Offshore Environmental Studies Program (1973-1989): A Summary of MineralsManagement Service Research Conducted on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf

摘要

The report provides an overview of the first 15 years of the EnvironmentalStudies Program (ESP), conducted initially by the Bureau of Land Management and now as part of the Minerals Management Service. From 1973 to 1988, the ESP spent nearly $500 million on studies directed to better understand the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and coastal environment and to use the information to document or predict effects of offshore oil and gas activities. The report organizes the hundreds of completed studies and thousands of resulting documents into 15 study topic chapters. Each chapter (e.g., physical oceanography) cites selected studies and provides a general discussion of program objectives and results. Where appropriate, each topic is discussed by OCS Region (Alaska, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific). A more comprehensive listing of ESP reports and associated publications can be found in OCSEAP (1988) and Johnson et al. (1989). The goal of the report is to provide readers with a general account of the ESP's technical accomplishments and sources of detailed information. To understand the ESP, however, it is necessary to place the program in perspective with the entire OCS oil and gas program.