Effects of oil and gas exploration and development at selected continental slope sites in the Gulf of Mexico. Volume II: Technical Report

Abstract

This is the final report of a field study designed to assess the impacts of oil and gas platforms at four sites in the Gulf of Mexico located off Louisiana and Alabama. This research is summarized in the companion volume: Continental Shelf Associates, Inc. 2006. Effects of Oil and Gas Exploration and Development at Selected Continental Slope Sites in the Gulf of Mexico. Volume I: Executive Summary. U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, LA. OCS Study MMS 2006-044.

Study areas include: 1) Study Design and General Methods, 2) Drilling Activities, 3) Geophysical Characterization of Study Sites, 4) Sediment Grain Size, 5) Sediment Profile Imaging at Exploration and Exploration/Development Sites, 5) Sediment Profile Imaging at Post-Development Sites, 6) Metals, Total Organic Carbon, and Redox Conditions in Sediments, 7) Sediment and Tissue Hydrocarbons, 8) Sediment Microbes, 9) Meiofauna and Macrofauna, 10) Megafauna and Image Analysis, 11) Genetic Diversity of Harpacticoid Copepods, 12