Environmental Studies Program Direction:
Monitoring Marine Environments
Objective: To monitor the
marine and coastal environments in a manner designed to provide the time-series and data
trend information needed to identify significant changes in the quality and productivity
of such environments.
Concerns
continue to be expressed by environmental scientists and the general public regarding
possible effects of OCS activities on the marine and coastal environment. Some of the
issues concerning acute, short-term effects of OCS oil and natural gas activities have
been addressed adequately through credible scientific studies. For example, studies have
shown that discharges from exploratory drilling in the OCS environment would not result in
significant long-term effects, except possibly in areas with rare, slowly recovering
communities. However, one issue that has not been resolved is that of potential long-term,
chronic effects from oil and natural gas development and production activities.
In the past, benthic (seafloor) communities have been one area of focus for monitoring
the effects of OCS oil and natural gas activities. Contaminants often attach onto
suspended particles, settle to the bottom, and accumulate in bottom sediments. Many
benthic organisms are relatively long-lived and sedentary, making them more susceptible to
effects from accumulated contaminants. However, it has been found that water column
organisms, plankton and nekton, are unlikely to experience significant contaminant
concentrations or exposure durations. Also, benthos can be sampled with greater
statistical precision than water column organisms.
During the next several years the ESP will conduct ecological monitoring to determine
the effects of oil spills on marine communities. Understanding the recovery of marine
communities following an oil spill will continue to be an opportunistic study for the ESP.
Another essential means of assessing potential impacts of direct and indirect OCS
activities is monitoring information on endangered and nonendangered birds and mammals.
Efforts to monitor potential contaminant loading, water and sediment quality, and
bioaccumulation in important marine species will be maintained.
Meeting the Need: Future MMS marine
environmental monitoring studies will focus on assessing the long-term, as well as
short-term, environmental effects associated with OCS production activities. The ESP
monitoring efforts will be part of the Agency’s effort to not only establish
result-oriented goals, but also to help measure the success of MMS-funded research and
impact mitigation efforts.
 | Environmental monitoring studies will include interdisciplinary efforts involving
biological, chemical, geological, and physical oceanographic components designed to
measure any sublethal effects caused by offshore activities.
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| Other future monitoring efforts include the investigation of potential OCS impacts on
marine mammal, bird, and turtle populations. The ESP will continue monitoring special
habitats and communities such as the Flower Gardens National Marine
Sanctuary, rocky intertidal communities on the southern California coast, and bowhead whale migration routes.
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| Present and future marine environmental monitoring projects will provide information
needed for evaluating exploration and development/production plans for offshore oil and
natural gas resources. Information from these projects will also be used to develop and
evaluate the effectiveness of lease stipulations and other environmental mitigation
measures. Opportunistic monitoring of oil-spill impacts will provide information important
to development of oil-spill cleanup and contingency plans. |
