The basin is located in the southwestern quadrant of the Gulf, with its closest point to the U.S. coast at 200 miles (320km) southeast of Brownsville, Texas. It doesnt hurt that a large part of the Gulf is right over the North American Continental Shelves, which means the water is fairly shallow. The Gulf of Mexico was the site of a largeoil spillthat occurred on April 22, 2010, when an oil drilling platform, the Deepwater Horizon, suffered an explosion and sank into the Gulf about 50 miles (80 km) from Louisiana. Shrimp and oysters are among the largest fish products that come from the Gulf. Every year, millions of birds migrate during fall, and many of them fly over the Gulf of Mexico during their trip. Some portions of the loop current often break away, forming gyres or eddies which further affects the regional current patterns. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred after a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core recently installed to seal an oil well for later use. The deepest point is in the Mexico Basin ( Sigsbee Deep), which is 17,070 feet (5,203 metres) below sea level. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. In 2011, the oil taken from the gulf made up 54 percent of U.S. oil. This year, the Mississippi River flooded for more than 6 months, unprecedented in both length of time and volume of water. How Far Until You Reach the Seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico? Not according to biology or history. The black coral that lives in the Gulf has been found recently to be in the running for one of the oldest living things on earth. About 5 million acres of wetlands border the Gulf of Mexico. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. At Mow Answers, we do maps and stories for a living. The Bay of Campeche (Veracruz), 6. West views and deep water! Now that's deep! The Gulf of Mexico basin appears to have formed ~200 million years ago as the result of rifting within North . They found the Gulf is home to 2,000 year-old deep-sea black corals, many of which are only a few feet tall. Following the continental shelf edge westward, Diaphus Bank rises about 48 miles west of the Mississippi Trough. Regardless of region, the Gulf of Mexico has a striking diversity of flora and fauna which support fish, sharks, dolphins, and countless other marine life. Briney, Amanda. However, it was verified in June that the plumes were in fact from the Deepwater spill. Various waterfowl, shorebirds, coral reef, and endangered sea turtles establish their habitats in the Gulf of Mexico which is crucial to their survival. The explosion There are 7 barrier islands along the northwest portion of the Gulf of Mexico, one of which, South Padre. The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. It has grown to become one of the worlds most important offshore petroleum production sites, and about 17% of the USs oil comes from there. How deep is the Gulf of Mexico? The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? "Dude, you have some terrible luck. The narrow subtropical sea is 1,130km (700 miles) long and 80-209km (50-130 miles) wide. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. The Gulf of Mexico encompasses around 617,800 square miles of water and stretches around 932 miles across from east to west. Due to its large size and the complex current system, the Gulf of Mexico has a diverse ecology, ranging from the coastal zone, which serves as a nursery for all types of marine life, to the deep waters of the abyssal plain where colonies of deep-sea coral grow on the seafloor. The BP Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in 2010 spilled 205.8 million gallons of oil and 225,000 tons of methane into the Gulf of Mexico. It later emerged through documents released by Wikileaks that a similar incident had occurred on a BP-owned rig in the Caspian Sea in September 2008. A study showed that up to 800,000 birds were thought to have died. Leopard is located in OCS block Alaminos Canyon (AC) 691, approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of the Whale discovery, 20 miles (32 km) south of the recently appraised Blacktip discovery . Scientists warn that the "dead zone" wreaking havoc on marine life in the Gulf of Mexico will cover almost 9,000 square miles this summer. The deepest point is in the Mexico Basin (Sigsbee Deep), which is 17,070 feet (5,203 metres) below sea level. At that point, the Gulf was probably a separate basin that was filled with seawater that later evaporated, leaving a blanket of salt behind. 30A has raised over $3 million for coastal charities, and has given away 4 million of its famous blue 30A stickers. The biota of the Gulf includes different chemosynthetic and non-chemosynthetic organisms ranging from microorganisms like benthos, meiofauna to other macro-organisms like crabs, sea pens, crinoids, and other marine fauna. Recreational and commercial fishing, water sports, scuba diving, and tourism also forms a significant part of the economy of the surrounding areas. Roughly 4.9 million barrels worth of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, causing massive damage to marine, wildlife, and fishing habitats. The Alabama Gulf Coast boasts the largest artificial reef program in the nation, with 1,136 square miles of artificial reefs located at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Gulfs are formed as a result of plate tectonics and are usually larger and more deeply indented than the bays. Red tide algae blooms in the Gulf have led to large die-offs of marine species, and the Gulf of Mexico is reported to contain one of the highest levels of microplastics in the world. Water depths range from about 170 feet deep to about 450 feet deep. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. The Gulf of Mexico is shallower, saltier, and warmer than the Atlantic Ocean. Scientists think the salt probably accumulated around the time when Africa was just starting to separate from the Americas around 200 million years ago. The oil rig involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was owned and operated by offshore oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by the oil company BP. The Overwater Argument. The Annual John L. Borom Alabama Coastal Birdfest is a fantastic opportunity to witness these birds in action. Warning: THIS DATA IS NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION Click to place marker 2. [3] The Sigsbee Abyssal Plain is the deepest and flattest sector of the deep basin.[1]. These include Kemps ridley, loggerhead, green turtle, leatherback, and hawksbill. It is rumored that they buried some of their stolen loot on the bay. The volume of water in the basin is roughly 2.4 10 6 cubic kilometers (5.8 10 5 cubic miles). With millions of gallons of oil spilled in the sea, the response effort was large and has lasted for over a decade. The feature known as Horseshoe Basin in the western Gulf of Mexico shows up far more clearly on the new high-resolution map (right). With that success, they realized they could map the whole Gulf of Mexico the same way. Further exploration of the Gulf of Mexico continued throughout the 1500s, and after numerous shipwrecks in the region, settlers and explorers decided to establish a settlement along the northern Gulf Coast. As you can clearly see in the image below, this data is much higher resolution than the best available map, which was made in the 1990s. 7. Go the Distance. The distance will be displayed below the map in miles or kilometers. The exploration companies use 3-D seismic imaging to map areas of the Gulf they are interested in. Here are 11 facts about the Gulf. "By clicking OK or by using this Website, you consent to the use of cookies. It was used by the early Europeans as an exploration route to explore the Americas. Do You Know the Different Regions of the US? At its deepest point the bottom is 2.7 miles underwater, but most of the Gulf is much shallower. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most important offshore petroleum . The two reefs the East Flower Garden Bank and the West Flower Garden Bank were designated as a marine sanctuary in 1992. environmental disaster, Gulf of Mexico [2010]. Omissions? Oceans, the largest bodies of water in the world, have no exact boundaries, and they are bordered by seas (the Caribbean Sea separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean). Some of the important fishes include Albacore tuna, Red snapper, greater amberjack, tarpon, grouper, Atlantic spadefish, king mackerel, Gulf flounder, bluefish, etc. We had been planning a trip to run deep into the Gulf, but . The Gulf of Mexico (Golfo de Mxico in Spanish) is located in the Atlantic Ocean, and the majority of it is bordered by the United States and Mexico. To the north of the Gulf of Mexico are the US states of Alabama, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. 2014). Some of the devastating hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico region include Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Ike (2008), Hurricane Harvey (2016), Hurricane Michael (2018), Hurricane Rita, Galveston Hurricane, etc. Later, as the basin became a gulf, the salt was covered with sediment deposited by rivers. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? What if we could clean them out? The deepest part of the Gulf of Mexico is Sigsbee Deep, which has an estimated depth of around 14,383 feet. Looking at a map you may not realize that the Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. The Gulf of Mexico is believed to contain over 660 quadrillion gallons of water. at about 7,000-8,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico. Watch These Elk Ramming Cars at Yellowstone,, Rare Footage Shows How Killer Whale Packs, Watch a Lioness Save Her Zookeeper When the Male Lion Attacks Him Point-Blank, Watch These Elk Ramming Cars at Yellowstone, and Showing Their True Size, A Clash of Two Lion Prides Ends When This Monster Shows Up, Watch a Gargantuan Komodo Dragon Effortlessly Swallow a Wild Boar in One Gulp, The Largest Great White Sharks Ever Found Off Florida Waters, See Dominator The Largest Crocodile In The World, And As Big As A Rhino, Watch This Huge Komodo Dragon Flex Its Power and Swallow a Shark Whole, Real Life Jaws Spotted 30ft Great White Shark By Boat, The Gulf of Mexico was a trade route dating back to the. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. These islands are Galveston, Follets, Matagorda, St. Josephs (San Jos), Mustang, Padre, and Brazos. Despite what we know, there is much to be discovered in the depths of the Sigsbee Deep as there has been little exploration since its discovery. The coral is estimated to be over 2,000 years old. Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. . Have you ever called this the Ocean? An underwater brine pool off the coast of New Orleans, known as the Hot Tub of Despair, was found in the Gulf of Mexico in 2014. The accident resulted in the deaths of 11 workers and caused a massive, ongoing oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. She has a wonderful poodle-terrier mix named Nelson, and together, they enjoy long walks, outdoor adventures, and playing with his many toys. Ukraine Russia War Crisis: Everything You Wanted to Know. Black coral that grows in the Gulf of Mexico is thought to be one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. Because salt also flows easily, it can deform and get squeezed, which results in blobs of salt pushing up into the layers above, making domes and ridges and faults. [4] A proposal by the United States renaming Sigsbee Deep, with coordinates of 23 52 N 91 35 W, to "Mexico basin" was rejected by the Sixteenth Meeting of the GEBCO Sub-committee on Undersea Feature Names (SCUFN), the international authority on feature names, in 2003 with the note that it is "an historical name dating back to Sir John Murray." Red snapper are generally found in waters from 30 to 620 feet deep and are one of the most heavily . Different species of jellyfish are also commonly found in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the basin consists of shallow intertidal areas, but its deepest point is called Sigsbee Deep and has an estimated depth of about 14,383 feet (4,384 m). Nearly half of the basin is compromised of shallow continental-shelf waters and due to the separation from the Atlantic Ocean, there are minimal tidal ranges. Birds were particularly vulnerable to the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Check out these interesting facts to learn more about the Gulf of Mexico. The Mexican material represents new species of the genera Zosime Boeck, 1873, Peresime . liters. Additional explorers, such as Francisco Hernndez de Crdoba Pnfilo de Narvez later explored the area, often capturing and enslaving local people as they did so. They are known to be one of the smartest creatures in the animal kingdom. Brown pelicans and laughing gulls were among the species most affected. Some of the significant ones include Blue whale, Brydes whale, Fin whale, Killer whale, Minke whale, Humpback whale, Sperm whale, and Northern right whale. In the fall of 2021, nine new . Forensic analysis of the BOP completed the following year determined that a set of massive blades known as blind shear ramsdesigned to slice through the pipe carrying oilhad malfunctioned because the pipe had bent under the pressure of the rising gas and oil. However, there are some areas of the Gulf that are much deeper. 30A is the #1 Guide to Floridas Scenic Highway 30-A. Coral reefs provide a thriving ecosystem that supports significant biodiversity in the Gulf. Shrimp and oysters are the most common fish products harvested from the Gulf. The Flower Garden Banks are brightly colored coral reefs that are located about 185km to the southeast of Galveston, in the northwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the largest bodies of water in the world and it is a part of the Atlantic Ocean. Description [ edit] The basin is located in the southwestern quadrant of the Gulf, with its closest point to the U.S. coast at 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Brownsville, Texas. 3. The area of the Gulf of Mexico is about 615,000 square mi (1.6 million square km). The Padre Island is the worlds longest barrier island. To its north, northeast, and northwest, the Gulf of Mexico is bordered by the Gulf Coast of the United States (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida). The most common found around Alabama beaches are bull sharks, great hammerhead sharks, sand tiger sharks and shortfin mako sharks. Gulfs are large bodies of saltwater that can be navigated and are nearly surrounded by land. Both are partially detailed in a lengthy 1975 National Academy of Sciences report on ocean contaminants. This cross section has been derived from recently collected deep-penetration seismic reflection profiles collected by industry. Her family is still awaiting justice. The oil well over which it was positioned was located on the seabed 4,993 feet (1,522 metres) below the surface and extended approximately 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) into the rock. NOAA. "IHO-IOC GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet/Adobe PDF document formats)", "Sixteenth Meeting of the GEBCO Sub-committee on Undersea Feature Names (SCUFN)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sigsbee_Deep&oldid=1009657881, This page was last edited on 1 March 2021, at 17:52. When these algae die, they lead to deterioration in the water quality and depletion of dissolved oxygen in the water bodies. One hundred miles southeast of Galveston's muddy shoreline, the Gulf of Mexico becomes a dazzling, vibrant blue. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina swept over the Gulf of Mexico and storm surges caused 53 levees to be breached which flooded 80% of New Orleans. It is surrounded by the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit. The average depth of the Gulf is roughly 5,200 feet, but other parts of the Gulf of Mexico are surprisingly deep. The fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico are considered to be one of the most productive in the world and the many Gulf Coast States have their economies centered on fishing in the gulf area. Currently, there are about 27,000 wells, both oil and gas, that have been drilled and abandoned in the Gulf. The Gulf of Mexico supports different species of flora and fauna and is widely recognized for its diversity and productivity. Observe fireboat responding to crews battling the fire during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010, See how wire entanglement inside a well bore mitigates the effects of blowout preventer failure in an oil well. Measuring from Florida to the Yucatan, the coastline of the Gulf measures 3,540 miles long and boasts some of the worlds best beaches. It has been estimated by researchers that the Gulf of Mexico was formed as a result of seafloor subsidence, due to the movement of the Tectonic Plates over 300 million years ago. The bureaus job is to manage exploration and development of the countrys offshore mineral and energy resources. Floridas coral reefs attract visitors from around the world and generate more than $17 billion in tourism annually. To learn more about the Gulf of Mexico, visit theGulf of Mexico Programfrom the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Sigsbee Deep[Note 1] (Mexico basin in the U. S. Board on Geographic Names Advisory Committee on Undersea Features (ACUF) Gazetteer),[1] is a roughly triangular basin that is the deepest part of the Gulf of Mexico named for Commander Charles Dwight Sigsbee, USN, Assistant U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, commanding officer of the USC&GS George S. Blake which discovered the feature during its mapping of the Gulf of Mexico. Efforts to protect and conserve the thriving ecosystem found here are a serious priority as continuous ecological discoveries are being made and new species are being discovered. The deepest part of the Gulf of Mexico, Sigsbee Deep, is estimated to be around 14,383 feet deep while the average depth is around 5,300 feet. In the fall of 2021, nine new sections of reefs totaling 110 square miles were added to the pre-existing zones. Breathtaking vistas create an inviting back drop for all-season entertaining.. The cited reference discusses differences in United States and IHO committee views and variations between names recommended by the Advisory Committee on Undersea Features (ACUF) of the U. S. BGN and the GEBCO committee. What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? Updates? It is widely believed, that the impact that led to the creation of this crater had triggered a series of catastrophic events, which ultimately led to the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The plan would mainly limit drilling to the Gulf of Mexico, with one proposed lease sale in waters off Alaska. While most of the Gulf of Mexico is fairly shallow, its deepest point is Sigsbee Deep, which has an estimated maximum depth of 14,383 feet! At least 49 different species of sharks have been known to hang out in the gulf waters. The paper presents and discusses two semisubmersible designs that assume a common topsides and riser payload. 617,800 mi Gulf of Mexico/Area. Though fitted loosely over the BOP and allowing some oil to escape, the cap enabled BP to siphon approximately 15,000 barrels of oil per day to a tanker. The Gulf of Mexico has a maximum width of 932.06 miles and a surface area of approximately 600,000 square miles. The Gulf of Mexico is known for beautiful white-sand beaches and exciting offshore fishing. It is estimated that around 10,000 bottlenose dolphins live in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Thank you for reading! ThoughtCo. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in pictures, The Perils of Industry: 10 Notable Accidents and Catastrophes, https://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill, National Ocean Service - Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Deepwater Horizon oil spill: debris and oil, Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010: path of the oil, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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