National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Dec 11;109(50):20212-21. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1204729109. Epub 2012 Dec 3.
This introduction to the Special Feature presents the context for science during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, summarizes how scientific knowledge was integrated across disciplines and statutory responsibilities, identifies areas where scientific information was accurate and where it was not, and considers lessons learned and recommendations for future research and response. Scientific information was integrated within and across federal and state agencies, with input from nongovernmental scientists, across a diverse portfolio of needs--stopping the flow of oil, estimating the amount of oil, capturing and recovering the oil, tracking and forecasting surface oil, protecting coastal and oceanic wildlife and habitat, managing fisheries, and protecting the safety of seafood. Disciplines involved included atmospheric, oceanographic, biogeochemical, ecological, health, biological, and chemical sciences, physics, geology, and mechanical and chemical engineering. Platforms ranged from satellites and planes to ships, buoys, gliders, and remotely operated vehicles to laboratories and computer simulations. The unprecedented response effort depended directly on intense and extensive scientific and engineering data, information, and advice. Many valuable lessons were learned that should be applied to future events.
本特刊介绍了在深水地平线石油泄漏应对期间的科学背景，总结了如何跨学科和法定职责整合科学知识，确定了科学信息准确和不准确的领域，并考虑了经验教训以及对未来研究和应对的建议。科学信息在联邦和州机构内部以及跨机构进行了整合，并得到了非政府科学家的投入，涉及到多样化的需求组合——阻止石油流动、估计石油数量、捕获和回收石油、跟踪和预测表面石油、保护沿海和海洋野生动物和栖息地、管理渔业以及保护海鲜安全。涉及的学科包括大气科学、海洋学、生物地球化学、生态学、健康科学、生物科学、化学科学、物理学、地质学以及机械和化学工程学。平台范围从卫星和飞机到船只、浮标、滑翔机和遥控潜水器，再到实验室和计算机模拟。前所未有的应对工作直接依赖于密集和广泛的科学和工程数据、信息和建议。吸取了许多宝贵的经验教训，应将其应用于未来的事件。
