Zasoby i środowisko · 30/07/2004

Programmatic Environmental Assessment of Geological and Geophysical Exploration for Mineral Resources on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of geological and geophysical (G&G) activities in the Gulf of Mexico. The activities analyzed in the EA include seismic surveys, deep-tow side-scan surveys, electromagnetic surveys, geological and geochemical sampling, and remote-sensing surveys. The impact-producing factors considered in the EA include seismic survey noise, vessel and aircraft noise, seafloor disturbance, and space-use conflicts with seismic arrays.