Hercules 265 Rapid Response: Immediate Ecosystem Impacts of a Natural Gas Blowout Incident
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2016
Keywords
Hercules 265, Natural gas blowout, Gulf of Mexico, Stable isotopes, Nitrogen fixation, Methane, Radium
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.11.010
Abstract
In late July 2013, the Hercules 265 drilling rig in the Northern Gulf of Mexico experienced a catastrophic loss of control. Large quantities of natural gas spewed into the environment for ~2 days before the well self-sealed through down-hole collapse below the seafloor. Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf (ECOGIG) and collaborating Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) consortia mounted a rapid response cruise to characterize the waters around the Hercules 265 rig, beginning just 4 days after the blowout. Our analysis showed an immediate microbial response to the elevated concentrations of methane in the water column, as evidenced by the drawdown of oxygen to hypoxic conditions, the incorporation of methane-derived carbon into particles, and measurable rates of methane-assimilation and nitrogen-fixation. Additionally, radium isotope measurements allowed us to constrain the timescale of bottom water exposure to the influence of the rig. A second sampling by the Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of Gulf Ecosystems (C-IMAGE) consortium indicated that the ecosystem had returned to near pre-blowout conditions within one month.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, v. 129, p. 66-76
Scholar Commons Citation
Weber, Sarah C.; Peterson, Leigha; Battles, Jessica J.; Roberts, Brian J.; Peterson, Richard N.; Hollander, David J.; Chanton, Jeffrey P.; Joye, Samantha; and Montoya, Joseph P., "Hercules 265 Rapid Response: Immediate Ecosystem Impacts of a Natural Gas Blowout Incident" (2016). C-IMAGE Publications. 122.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cimage_pubs/122
Comments
Data used in this article are available for download.
Hercules Spill Response Cruises, Water Chemistry. Louisiana South Timbalier Block 220, 27-30 July (R/V Acadiana) and 25 August (R/V Weatherbird) 2013
Surface drifters launched near the Hercules 265 drilling rig site, northern Gulf of Mexico (July through September, 2013)
Dissolved oxygen and respiration rate summary, Hercules 265 Rapid Response Cruise, July 2013.