in two aggressive efforts to save other turtles.
NOAA led a focused effort to take boats out to oiled areas to find and rescue turtles, and rehabilitate them if needed. To date, 126 have been cleaned and released at sea, and 330 have been brought back to land for rehabilitation. In August, Admiral Allen and I had the great pleasure of releasing the first 23 of these rehabilitated and healthy turtles. What a joy it was to watch them zoom off into the Gulf, stop to snatch a gulp of air, then disappear beneath the waves. To date, 158 rehabilitated turtles have been released back to their proper habitat.
Our second major turtle effort focused on eggs and hatchlings. The spill took place just as many loggerhead turtles were ready to lay their eggs on Gulf beaches. To keep vulnerable nests out of harm’s way, NOAA joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to transplant some nests to oil-free locations. We won’t know the success of these efforts for years, but we are hopeful.
Scientific knowledge of turtle physiology, ecology, and behavior guided all of the efforts, helping us know where to look for animals affected by the spill, and assess vulnerabilities of and impacts on these species.
Science is also integral to assessing damage, the fourth of NOAA’s oil spill responsibilities.
NOAA is one of three Federal trustees for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (or NRDA) process, helping to identify and quantify short- and long-term impacts to the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystems.
The goal of NRDA is to compensate the Public for injuries to natural resources and the loss of the ecological services they provide. The Trustees consider restoration very early in the process. Injuries are balanced against, and directly scaled to restoration – not monetized.
NRDA combines science, economics and law. It is a restoration-focused, legal process that must be conducted strategically and jointly.
NRDA is a cooperative process. Trustees are responsible for acting on behalf of the public. Trustees work together to accomplish NRDA goals.
The Secretary of Commerce, acting through NOAA, is a trustee for the following natural resources and their supporting ecosystems and resulting services: marine fishery resources; anadromous fishes; endangered species and marine mammals; and the resources of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves.
Within the first week of the spill, NOAA convened co-trustees to organize collaborative teams to coordinate data collection activities in the Gulf of Mexico and across the five Gulf states.
Three days into the spill, NOAA scientists began pre-assessment activities, identifying fish, shellfish, bottom-dwelling biota, birds, marine mammals, turtles and other potentially affected species. In addition, sensitive habitats such as wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, beaches, mudflats, and deep and shallow corals were categorized for further study.
On any given day, more than 40 teams from across NOAA are in the field collecting data on these resources and the impact of the spill.
The NRDA data collection provides the scientific foundation for the tools and targets to restore the health of the Gulf.
