EM2040 Water Column Sonar Data Collected During H13630

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill released over 3 million barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, by far the largest offshore oil spill in US history. In 2016, the Deepwater Horizon Trustees reached a settlement for natural resource injuries caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon Trustees documented a footprint of over 770 square miles of injury to mesophotic and deep benthic habitat surrounding the wellhead and extending up the continental slope. Accurate high-resolution bathymetric and habitat maps and data on the abundance and distribution of mesophotic and deep benthic habitats are needed to guide restoration.

Only a small portion of the mesophotic and deepwater habitats in the Gulf of Mexico have been surveyed, and with the collaboration and partnership of NOAA’s Deepwater Horizon Program and the National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science (NCCOS), the NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler collected bathymetry and backscatter data in the region. This work supported one of many projects selected by the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group to restore natural resources injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The data collected will be foundational for exploring mesophotic and deepwater habitats of the marine ecosystem by informing ground truthing locations for underwater camera footage, sediment cores, grab samples, ROV, and AUV work and for identifying future restoration sites. The data will also update nautical charting products.