Gulf of Mexico BP reached an $18.7bn settlement with the US government, the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, as well as 400 local authorities. To date BP's cost for the clean-up, environmental and economic damages and penalties has reached $54bn. According to the National Response Center, the oil industry has thousands of minor accidents in the Gulf of Mexico every year. On May 12, 2016, a release of oil from subsea infrastructure on Shell's "Brutus" oil rig released 2,100 barrels of oil. This leak created a visible 2 mile by 13 mile oil slick in the sea about 97 miles
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (GecoServ) is a searchable database that gathers ecosystem services (ES) valuation studies relevant to the Gulf of Mexico. GecoServ's two main goals are to allow for the distribution and sharing of information about such studies and to identify current gaps in the ES literature. The studies summarized there are for habitats relevant to the Gulf region even though they may have been conducted elsewhere. • Freshwater Inflows is an ecosystem-based tool that was created to aid in coastal management decisions regarding freshwater inflow, which is an important component of estuarine health. Harte Research