Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Environmental and Socioeconomic Data Search andLiterature Synthesis. Volume 1: Narrative Report

摘要

This synthesis report addresses the need for a comprehensive search andintegration of environmental and socioeconomic data for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. As such, it is one of several ongoing and planned Minerals Management Service (MMS) studies pertinent to deepwater oil and gas activities. These include two other 'desktop' studies-a reanalysis and synthesis of deepwater physical oceanographic data and a literature review of environmental risks of chemical products used in deepwater operations-as well as new field studies of the continental slope benthos, synthetic drilling fluids, and benthic effects at selected continental slope sites. The general purpose of this program was to gather environmental and socioeconomic information related to the deepwater environment, in order to: describe the ecosystem; understand the environmental processes that drive the system; and understand processes potentially sensitive to anthropogenic activities, particularly oil and gas operations.