Will the Gulf of Mexico oil spill affect the Chesapeake Bay?

We've received a lot of questions lately about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and if it will affect the Chesapeake Bay. The general scientific consensus right now is that it is unlikely that oil from the Gulf will reach the Chesapeake Bay, but experts continue to monitor the situation to stay ahead of any changes in the oil's projected path.

A few Bay Program partners have posted information about the oil spill in relation to the Chesapeake Bay:

• The Maryland Department of the Environment has set up a Gulf Oil Spill Emergency Response page with detailed information about Maryland's monitoring efforts and cleanup response capabilities.
• The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) has an excellent Gulf Spill FAQ page that answers questions such as "Will Gulf oil reach Virginia?" and "How might any Gulf oil impact Virginia?"
• Old Dominion University Oceanography Professor Larry Atkinson has created a page about the oil spill that focuses on potential effects to the East Coast.

Additionally, scientists and experts from many Bay Program partners are lending their time and expertise to the response effort in the Gulf region. Some examples include:

• Dr. Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, has been named to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. The bipartisan commission will provide President Obama with recommendations on how to prevent and mitigate the impacts of any future spills that result from offshore drilling.
• Environmental contaminant biologists and other scientists from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Chesapeake Bay Field Office are working in Louisiana and other Gulf states to monitor the affects of oil on habitats and wildlife.
• VIMS researchers are helping to craft the nation's immediate and long-term scientific responses to the spill.

Here's a sampling of some recent news articles and blog entries about the oil spill and the Bay:

• BP Oil Spill Data Tools (EPA Greenversations blog, July 8) (added 7/12)
• Migratory Birds, Fish Could Feel Impact of Gulf Spill (Chesapeake: Bay on the Brink, June 30)
• Experts: Gulf Oil Shouldn't Threaten Md. (Chesapeake: Bay on the Brink, June 25)
• BP spill affecting local seafood prices (The Washington Post "All Opinions Are Local" Forum, June 21)
• Experts question oil spill preparedness in Chesapeake (The Baltimore Sun, June 17)
• Chesapeake Bay is fighting its own 'oil spill' (Chesapeake Bay Foundation Blog, June 14)
• Will the BP oil spill reach the Chesapeake Bay? (Anne Arundel Green Headlines Examiner, June 10)
• What if the Gulf oil leak were in the Chesapeake? (The Baltimore Sun "B'More Green" Blog, June 10)
• Md. Scientists to Examine Impact of Gulf Oil Spill (WJZ, June 9)
• Oil spill should not affect Va. menhaden catch (The Newport News Daily Press, June 1)
• Mikulski seeks oil spill assessment for Md. (The Baltimore Sun, May 26)

For more information about the Gulf oil spill, visit the following websites:

• Deepwater Horizon Response - The official site for the Unified Command acting in response to the oil spill. The site includes releases from all the federal agencies participating in the response.
• GeoPlatform.gov/GulfResponse - An interactive map that displays near real-time information about the response effort. The map integrates the latest federal data on the oil spill's trajectory and includes fishery area closures, wildlife data, pinpointed locations of oiled shorelines, current positions of deployed research ships, and more.
• NOAA BP Oil Spill Incident Response
• Monitoring the Gulf of Mexico Conditions During the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
• EPA Response to BP Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

We'll update this blog entry with any additional information about the Gulf oil spill and its potential effect on the Bay.