Science

A visit to the Caminada Headland Beach & Dune Restoration project

A visit to the Caminada Headland Beach & Dune Restoration project

By Estelle Robichaux, Restoration Project Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund The BP oil spill has had devastating impacts on Gulf Coast ecosystems and communities, but coastal Louisiana’s land loss crisis began decades before the disaster. The Clean Water Act fines and other money paid through settlements relating to the spill offer an unprecedented opportunity to restore Gulf Coast habitats and natural resources. Many of the early restoration projects funded in Louisiana are focused on barrier islands because of the important role they …

Five Years Later: Gulf Oil Disaster’s Impacts to Habitat and Wildlife Still Evident

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society, 504.264.6849, jhebert@audubon.org Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Five Years Later: Gulf Oil Disaster’s Impacts to Habitat and Wildlife Still Evident Leading Conservation Groups Highlight BP Spill’s Ongoing Effects, Continued Need for Restoration (New Orleans, LA—March 31, 2015) Five years after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 men and spewing at least 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of …

Bayou Bonjour: Caernarvon Diversion Builds Land and Gives Birth to New Bayou

Straddling the border of Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes in Southeastern Louisiana is the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion built by the Army Corps of Engineers and operated since 1992 to balance water salinity by funneling river water into coastal marshes. Lately, the diversion has had indirect effects that are raising eyebrows among scientists and those seeking to find solutions to address the crisis of Louisiana’s disappearing coast. The Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion is creating land at a rapid pace by delivering nutrient-rich river …

Scientists Look to Food Webs for Better Understanding of Oil Spill Effects

When trying to understand how ecosystems function, scientists often look at food webs–the complex relationships between animals, insects, plants, and bacteria that govern who eats whom. Food webs in the Gulf of Mexico are as complex as they come. The different habitat types, from forests to wetlands to ocean, mean a diverse array of species. The Gulf food web would be nearly impossible to understand in its entirety, but we can simplify it into a chain to help us think …

Five Years After the Oil Spill, Dead Dolphins and 25,000-Pound Tar Mat Found

This was originally posted on the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Promise blog. By Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation One day after BP released a report saying the Gulf is on the road to recovery, we took a trip to one of the most impacted areas from the BP oil spill—Barataria Bay, Louisiana. From a dead baby dolphin to devastation at a bird rookery to active clean-up crews removing tons of oil from barrier islands, we found a very different picture from …

10 Things BP’s New Report Doesn’t Tell You

This was originally posted on the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Promise blog. By Ryan Fikes, National Wildlife Federation BP has just released a new report on the state of the Gulf, called Gulf of Mexico: Environmental Recovery and Restoration. The glossy report is filled with footnotes and citations, but leaves key pieces of science out. Here are ten important things BP’s latest report strategically didn’t mention: Dolphins died before the spill – from freshwater The report says: “An “unusual mortality event” (UME) …

Understanding effects of chemical dispersants on marine wildlife is critical to whale population

During and after the 2010 BP oil spill, clean-up crews relied heavily on chemical dispersants to break up oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico. In total, crews used more than 2 million gallons of dispersants, namely Corexit 9500 and 9527, applying them directly to the head of the leaking well and over the surface waters of the Gulf. Dispersants break down oil into small droplets that easily mix with water and, in theory, biodegrade quickly. The intention is to …

Five Years Later, Scientists Gather to Assess Ongoing Impact of BP Oil Spill

By Alisha Renfro, National Wildlife Federation & Jacques Hebert, National Audubon Society Last week while some people on the Gulf Coast were in the thick of celebrating Mardi Gras, more than 1000 scientists, including those from the Restore the Mississippi River Delta campaign, met in Houston, Texas, to attend the third-annual Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference. The four-day conference, which included a mix of keynotes and oral and poster presentations, aimed to share scientific information and forward …

Final Phase of BP Oil Spill Trial to Begin Next Week

Press Statement + Interview Opportunities Available Contact: Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, schatzele@nwf.org Elizabeth Van Cleve, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, evancleve@edf.org Lauren Bourg, National Audubon Society, 225.776.9838, lbourg@audubon.org Final Phase of BP Oil Spill Trial to Begin Next Week BP must be held fully accountable for its role in nation’s largest oil disaster (New Orleans – January 15, 2015) On Tuesday, January 20, 2015, the third and final phase of the BP oil spill civil trial will begin …

Another piece of the puzzle: New study sheds light on oil’s effects on plant life

By Matt Phillips, National Wildlife Federation The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster spilled nearly 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil coated the shore, covering hundreds of miles of coastline, including some of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. Scientists have spent the years since the spill assessing its continuing impacts on Gulf wildlife and ecosystems. And next Tuesday in New Orleans, Phase III of the BP oil spill trial will start in New Orleans. In a recent study, …

What can the Caernarvon Diversion and Bohemia Spillway teach us about coastal restoration?

By Theryn Henkel, Ph.D., Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation The Coastal Sustainability Program at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) recently released an article titled “Examination of Deltaic Processes of Mississippi River Outlets–Caernarvon Delta and Bohemia Spillway in Southeastern Louisiana” in the Gulf Coastal Association of Geological Societies Journal. The article details work that LPBF has done investigating the development of the Caernarvon Delta and operation of the Bohemia Spillway, both located in Plaquemines Parish, La. Natural land-building deltaic processes of …

New study examines ecological and coastal restoration benefits of oyster reefs

By Alisha Renfro, National Wildlife Federation “Oysters are the most tender and delicate of all seafoods. They stay in bed all day and night. They never work or take exercise, are stupendous drinkers, and wait for their meals to come to them.” – Hector Bolitho Oysters are remarkable organisms. Not only are they delicious, but each oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, which provides food for the oyster and improves local water quality. A collection …

Nine years later: Is the Gulf Coast prepared for another Katrina?

This post originally appeared on Environmental Defense Fund’s EDF Voices blog. By Estelle Robichaux, Environmental Defense Fund Nine years ago, as Hurricane Katrina gathered strength in the Gulf of Mexico, I called my grandmother and namesake to wish her happy 84th birthday – and to urge her to leave her home on Bayou Lafourche until the storm passed. It would take several more days before I heard my mother’s voice over the phone and was reassured that everyone in my family …

Diversions Expert Panel engages scientific community for second public meeting

By Erin Greeson (National Audubon Society) and Alisha Renfro (National Wildlife Federation) While there is no question that large-scale action is urgently needed to add address Louisiana’s land loss crisis, some questions surround the scientific solutions necessary to address this challenge. As the state of Louisiana advances its Coastal Master Plan and the comprehensive set of restoration projects within it, experts have opened discussion to scientists and interested members of the public to provide information, share science and encourage dialogue. …

Mississippi River carries enough sand to build new land for at least 600 years, new study suggests

By Alisha A. Renfro, Ph.D., National Wildlife Federation As spring weather warms the Midwest, snow melts and drains from 31 states into the Mississippi River. In south Louisiana, the mighty Mississippi River is nearing its peak flow of nearly 900,000 cubic feet of water per second. Rolling down the river with the water is mud and sand, which are essential to building wetlands in the disappearing Mississippi River Delta. Every hour in Louisiana, a football field of land becomes open …