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OR&R Conducts Sampling in Marshes of Louisiana

OCTOBER 23, 2015--On September 29 through October 1, 2015, OR&R conducted sampling of some of the most heavily oiled marshes associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the marshes of Louisiana.


Nicolle Rutherford, OR&R biologist in the Emergency Response Division, along with Research Planning, Inc., are tracking the effectiveness and ecological effects of various shoreline cleanup treatments applied during the emergency response. Sampling includes descriptions of oiling conditions, vegetative species composition and cover estimates, erosion measurements, and comparisons of marsh periwinkle populations among reference and treatment sites.

The study sites were originally “set-aside” during the response to enable a controlled comparison of the effects of no treatment (natural recovery), manual treatment (raking and cutting by small crews), and mechanical treatment (mechanized grappling to remove oiled wrack and mechanized raking, cutting, and scraping of marsh surface). The study also includes sites that were mechanically treated and replanted.

Peer reviewed results from OR&R’s ongoing study may be viewed in the journal, PLOS One.

For further information, contact Nicolle.Rutherford@noaa.gov.

Go back to OR&R Weekly Report.

Woman in hat working in marshes.
OR&R's Nicolle Rutherford, sampling in a Louisiana marsh. (NOAA)
Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:49pm PST