This is a report of the first ever study of the intermediate depth circulation in the Gulf of Mexico made using free-drifting floats. The floats were fitted with temperature sensors, and this study also reports the first ever study of the intermediate depth thermal structure of the Gulf made by profiling floats. The floats were set in the northern Gulf of Mexico but quickly dispersed resulting in observations being made throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

There are four major classes of energetic currents in the Gulf of Mexico that are of primary importance to offshore petroleum operators. These are 1) currents resulting from energetic, episodic atmospheric events, 2) currents associated with the Loop Current and its related eddies,3) vertically coherent currents below 1000 m (believed by some to be topographic Rossbywaves), and 4) high-speed, subsurface-intensified currents

In 1973, the Federal government initiated a program to protect cultural resources existing on the submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the United States from the effects of Federally funded and permitted activities. This program arose out of a variety of legislation enacted to ensure the proper management and protection of the nation's cultural heritage. The most pertinent of these laws were the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, the National Environmental Policy Act(1969), and the OCS Lands Act Amendments of 1978. The program was initially placedunder...

This report was prepared under contract between the Minerals Management Service(MMS), Panamerican Consultants, Inc., and Coastal Environments, Inc. This report hasbeen technically reviewed by the MMS and it has been approved for publication.Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies ofthe MMS, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. It is, however, exempt from review and compliance with the MMS editorial standards.

The seafloor subject to disturbance by outer continental oil and gas activity is home to a few thousand species. Surveys of the seafloor undertaken to make informed decisions about future development and monitoring undertaken to assure acceptable levels of impact from existing activity are heavily dependent upon sampling and correctly identifying a large fraction of that diverse fauna. Assuring correct and consistent identification of species is a difficult problem. The task requires a tremendous breadth of expertise. There is a decreasing pool of experts, and taxonomic data are not now...

Nearly 4,000 oil and gas structures currently exist in Federal waters of the U.S.outer continental shelf (OCS), with the vast majority present in the Gulf of Mexico. The primary purpose of these structures (e.g., fixed platforms) is to develop and produce oil, natural gas, and gas condensates from offshore hydrocarbon reservoirs. When offshoreproduction from a producing field becomes uneconomic, the lease(s) may be terminatedby the operator. As one of its lease conditions, the Minerals Management Service(MMS) requires that operators (responsible for installation and operation of a...

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) funded a Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Slope (NGOMCS) study which was conducted over the period 1983-1998. The studies were completed and a review of selected aspects were published in the peer-reviewed literature (Pequegnat et al. 1990). A new continental slope study was funded by MMS in the late 1990's. It was subsequently learned that large portions of the historical database had been lost or corrupted. In this study, we have 1) reconstructed and updated the database to include corrections to the data that were made after the contract was...

QuanTech's data collection methodology for meeting the objectives of the project combined in person interviewing of recreational fishermen and divers in the field with follow-up telephone interviewing from a central dialing facility. The research design involved three basic data collection methods. The first was i-person field interviews, the second was follow-up interviews, and the third was a telephone interview.

This study focuses on the social, economic, and environmental issues related to the oil and gas industry which are salient to members of communities in five selected counties located on or near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in southeast Texas. The primary goal of this project is to identify the issues and concerns of stakeholder groups in the coastal region, as well as to understand the relationships among various issues and groups.

The State of Louisiana has the oldest offshore oil and gas leasing program in the world, and the tremendous economic value of the oil and gas resources that lay in the submerged lands unde rwaters adjacent to the Louisiana coastline led to a decades-long battle between the federal and coastal state governments over the control of those lands. That battle took the form of presidential proclamations, Supreme Court decisions, and federal law. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 authorized the Secretary of the Interior to lease federal submerged lands for mineral extraction activities....