The recent increased activity associated with offshore oil and gas exploration and production in the outer continental shelf and slope regions of the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) calls for a better understanding of the ocean circulation in these regions and the potential environmental effects of those activities. Safe operation of offshore facilities during exploration and production is required for the protection of human life and the marine environment. Moving into deep water places the oil and gas operations closer to strong surface-intensified currents associated with the Loop Current...

Each spring, vast numbers of landbirds migrate northward across the Gulf of Mexico en route to breeding habitats in the United States and Canada from their wintering quarters in the neotropics. Following a short breeding season in the north, most of these birds return southward across the Gulf, their numbers then augmented by offspring produced over the summer. From the standpoint of sheer numbers, these annual trans-Gulf migrations constitute one of the great wildlife events of the world. Nevertheless, many basic aspects of the migrations have remained poorly known until now; indeed, until...

This is the final report of our effort under Coastal Marine Environmental Modeling: Part III. Coastal Marine Environmental Modeling targets the development of numerical models of estuarine shelf interactions with the ultimate objectives of formulating a coupled hydrodynamic-ecological model that includes biological and sedimentological components. Under Part II, a two-dimensional depth-integrated hydrodynamic model, that includes baroclinic pressure gradient, was developed. This model has been applied to various estuaries in Louisiana, namely, Terrebonne/Timbalier Bay, Barataria Bay,...