The Joliet first Gulf tension leg platform is a potential sampling site for researchers on the Lophelia II 2008: Reef, Rigs, and Wrecks expedition. Click image for larger view and image credit.
The Bullwinkle platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Click image for larger view and image credit.
Management and Protection of Deep-water Coral Habitats
Greg Boland
Minerals Management Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
The Minerals Management Service (MMS), a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior, is the federal agency that manages the nation's natural gas, oil, renewable alternative energy, and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf. One of the fundamental missions of the MMS is to identify and consider the protection of sensitive biological habitats in U.S. federal waters. The oil and gas industry continues to move into deeper and deeper water in the search for extractable energy reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. Knowledge of the distribution, relative abundance, and population structures of deepwater organisms provides information critical to the estimation of the potential effects of deep-water exploration and production and the refinement of management decisions and protective measures.
The MMS has been at the forefront of deep-water coral research in the Gulf of Mexico since the early 1990s as part of its mandate to manage the nation's mineral resources in deeper federal waters, together with protection of the environment. The largest and best developed deep-water coral habitat currently known in the gulf is located in lease block Viosca Knoll 826, about 65 miles east of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was first studied in 1990 in conjunction with an MMS-required site survey of the area prior to exploratory drilling for hydrocarbon reserves. This site and one other spectacular deep-water coral habitat were specifically targeted by a project that utilized the Navy submersible NR 1, resulting in the MMS publication MMS 2007-035 
(Adobe .pdf file, 3.6 Mb). It is not known if similar remarkable coral habitats are located in other parts of the Gulf, or if they are indeed extremely rare.
The first dedicated deep-water coral study in the Gulf of Mexico, Characterization of Northern Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Hard Bottom Communities with Emphasis on Lophelia Coral, was an important step in gaining knowledge of previously unknown sensitive biological habitats in the deep Gulf. The resulting final report is available on the MMS internet site as report MMM 2007-044 (Adobe .pdf file, 10.4 Mb). This initial study has proven to be enlightening, but significant questions remain. These are the objectives of this new project, including exploration of new potential habitats, focused studies and process-oriented research that will further develop an understanding of the distribution of deep coral habitats. We are only just beginning to understand the ecological aspects of cold-water corals, including the environmental factors — such as temperature, salinity, nutritional sources, reproductive biology, molecular genetics, predation, and parasitism — which regulate their life histories and distribution. Past research has clearly demonstrated that deep-water coral habitats are important hotspots of biodiversity and significant biological resources with intrinsic and socioeconomic value.
Processes within MMS for management and protection of deep-water biological resources include a standard biological review procedure for all industry-submitted plans for deep-water exploration and production, and pipeline applications. Specific regulatory-related instruments called Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) provide another management tool. The NTLs are formal documents that provide clarification, description, or interpretation of a regulation or standard; provide guidelines on the implementation of a special lease stipulation or regional requirement; provide a better understanding of the scope and meaning of a regulation by explaining MMS interpretation of a requirement; or transmit administrative information. Study results will help to further refine current protective measures for oil and gas operations and the need for avoidance of sensitive biological communities in deep water.
There is also a need to understand the ecological role of deep-water platforms (or other deep-water oil- and gas-related structures serving as artificial reefs) in the Gulf of Mexico in order to make decisions regarding decommissioning. The MMS is also mandated by the National Historic Preservation Act to protect archaeological resources from the activities it permits. The Lophelia II 2008 study will increase the knowledge of the historical importance of a number of previously unknown wreck sites in the deep Gulf. Inclusion of shipwrecks as additional artificial reef areas will also increase our understanding of metal corrosion rates.
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