Numerous modeling efforts were previously carried out in an attempt to reconstruct spatiotemporal dynamics of the DWH oil spill. Oil transport models are effective tools for predicting and reconstructing marine oil spills. Overall, these observations indicate that DWH oil extended beyond the satellite footprint and the fishery closures ( 18). Furthermore, a deep intrusion (~1000 to 1300 m), which was documented ( 16) and represented in oil transport simulations ( 17), included toxic PAH concentrations within 13 km from the well and above-background concentrations extending southwest ~300 km beyond the satellite footprint and closure areas. High concentrations of oil were reported in the LC between late June and mid-July west of the fishery closures ( 15). Later, during early June, NESDIS satellite imagery revealed the presence of 12 oil slicks in the LC system, stretching from FK to the GoM interior. In the LC system, the European Space Agency reported the presence of DWH oil during mid-May ( 14). In TXS, high and toxic levels of oil were found in the water ( 12) and in sediments ( 12, 13). Last, satellite imagery and particle tracking showed that an oil slick present east of Pensacola (north WFS) was transported southeast along the WFS, reaching Tampa and the Dry Tortugas (FK) within a few weeks ( 11).
#Last horizon oil rig skin
Furthermore, high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from DWH oil were found in red snappers’ livers, which co-occurred with a high frequency of skin lesions in bottom-dwelling fish ( 10). Specifically, in the WFS, studies indicate high concentrations of oil, including toxic and mutagenic levels, in the water ( 6), in sediments ( 7), in sand patties ( 8), and on the coast ( 9). Yet, accumulating field data support a much wider extent of the DWH spill beyond the satellite footprint, reaching the West Florida Shelf (WFS), the Texas Shores (TXS), the Loop Current (LC) system, and the Florida Keys (FK) (see regional map in fig. The cumulative satellite oil slick footprint was largely accepted as the DWH oil spill extent from scientific, public, and management perspectives ( 2, 4, 5).
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