LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP

1. LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: What can we learn from this disaster? Presented by: Audra Livergood, Will Underwood and Atziri Ibanez February 2, 2011 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Eastern time

2. Agenda: • Introductions • Tech-help info • Web Seminar tools • Presentation • Evaluation • Chat with the presenter(s)

3. NSTA WS Staff Supporting the Presenting Team is… Jeff LaymanTech Support NSTAjlayman@nsta.org703-312-9384 For additional Tech-help call: Elluminate Support, 1-866-388-8674 (Option 2)

4. Elluminate Screenshot

5. NSTA WS Staff We would like to know more about you…

6. Poll #1 How many NSTA web seminars have you attended? • 1-3 • 4-5 • More than 5 • More than 10 • This is my first web seminar Use the letters A-E located at the bottom right of the participant window to answer the poll.

7. Poll #1 How many NSTA web seminars have you attended? • 1-3 • 4-5 • More than 5 • More than 10 • This is my first NSTA web seminar

8. Where are you now?

9. Poll #2 What grade level do you teach? • Elementary School, K-5 • Middle School, 6-8 • High School, 9-12 • I teach college students • I am an Informal Educator

10. LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: What can we learn from this disaster? Presented by: Audra Livergood, Will Underwood and Atziri Ibanez February 2, 2011 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Eastern time

11. Your Presenters AtziriIbañez, NERRS National Education Coordinator Audra Livergood, Marine Resource Manager, NOAA Fisheries Will Underwood, Stewardship Coordinator, Grand Bay NERR

12. What is an estuary? What are some examples of estuaries along the Gulf Coast? PART ONE

13. Poll Question What is an estuary? • The land area that drains water into a lake, river, or pond. • The area where a river meets the ocean, where fresh and salt water mix. • The large body of salt water that covers most of the earth's surface. • The underground system that provides drinking water to an area.

14. Deepwater Horizon oil spill On Tuesday, April 20, 2010 an explosion rocked the oil drilling platform.

16. Five key estuaries in danger of being impacted by the oil spill 16

17. Mission Aransas NERR (Texas) • MANERR • Has the only naturally migrating population of whooping cranes in the world • Total Acreage: 185,708 • Designation: 2006 Weeks Bay NERR (Alabama) • Weeks Bay NERR • Provide habitat for rare and endangered species including the brown pelican, eastern indigo snake, and the Alabama red-bellied turtle. • Total Acreage: 6,525 • Designation: 1986

18. Apalachicola NERR (Florida) • Apalachicola NERR • The West Indian manatee, the Indiana bat and the gray bat are endangered species that make their home at the Reserve • Total Acreage: 246,000 • Designation: 1979 Rookery Bay NERR (Florida) • Rookery Bay NERR • Is a prime example of a nearly pristine subtropical mangrove forested estuary • Total Acreage: 110,000 • Designation: 1978

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20. How many class or activity periods of estuary instruction do your students receive in a typical school year? [Place clip art on the continuum below] More than 15 classes per year 6 to 15 classes per year 3 to 5 classes per year 1 to 2 classes per year None

21. Resources 1 • Your Source for Learning and Teaching About Estuaries • Video Gallery • Estuaries 101 Curriculum • Access to real-time data with graphing capabilities • Species Factsheets http://estuaries.gov/

22. Let’s pause for questions

23. Where and what is the Grand Bay Reserve? PART TWO

24. About Grand Bay NERR (MS) Approximately 18,000 acres (28 sq. mi.) of emergent marsh, pine flatwoods, and pine savannas Established in 1999 Represents the Louisianian bio-geographic region

25. Grand Bay is located in the Northern Gulf of Mexico to the east of the Mississippi river

26. The drilling site was approximately 150 miles SSW of the Grand Bay NERR

27. Mobile delta area often influence the waters of the Grand Bay NERR

28. Grand Bay Reserve boundary Bayou Heron Bayou Cumbest

29. How were the Grand Bay marshes formed? Where rivers meet the sea? Currently little freshwater input from uplands Pre-historic origin of marshes formed by Pascagoula and Escatawpa Rivers

30. What makes Grand Bay important? Marshes serve as nursery ground Provides protection from dangerous storm surge Marshes filter nutrients Commercial and recreational fishing Outdoor recreation

31. Natural & Anthropogenic Stressors Hurricanes Erosion Invasive species Loss of sediments through dredging Decreased air and water quality Industrial disasters Overharvest of fishery

32. Mississippi Phosphates Spill

33. Estuaries 101 Curriculum http://estuaries.gov/

34. What can we learn from ongoing monitoring at the Grand Bay Reserve? PART THREE

35. System-Wide Monitoring Program Observing short-term variability and long-term changes in estuarine environments I. Abiotic Monitoring Water Quality & Nutrients Weather Parameters II. Biological Monitoring Habitat Change Biodiversity III. Land Cover/Use and Habitat Change Spatial Patterns Human Impacts

36. Monitoring Water Quality & Weather Data SWMP Data-logger Water quality data is collected at 15 or 30 minute intervals at 4 locations within or adjacent to a research reserve. Weather data is collected within or adjacent to a research reserve at 5 second intervals.

37. Mapping, Monitoring, Research Critical for protection of natural resource Primary responsibility of research and stewardship staff in the reserve system Provides baseline information important in assessing damage from disasters

38. Fine-Scale Marsh Habitat Delineation

39. Sea Grass Communities at GBNERR 39

40. Resources 2 • Data in the Classroom • Three curriculum modules: El Nino, Sea Level & Water Quality • Grades 6-8 • Downloadable materials • Correlated to National Standards in Science, Mathematics , Geography & the Ocean Literacy Concepts http://www.dataintheclassroom.org

41. Let’s pause for questions

42. How did the oil spill and the response effect the Grand Bay Reserve? PART FOUR

43. Sequence of Events Rig explosion, 4/20 Booming initiated, 5/4 1st rig debris/tarballs, 6/4 1st oil at reserve, 6/12 Temporary cap installed, 7/15 Targeted boom removal, 8/31 Response ongoing

44. Plan for the Worst Identify Critical Resources Review Existing Response Plans Prioritize Critical Areas…Limited Response Resource Identify Areas Sensitive to Response Damage Learn and Adapt to Incident Command System Begin Collecting Baseline Samples Provide Site Specific Technical Support

45. Contingency Plan outlines booming needed

46. Extensive pre-oil samples were collected

47. Poll Question Based on their research, scientists have learned that it is always preferable to clean up an oiled salt marsh as opposed to simply leaving it alone to recover naturally. A True B False

48. Installing booming is a delicate process in shallow waters

49. Airboats were used to install boom

50. Three types of boom were installed Pom-pom boom Hard boom