Publisher's Synopsis
The Gulf of Mexico is an open and dynamic marine ecosystem rich in
natural resources but heavily impacted by human activities, including
agricultural, industrial, commercial and coastal development. Nutrients
and pollutants from coastal communities and dozens of rivers flow into the
Gulf, including material from the Mississippi River watershed, which drains
over one third of continental United States. The Gulf of Mexico has been
continuously exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons for millions of yearsfrom natural oil and gas seeps on the sea floor, and more recently from oil
drilling and production activities located in the water near and far from
shore. Major accidental oil spills in the Gulf are infrequent.
This is a two volume open access set under a CC BY-NC license.
