THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

Cooperating for 

New Answers 

from the OCS

The Lower 

Tertiary Trend

Monitoring the 

Flower Garden 

Banks

Cooperative 

Conservation 

Creates Shared 

Resources

Cold Water 

Cleanup 

Research 

Produces New 

Techniques

High-Frequency 

Radar (CODAR) 

Tests Offer New 

Understanding

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 6 

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006

Cooperating for 

New Answers 

from the OCS

The Lower 

Tertiary Trend

Monitoring the 

Flower Garden 

Banks

Cooperative 

Conservation 

Creates Shared 

Resources

Cold Water 

Cleanup 

Research 

Produces New 

Techniques

High-Frequency 

Radar (CODAR) 

Tests Offer New 

Understanding
2 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006

Volume 3 Issue 6

MMS OCEAN SCIENCE is published 

bi-monthly by the Minerals Management 

Service to communicate recent ocean 

science and technological information 

and issues of interest related to offshore 

mineral recovery, ocean stewardship, 

and mineral revenues.

Please address all questions, comments, 

suggestions, and changes of address to:

Deborah Epperson

MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Editor

Minerals Management Service

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70123

deborah.epperson@mms.gov

(504) 736-3257

3 Cooperating for New Answers

 from the OCS

4 New Discoveries

The Lower Tertiary Trend

8 Stable and Thriving Communities

Monitoring the Flower Garden Banks

9 Cooperative Conservation 

 Creates Shared Resources

10 Cold Water Cleanup Research 

 Produces New Techniques

11 High-Frequency Radar (CODAR)

 Tests Offer New Understanding

12 New Waves

Late-Breaking News & Information

ABOUT THE COVER

Top: Research diver taking quantitative photos of the 

Flower Garden Banks. Photo by Gregory S. Boland.

Bottom: Oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Photo courtesy of NOAA

Back: Background platform image by 

Gregory S. Boland

All photos courtesy of Minerals Management Service 

unless otherwise noted.

Publication services provided by Schatz Publishing Group

THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

For more information about the Minerals Management Service, 

check out our site on the World Wide Web:

www.mms.gov

Subscribe

To receive MMS OCEAN SCIENCE, sign up on the website 

www.gomr.mms.gov, click on e-mail subscriptions on the lefthand column, check the box marked Environmental Studies or 

e-mail deborah.epperson@mms.gov or call (504) 736-3257

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 Volume 3 Issue 6
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 3

What does the 

future hold for 

our Nation’s 

energy reserves? 

Will we be able 

to locate and develop alternative 

sources of energy? How will the 

search for energy resources affect 

other ecosystems such as coral reefs, 

or other mammals such as sperm 

whales? Can agencies, academia, 

and industry work together to pool 

resources and information that 

would be available to all interested 

parties? Can we stimulate the 

interest of students to work on these 

problems and others that have yet to 

be determined? 

These questions and others are 

being answered by the Minerals 

Management Service (MMS) and 

its partners through the spirit of 

cooperative conservation.

Cooperative conservation is an 

effort by the U.S. Departments of 

the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, 

and Defense, and the Administrator 

of the Environmental Protection 

Agency to include public and private entities and individuals in the 

management, enhancement, and 

protection of our natural resources. 

This effort to promote collaboration has been facilitated by an 

executive order from the President 

of the United States and has been 

adopted as policy by MMS and its 

fellow agencies. 

As part of this cooperative 

effort to gain more knowledge about 

irreplaceable resources in the Gulf 

of Mexico, MMS is funding studies 

that will determine the possible 

effect of oil and gas exploration on 

coral reefs and ways to mitigate 

any damage that may be found. It 

is also partnering with academia 

to investigate the life history of 

the endangered sperm whale and 

the possible impacts of oil and gas 

activities on this species.

The leasing of deepwater blocks 

in the Lower Tertiary Trend holds 

the promise of future oil and gas 

resources. Interest in the trend has 

escalated due to the recent success 

of industry tests.

The partnerships and studies 

add depth to our knowledge base, 

building an unparalleled reservoir 

of accessible information about 

the Outer Continental Shelf. This 

building process is one of the keys 

to piquing the imaginations of 

young scientists and engineers. 

It is these young explorers who 

will ask new questions and reveal 

their answers as we discover 

more about the inhabitants of our 

oceans and their relationship with 

their environment.

COOPERATING

FOR NEW ANSWERS 

FROM THE OCS

Researchers use a RHIB (Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat) to search for tagged whales during the 

2005 Sperm Whale Seismic Study. Photo by Craig Hayslip.

Cooperative conservation 

is an effort . . . to include 

public and private entities 

and individuals in the 

management, enhancement, 

and protection of our 

natural resources. 
4 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

THE LOWER

TERTIARY

TREND

Figure 1. Location of the Lower Tertiary Trend in the Gulf of Mexico. The onshore production of the Lower Tertiary is from 

shallow-water sands while the offshore discoveries are in sands deposited in deep waters. 

Gulf of Mexico’s 

Emerging UltraDeepwater Trend 

with Potential 

Resources of 

15,000,000,000

Barrels of Oil

NEW DISCOVERIES
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 5

No matter how you 

look at it, that is a 

lot of zeroes. That is 

what the oil and gas 

industry estimates 

that the Lower Tertiary Trend in 

the ultra-deepwater (>5,000 feet) of 

the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) may 

contain. The trend stretches about 

300 miles across the GOM some 150 

miles offshore (Figure 1). With 12 

announced discoveries since 2001 and 

first production expected in 2009, the 

Lower Tertiary Trend promises to be 

active for decades to come. 

A few terms should be explained 

to establish a basis of understanding. 

A trend is an interval defined by 

a certain period of time; in this 

case, the Lower Tertiary Trend 

was deposited between 24 and 65 

million years ago. The trend is 

composed of various types of plays, 

which are productive intervals 

related by common characteristics, 

such as hydrocarbon trapping 

mechanisms. Each play contains 

one or more prospects, which are 

expected hydrocarbon accumulations 

separated by topographic lows. 

The Lower Tertiary Trend 

has been producing gas and oil 

from sands onshore in Texas 

and Louisiana for decades; no 

production from the Lower Tertiary 

has occurred in the GOM. Recent 

drilling in water depths between 

5,000 and 10,000 feet is targeting 

the downdip extension of the Lower 

Tertiary sands that were deposited 

in deep water, some 250 miles from 

the onshore production.

A Play Develops

Geologists have long known that 

the prolific onshore producing sands 

deposited in shallow marine water 

during Lower Tertiary times may 

have extended downdip into deeper 

waters. The problems were to locate 

these sands, identify traps that would 

accumulate the hydrocarbons, and 

determine if the oil was producible 

(Figure 2).

The first hints of the emergence 

of the Lower Tertiary Trend came 

with the drilling of Shell’s BAHA 

prospect in Alaminos Canyon (AC) 

600 in 1996. The well was drilled 

in a record-setting 7,620 feet of 

water. While it only encountered 

minor amounts of oil in the upper 

section of the play, it proved the 

presence of hydrocarbons in the 

Figure 2. A generalized schematic of the relationship of the Lower Tertiary Trend (Oligocene, Eocene, Paleocene) sediments from onshore to 

deepwater offshore. 

15,000,000,000 5,000,000,000
trend. Drilling of the adjacent AC 

557 in early 2001 indicated that 

the Lower Tertiary sediments were 

unexpectedly thick and had sands of 

possible reservoir quality.

Unocal, now Chevron, drilled 

the Trident (AC 903) prospect in 

the same play in the summer of 

2001 and had a major discovery 

6 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

uncertain, pending confirmation of 

sustainable commercial oil flow rates. 

The BAHA, Trident, and Great 

White prospects were drilled on large 

structures seaward of a steep slope 

called the Sigsbee Escarpment. The 

Sigsbee Escarpment is a topographic 

feature formed at the southern extent 

of a massive horizontal salt layer. A 

major challenge was to determine 

the extent of the play to the north 

under a salt mass that could be miles 

thick. Geophysicists would have 

to overcome difficulties imaging 

structures below the salt layer to 

locate the traps that contained the 

oil. Other prospects south of the 

salt mass were drilled with varying 

success from 2002 through 2004. 

Lower Tertiary Trend Status

This year, the industry reported 

great strides in the development of 

the plays within the Lower Tertiary 

Trend. Announced discoveries 

reached an even dozen (Figure 3) 

when BP announced the Kaskida 

prospect in Keathley Canyon (KC) 

292 was a discovery. The Kaskida 

prospect reached total depth of 

32,500 feet in May 2006. BP 

announced that the well had over 

800 feet of hydrocarbon-bearing 

sands (Table 1). The well drilled 

through salt to test the deeper 

traps, indicating that at least in 

some areas imaging below salt 

can be accomplished. This subsalt 

discovery not only established 

the presence of hydrocarbons in 

Keathley Canyon for the first 

time, but indicated that the Lower 

Tertiary Trend extended from 

Alaminos Canyon through Keathley 

Canyon and into Walker Ridge.

Chevron conducted a successful 

flow test on their Jack prospect 

#2 well earlier in 2006. Many 

technological hurdles had to be 

overcome to test the well on Walker 

Ridge (WR) 758 in 7,000 feet of 

water. Chevron flow-tested only 40 

percent of the announced 350 feet 

of oil, but was able to produce at a 

rate of 6,000 barrels a day. The Jack 

of 300+ feet of oil in the Lower 

Tertiary section. Moreover, the well 

was drilled in 9,743 feet of water 

in about 65 days at a cost of $34 

million. Shell extended the play with 

its announcement of a discovery at 

the Great White prospect (AC 857) 

in 2002. However, the economic 

viability of the trend remained 

Figure 3. Location of the announced discoveries of the Lower Tertiary Trend in the Gulf of 

Mexico. The first discoveries were south of the Sigsbee Escarpment. Later discoveries were 

beneath a layer of horizontal salt.

Prospect Block* Operator Discovery 

Date

Hydrocarbons 

(feet)

Trident AC 903 Chevron 2001 300+

Great AC 857 Shell 2002 NA

Cascade WR 206 BHP 2002 450

Chinook WR 469 BHP 2003 250

St. Malo WR 678 Chevron 2003 450+

Tobago AC 859 Chevron 2004 50

Silvertip AC 815 Chevron 2004 NA

Tiger AC 818 Chevron 2004 NA

Jack WR 759 Chevron 2004 350+

Stones WR 508 BP 2005 NA

Gotcha AC 856 Total 2006 290

Kaskida KC 292 BP 2006 800

Table 1. Publicly Announced Lower Tertiary Trend Discoveries 

* AC = Alaminos Canyon • WR = Walker Ridge • KC =Keathley Canyon
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 7

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lower Tertiary Play

Website:www.gomr.mms.

 gov/homepg/whatsnew/

 newsreal/2006/061010.pdf

Jack Test Results

Website: www.upstreamreview.

 com/GoM-bonanza.html 

Kaskida Prospect Discovery

Website: www.upstreamreview.

 com/Kaskida-discovery.html

well test indicated that the Lower 

Tertiary Trend can produce oil at 

a high rate to justify the 

billions of dollars that need 

to be invested to bring the 

oil to market.

Recently, Shell stated 

plans to develop the Great 

White, Silvertip, and Tobago 

prospects in Alaminos 

Canyon with the Perdido 

Regional Development host, 

a spar production facility. 

The facility will be moored 

on AC 857 in 8,000 feet 

of water and will handle 

drilling through transportation of the hydrocarbons 

produced from the prospects. The 

facility will be able to process 

130,000 barrels a day, and Shell 

anticipates first production in 2010. 

Meanwhile, on the eastern end of 

the trend in Walker Ridge, Petrobras 

America and Devon announced 

their plans to install the first FPSO 

(floating production, storage, and 

offloading) in the Gulf to develop 

the Cascade prospect. Petrobras 

wants to install another FPSO on 

the Chinook prospect in the same 

area. This facility will allow first 

production to start in late 2009.

Interest in the Lower Tertiary 

Trend escalated with the announcement of the successful test of the 

Jack prospect. Western Gulf of 

LOWER TERTIARY FACTS

Western Gulf of Mexico Sale 200, August 2006

 • 38% of tracts receiving bids had a Lower Tertiary 

 potential target

 • 63% of the high bids in the sale were on those Lower 

 Tertiary tracts

World water depth (10,011 feet) record for a well was a Lower 

Tertiary Trend test (Toledo Prospect in AC 951)

The recently announced discovery Kaskida prospect (KC 292) 

encountered 800 feet of net oil and is the third deepest well in the 

Gulf of Mexico.

6

6

6

Mexico Sale 200, held in August 

2006, generated competitive bidding on the available blocks in 

the trend. Companies’ high bids 

exceeded $207 million on 147 blocks 

that had a Lower Tertiary potential. 

The two blocks receiving the highest bids ($21,011,812 for KC 58 and 

$12,800,111 for KC 59) are in the 

Lower Tertiary Trend. 

In the Near Future

The future development of the 

Lower Tertiary Trend looks very 

bright. Exploration companies 

have targeted dozens of potential 

prospects for future drilling. Blocks 

in the Lower Tertiary Trend whose 

leases soon expire will continue to 

offer the opportunity for competitive 

bidding in upcoming lease sales. 

Current high costs associated with 

the exploration, production, and 

transportation of oil from water 

depths upwards to 10,000 feet from 

rocks 35,000 feet below the surface 

will be reduced as the technological 

problems are resolved and an 

infrastructure is built. The knowledge 

gained in bringing the Lower 

Tertiary Trend oil to market will 

allow the industry to explore in other 

frontier regions of the world.

A potential of 15 billion barrels 

of oil in a trend that had its first 

major discovery a little more than 

5 years ago indicates the start of 

something great. 

The future 

development of 

the Lower Tertiary 

Trend looks very 

bright. Exploration 

companies have 

targeted dozens of 

potential prospects 

for future drilling.
8 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

STABLE AND THRIVING 

COMMUNITIES

The Flower Garden 

Banks Long-Term 

Monitoring program, 

which began in 1988 

and is administered 

by Minerals Management Service 

(MMS) and its agency and academic 

partners in the Gulf of Mexico 

(GOM), studies the environmentally 

sensitive coral reefs on the 

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), 

approximately 100 nautical miles 

southeast of Galveston, Texas. 

The East and West Flower 

Garden Banks are the northernmost 

coral reefs on the OCS of North 

America. They are built on outcrops 

of rock formations, which are 

overlain with skeletons of corals, 

coralline algae, and invertebrates of 

tropical fish species. Twenty-eight 

species of reef-building corals and 

177 species of tropical Atlantic fish 

make up this biologically sensitive 

and diverse community. 

Since 1973, a No Activity Zone 

(NAZ) has been in place around 

each bank to protect the banks from 

“potential toxic and smothering 

effects from drilling muds and 

cuttings discharges.” The MMS 

monitors the reefs yearly to detect 

and document any changes caused 

by oil and gas activities in the region. 

The designation of the Banks as a 

National Marine Sanctuary in 1992 

has provided additional legislative 

protection to the area. 

In 2005, scientists observed 

an outbreak of what may be a 

condition called “white plague” 

on the reef. The disease was more 

widespread than in previously 

observed outbreaks, but appears to 

have slowed or become dormant. 

Scientists continue to monitor the 

situation to identify the disease and 

its possible effects on the Flower 

Garden Banks definitively. 

Bleaching of up to 40 percent 

of the community has also been 

observed, as well as damage from 

hurricanes, notably Hurricane Rita. 

These events have been reported by 

long-term monitoring equipment, 

as well as direct observation from 

recreational divers and follow up by 

marine scientists. 

To date, long-term monitoring 

of the Banks has indicated continued 

stability and continuing growth for 

the communities. Fish populations 

continue to be healthy, while the 

MONITORING 

sea urchin populations remain 

manageable. Overall, monitoring of 

the reefs has revealed a thriving and 

diverse community. Environmental 

and marine scientists at MMS will 

continue to monitor this remarkable 

marine resource to ensure it will 

remain undisturbed by the quest for 

energy resources in the GOM. 
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 9

Sperm Whale Facts

Sperm whales have teeth, each 

weighing about two pounds.

They have huge brains that 

weigh around 20 pounds.

Adult males grow to about 

50-60 feet long and weigh 

40-50 tons.

Females grow to about 33-40 

feet long and weigh 14-18 tons.

A whale heart can weigh as 

much as 277 pounds.

Sperm whales can dive as 

deep as 3,500 feet and stay 

submerged up to an hour. 

Sperm whales can live to be 

50-70 years of age.

Source: American Cetacean Society

 www.acsonline.org/

 factpack/spermwhl.htm

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION CREATES 

SHARED RESOURCES

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Sperm Whale Seismic 

Study in the GOM

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/

 homepg/regulate/environ/

 studies/2006/2006-034.pdf

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/

 homepg/regulate/environ/

 marmam/sperm_research.html

Website: http://seawater.tamu.edu/

 SWSS/

As oil and gas exploration 

intensifies and moves 

deeper into the Gulf of 

Mexico (GOM), concerns 

arise about the possible effects on 

marine life in general and cetaceans 

in particular. A great deal of study 

has been directed towards ensuring 

that oil spills from exploration and 

development are eliminated, or at 

least greatly reduced. Of special 

interest is how noise from seismic 

surveys may affect sperm whales 

(Physeter macrocephalus) in the northern GOM. Texas A&M University 

is working with the Minerals 

Management Service (MMS) under a 

Cooperative Agreement to study this 

important question.

Planning of the Sperm Whale 

Seismic Study (SWSS) began in 

1999, while the study itself began in 

2002. Interagency cooperation was 

vital to this project. Support from the 

Industry Research Funders Coalition 

(IRFC), Office of Naval Research 

(ONR), National Science Foundation 

(NSF), and the National Fish and 

Wildlife Federation (NFWF) helped 

guide the success of the program. 

In addition, the International 

Association of Geophysical 

Contractors (IAGC) and IRFC 

offered seismic source vessels to serve 

as the “noise” in the studies. This 

cooperation is a prime example of 

cooperative conservation – an effort 

to bring the knowledge and assets 

of many agencies and individuals to 

bear on the questions and problems 

affecting our natural resources. 

An international team of scientists 

conducted SWSS cruises in the northern GOM. Research topics included

long-term movements of sperm 

whales by using radio telemetry 

tags, called S-tags; 

short-term movements of sperm 

whales by using digital recording 

acoustic tags, called D-tags;

sperm whale reactions to 

controlled bursts from seismic 

airguns;

analyses of genetic markers 

of the GOM population to 

determine the sex of the animals 

and their genetic relatedness to 

each other and to North Atlantic 

populations; and

characterization of sperm 

whale habitats. 

In addition to the telemetric 

and acoustic information, visual 

and passive acoustic observations 

were recorded and photos were 

taken of the flukes (tails) of each 

whale for identification. 

Although the results are 

preliminary, some conclusions can be 

made from the study. One surprising 

finding is that groups of sperm 

whales in the northern Gulf are 

smaller in size and in number than 

groups in other parts of the Atlantic. 

The groups, composed largely of 

females, also tend to stick close to 

their “home” area with little, if any, 

long distance travel. When exposed 

to the short-term airgun noise, the 

whales did not show the avoidance 

behavior (diving or swimming away) 

`

`

`

`

`

that some experts had expected, 

suggesting that whales in this area 

of the GOM may have become 

acclimated to certain noise levels. 

The SWSS program has 

combined cutting-edge technology 

with internationally acknowledged 

research to gain knowledge of 

the behavior of endangered 

sperm whales. The multifaceted 

study design, and the ongoing 

synthesis of data from a variety of 

perspectives, is giving researchers 

and regulators the information 

needed to ensure the protection of 

this endangered species. Technical 

innovations have led to numerous 

new equipment and instrument 

designs that will not only benefit 

the SWSS project but also other 

research around the globe. 
10 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

COLD WATER CLEANUP RESEARCH PRODUCES 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Cold Water Oil Spill 

Cleanup Methods

Website: www.mms.gov/

 tarprojects/573.htm

Website: www.mms.gov/

 tarprojects/554.htm

Website: www.mms.gov/

 tarprojects/547.htm

Cleaning up oil spills in 

the relative warmth of 

the Gulf of Mexico 

(GOM) is a challenge, 

but cleaning up oil 

spills in subzero temperatures, where 

all or part of a spill lies beneath 

an ice flow or is interspersed with 

broken ice, is even more difficult. 

The Minerals Management Service 

(MMS) is funding Cold Water Oil 

Spill Response Research to improve 

its knowledge of cold water oil spills 

and the techniques and technologies 

used in the “detection, containment, 

and clean up of oil spills” that may 

occur on the Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS). 

New research and development 

projects are showing promise 

in dealing with spills in three 

distinct conditions:

spills in open water

spills in freezeup or breakup 

conditions 

spills with total ice coverage

Spills will also occur in 

distinct areas: 

on top of or beneath solid ice

on stable ice extending from the 

shore (land-fast)

on drifting ice floes (pack ice)

on ice-covered shorelines

The complex task of spotting 

oil spills under ice or snow has 

taken a step forward with promising 

new experiments using groundpenetrating radar (GPR) and ultra-

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

sensitive ethane sensors. In a 2006 

experiment, an oil spill was detected 

under land-fast ice by using this 

technique. The spill was observed, 

and when the oil had migrated to 

the surface, an in-situ burn removed 

more than 96 percent of the spill. 

This promising technique can use 

current radar technology with few 

major modifications. The MMS has 

funded further research on GPR to 

locate spills in and under ice in 2007. 

Another promising mechanical 

recovery technique in broken ice 

involves using a skimmer, in which 

the surface of the recovery unit 

drum was replaced with one using 

a patterned polymeric material; by 

doing so, the skimming efficiency 

was increased by 200 percent. 

Additional research experiments will 

be conducted in February-March 

2007 at the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers Cold Regions Research 

and Engineering Laboratory in 

Hanover, New Hampshire.

Research experiments on 

the effectiveness of dispersants 

on Alaskan crude oils in very 

cold water have been conducted 

at Ohmsett – The National Oil 

Spill Response Test Facility in 

Leonardo, New Jersey. Research 

results demonstrate that dispersants 

are effective on these crude oils. 

Additional dispersant research 

experiments with Alaskan crude 

oils in very cold water will be 

conducted in January-February 

2007 at Ohmsett. New oil-herding 

surfactants, which thicken an 

oil slick so that the oil can be 

burned away, are being tested. 

Successful full-scale chemical 

herder experiments were conducted 

November 2-7, 2006, at the BP Fire 

Training in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. 

The MMS is committed to 

the continuing study of cold water 

spills. As more is learned about the 

behavior of oil in cold water and 

ice, and effective new technologies 

are developed, the danger to the 

environment from now rare oil spills 

will be greatly reduced.

NEW TECHNIQUES

The MMS is 

committed to 

the continuing 

study of cold 

water spills. 

A disc skimmer deployed by Alaska Clean Seas personnel during a training exercise at 

Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
Coastal Ocean 

Dynamics 

Applications Radar 

(CODAR) high-frequency radar units 

have been set up in selected regions 

of Alaska for specified test periods, 

as a potential first step towards 

incorporating these systems into a 

regional observation system in the 

Alaskan OCS Region. The radars 

were first deployed along the coast 

of the Beaufort Sea from June 

through October 2005 and 2006. 

The units were then redeployed in 

the lower Cook Inlet in November 

2006 and will remain there through 

November 2007. CODAR collects 

surface current data on an hourly 

basis, and sends the data to the 

project web site at the University of 

Alaska, Fairbanks (see below). The 

radar can map high-resolution surface currents out to approximately 

70 kilometers from shore.

CODAR has been successfully 

used to measure regional-scale 

surface currents along the east and 

west coasts of the United States 

in open water conditions where 

sea ice is not present. CODAR 

was deployed in the Beaufort Sea, 

Alaska, where the presence of sea 

ice makes it extremely difficult to 

collect surface current data by using 

conventional equipment. Sea ice 

covers the Beaufort Sea study area 

from the end of October through 

the end of June. Beginning in 

June, the sea ice begins to melt 

and small pockets of open water 

appear. During July, August, and 

September, as temperatures increase, 

sea ice continues to melt and larger 

areas of open water are present. 

Beginning in October, sea ice begins 

to form along the shore (shore-fast 

ice) and spreads seaward until the 

study area is completely covered 

with ice by the end of October. 

The Beaufort Sea field project 

tested the radar’s capability to 

collect surface current data as sea 

ice conditions changed from July 

through October. High-frequency 

radar was successful in the collection 

of surface current data throughout 

the sea ice breakup and freezeup 

periods. Some of the preliminary 

results display significant variability 

in seasonal patterns of nearshore 

surface currents, and provided the 

Minerals Management Service 

(MMS) with the capability to map 

nearshore circulation patterns not 

identified in previous regional 

circulation models. 

This radar “picture” provides 

important detailed information, 

such as baseline oceanographic 

information, to scientists and 

industry. For environmental 

scientists, it will be useful for 

comparative hydrodynamics and 

circulation models for oil-spill risk 

analysis. Workers in the oil and gas 

industry and shipping and fishing 

industries may eventually benefit 

from more detailed charts of surface 

current conditions for the area. 

The MMS Alaska Office and 

the Alaska Offshore Observing 

System are part of a nationwide 

collaboration of regional 

associations to build an Integrated 

Ocean Observation System 

(IOOS). This will provide detailed 

information about climate, marine 

ecosystems, and natural hazards 

to improve the safety of marine 

operations, reduce public health 

risks, enhance national security, 

and preserve marine ecosystems. 

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 11

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

The SALMON Project 

Website:www.ims.uaf.edu/salmon/

CODAR in Alaska

Website: www.mms.gov/alaska/reports/2006rpts/2006_032.pdf

Website: www.mms.gov/alaska/reports/2006rpts/2006_031.pdf

Website: www.codaros.com/

CODAR receiving antenna at the Endicott Oil facility along the Beaufort Sea coastline. 

HIGH-FREQUENCY RADAR (CODAR) TESTS OFFER

NEW UNDERSTANDING
MMS OCEAN SCIENCE

Minerals Management Service

Mail Stop 5431

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70123

FIRST CLASS

POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 1

ADDISON, IL

MMS – A Leader in 

Securing the Nation’s 

Domestic Energy 

Supply

Flame scallop in the East Flower Garden 

Banks. Photo by James Sinclair

MMS Releases New Report on Flower Garden Banks

NEW WAVES Late-breaking News & Information

The Leasing and Environment Office, Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Region, announces the availability 

of a new study report, Long-Term Monitoring at the 

East and West Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 

2002-2003 (OCS Study MMS 2006-035). 

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), concerned 

with potential long-term impacts of oil and gas activity 

in the Gulf of Mexico on coral reef systems, developed a 

monitoring program in 1974 of the East and West Flower 

Garden Banks (FGB). Both features lie approximately 100 

miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, and are the northernmost coral reefs on the continental shelf of North America. 

With oil and gas activity in the area since the 1970's, 

MMS quickly established itself as a major participant in 

developing an ongoing involvement and stewardship of 

the two coral reef systems. In 1974, MMS began using a 

comprehensive outline and mapping program to conduct 

studies and compile information, thereby ensuring the 

integrity of the FGB's. 

Quantitative surveys began in 1988, and when the 

East and West Flower Garden Banks were designated as a 

United States National Marine Sanctuary in 1992, MMS 

expanded its stewardship. The MMS and the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

co-funded annual monitoring of the FGB beginning in 

1996. This long-term monitoring program assesses the 

health of the coral reefs, evaluates changes, and examines 

water quality and fish population dynamics. A variety 

of monitoring methods has provided a database of 

descriptive information and increased knowledge of the 

surrounding environment, as well as provided information 

for resource management decisions. 

Analysis of the results of recent studies (2002-2003) 

indicated no significant long-term changes in coral reef 

populations, cover, or diversity. At present, the report 

may be downloaded from the MMS website through the 

Environmental Studies Program Information System 

(ESPIS) at www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/espis/espisfront.asp.