The Gulf Environmental Program
Authors: Lohse A. , Tyson J.W. , Miller T.A. , Bilhorn T.W. 
Published: October 2008

The Gulf Environmental Program, representing six years of planning by more than 300 scientists familiar with the Gulf of Mexico, in projects ranging from literature surveys and identification of new information needs to initial selection of 105 proposals designed to meet those needs, is now ready for implementation. Utilizing natural environmental subsystems of the Gulf megasystem and embracing the hard sciences, economics, law, and sophisticated modeling, the GEP is designed to provide knowledge of environmental processes and their functional relationships necessary to effective management and optimum use of the Gulf environmental system and resources.

INTRODUCTION

The Gulf Universities Research Consortium, a non-profit corporation owned by 20 universities in the five Gulf Coast states and the Republic of Mexico, has continued to develop the Gulf Environmental Program (GEP), a multidisciplinary investigation of the Gulf of Mexico megasystem of air, life, land and water, with emphasis on definition of processes and their functional relationships. Planning since early 1970 (reference paper 1146, Second Annual OTC, April 22-24, 1970, for GEP development to that time), has included two workshops bringing together 149 scientists from universities, agencies and industry, and produced two comprehensive reports to the National Science Foundation. Funding has continued from NSF, the Moody Foundation, and GURC membership embracing both academia and industry.

The GEP is presently based upon 105 scientific investigations involving 126 Principal Investigators. These investigations are selected to provide basic data and new understanding of physical, chemical, biological or geological processes and their functional relationships. Many GEP investigations comprise exciting scientific research whose ultimate results are applicable to coastal zones, continental shelves or oceanic bodies worldwide; others bear specifically upon Gulf processes which are scientifically distinctive within themselves; and some others are designed to focus upon important Gulf economic and resource management problems without regard to scientific originality.

RATIONALE

More than 70 individual problems of environmental use and/or management are considered, in addition to the challenge and need for basic new environmental knowledge. These problems fall into two categories: Man's Effect on the Gulf (MEG), which are ecology oriented; and the Gulf's Effect on Man (GEM), which are physical-phenomena oriented. Examples are:Modification of shoreline and estuarine areas and dredging of channels to provide (1) inland deep ocean port facilities, (2) service boat and barge capability for offshore terminals, and (3) extension and improvement in intracoastal shipping traffic capacity.Design of systems to control salt water intrusion and maintain effective drainage to reestablish or maintain shellfish grounds, protect agricultural production, and maintain the ecologically important "wetlands" environment.Construction of hurricane protection dikes, seawalls and channels.Engineering and economic design criteria for construction and maintenance operations pertaining to offshore shipping terminal "islands", deep channels and mineral production in the continental shelf area.Methods for reliable prediction of tropical storm track and intensity (i.e., surface wind velocity) and associated storm surge and surface wave conditions necessary to public protection, construction design, and minimizing economic loss.