To find the threshold in marsh resilience to oil spills Brian R. Silliman and his team studied the erosion rates along Gulf of Mexico coastline following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the summer of 2010. Before data collection began the relationship between the marsh erosion rates and the degree of plant stem oiling was predicted to be positively correlated. The greatest salt marsh erosion sites and the threshold for marsh resilience were forecasted to occur at the highest (90-100%) stem oiling level. The results of this study added to the rare amount of empirical data that has been recorded showing a link between geomorphologic thresholds and specific levels of large-scale human disturbances such as oceanic oil spills. Oil was found on
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Data from approximately 5 months after the salt marsh oiling occurred, but before marsh edges were lost due to erosion, concluded that at the heavily oiled sites biomass amounts were approximately 30% lower than at the unoiled sites. This result was considered a very conservative value because in accordance with Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) protocol, both live and dead root material was counted. Another study evaluating live belowground biomass as it relates to oiling severity confirmed the assumed results of the original study, which were that at the highest stem oiling levels there is a serious reduction in the amount of live belowground …show more content…
The results showed that there is a significant amount of resilience by the salt marshes of the Gulf of Mexico to large amounts of oil, however, at high saturation levels, the land loss due to erosion is considerable and irreversible. I find this result frightening because as oil demand continues to increase the chances of disasters occurring in its collection or transport are expected. The effect that the Deepwater Horizon disaster had on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystems can be compared to the potential effect the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone Pipeline could have on terrestrial ecosystems should a disaster occur. Convincing research results could not only help rehabilitate negatively affected ecosystems, but it could potentially prevent the development and usage of technology that could have a large, irreversible effect on the world's
Data from approximately 5 months after the salt marsh oiling occurred, but before marsh edges were lost due to erosion, concluded that at the heavily oiled sites biomass amounts were approximately 30% lower than at the unoiled sites. This result was considered a very conservative value because in accordance with Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) protocol, both live and dead root material was counted. Another study evaluating live belowground biomass as it relates to oiling severity confirmed the assumed results of the original study, which were that at the highest stem oiling levels there is a serious reduction in the amount of live belowground …show more content…
The results showed that there is a significant amount of resilience by the salt marshes of the Gulf of Mexico to large amounts of oil, however, at high saturation levels, the land loss due to erosion is considerable and irreversible. I find this result frightening because as oil demand continues to increase the chances of disasters occurring in its collection or transport are expected. The effect that the Deepwater Horizon disaster had on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystems can be compared to the potential effect the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone Pipeline could have on terrestrial ecosystems should a disaster occur. Convincing research results could not only help rehabilitate negatively affected ecosystems, but it could potentially prevent the development and usage of technology that could have a large, irreversible effect on the world's