The MMS, in its most recent Five Year Plan, stated its intention to lease an area for development in the western edge of the Eastern Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico in the year 2001, Because the experience of Texas and Louisiana has indicated substantial social and economic impacts onshore from Outer Continental Shelf( OCS) activity are possible, the MMS wanted to investigate the potential impacts on affected communities in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

This model and user's guide were prepared under contract between the minerals management service and research planning consultants inc. This report has been 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 of the 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

For the Gulf of Mexico, present data sets poorly represent how temperature, winds, and mixing height vary vertically over the atmospheric boundary layer and free troposphere. Estimates come from two sources: 1) automated weather stations measuring meteorological variables in the surface layer; and 2) observational satellites sampling the boundary layer and free troposphere at a few select altitudes. Because these techniques generally do not accurately or precisely measure for a range of altitudes, empirical constants and relationships are used to approximate vertical variations in...

This volume is the Final Report for the research program entitled Stability and Change in Gulf of Mexico Chemosynthetic Communities. It describes findings obtained from natural hydrocarbon seeps on the continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico. This section of the report will outline the purpose and scope of the program as well as the program team jointly responsible for the results. Major milestones of the program are listed along with a compilation of technical articles and scientific presentations that have been produced while the program was underway.

The U.S. East Coast continental slope from Norfolk Canyon south to Cape Lookout, North Carolina represents a dramatic physiographic and sedimentological transition between the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) province of major submarine canyons and the South Atlantic Bight province of the Blake Plateau (BP) (Pratt and Heezen 1964; Uchupi and Emery 1967; Rowe and Menzies 1968; Rhoads 1993). The northern portion of the transition region, beginning just south of Norfolk Canyon, approximates physiographic, sedimentary and faunistic conditions characteristic of the overall MAB (Blake et al. 1987). The...

Although bioremediation for oil spill cleanup has received considerable attention in recent years, its satisfactory use in the cleanup of oil spills in the wetland environment is still questionable and generally untested. We have conducted a multi-disciplinary experimental program to evaluate the use of various bioremediation products, including microbial seeding, inorganic fertilizer, and soil oxidant, as a means of enhancing oil biodegradation in coastal salt marshes. The overall goal was to determine the potential for oil bioremediation in coastal marshes. The specific objectives of this...

The demographic data include information on age, sex, marital status, race, educational attainment, place of birth, and migration experience. Many of these data are cross-tabulated by race and sex. The data on vital statistics (live birth, deaths, marriage, and divorce) are collected separately to supplement the demographic data. The data on civilian employment include information on labor force status, class of worker, industry and occupation. These data are also cross-tabulated by race and sex whenever data are available. The employment information on mining for 1940-70, oil/natural gas for...

MMS had three objectives for the study. First was to develop an oceanographic experimental design of research cruises covering the NEGOM study area with sufficient frequency to resolve seasonal variations of chemical oceanography and hydro graphic parameters. Second was to collect the ancillary data needed to complement and analyze the chemical oceanographic and hydro graphic measurements. Third was to analyze the data to describe the vertical and horizontal spatial distributions and temporal variability of water properties and to describe the processes that contribute to the production of...

The oil and gas industry comprises a very important part in the history and economy of coastal states in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region. In Louisiana in particular, where the impact of the oil and gas industry is the greatest, the history of oil and natural gas extraction dates back to the turn of the present century. After the discovery of the Heywood well six miles from Jennings in 1901, oil wells have been drilled in many parts of Louisiana, including Caddo, Webster, Claiborne and Union parishes in the north, La Salle parish in the central part of the state, and in most coastal parishes...

The introduction and proliferation of offshore oil and gas platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) has undoubtedly affected the marine ecosystem. There are approximately 4,000 platforms in the federal waters of the Gulf. Because a mud/silt/sand bottom with little relief or hard-substrate dominates the northern Gulf, especially west of the Mississippi River Delta (Delta), any additional hard-substrate provided by platforms could prove significant.Although platforms provide an estimated 11.7 km2 (or 0.4%) of the total "reef" habitat in the northern Gulf, platform significance may be...