NOAA has five primary roles in oil spills: conduct science, keep seafood safe, protect wildlife, assess damage, and restore habitat. Our expertise and science, paired with long-standing partnerships with other federal, local, nongovernmental and academic organizations, continues to serve critical needs for the long-term recovery of the Gulf and its economy.
"NOAA, along with our partners in the academic and private research institutions and other federal agencies, remain vigilant in our efforts to track and monitor the oil, from the marshes to the open ocean, from the [sea] surface to the bottom of the gulf. And we will remain in the gulf for as long as it takes to assess the damage and restore the ecosystems."
Jane Lubchenco,
NOAA Administrator
NOAA Line Offices
From weather and satellites to oceans and fisheries, every part of NOAA was involved in responding to the spill. The Office of Response and Restoration, NOAA’s lead office for oil spills, was joined by several others:
- National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
- National Marine Fisheries Service
- National Ocean Service
- National Weather Service
- Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
- Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
Research Partners
Many academic and private research institutions contributed personnel, expertise and equipment as partners in NOAA’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Partners remain an integral part of ongoing efforts to restore the Gulf.
NOAA National Sea Grant Office & The Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant Programs
University of Aberdeen (Scotland)
Auburn University
University of California - Santa Barbara
Successfully forecast where and when spilled oil would wash ashore using new, unique forecasting methods.
University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment
Deployed an underwater glider to process real-time data on sea surface temperatures, information that will help scientists understand where the oil will go next.
University of East Carolina Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences
Awarded a National Science Foundation RAPID Grant to study the chemical and biological impact of the oil spill.
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University of Florida
Lousiana State University
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
Monitoring the spill and helping to prepare for the long-term consequences of this ecological disaster.
Mississippi State University
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Deployed underwater robot to study Deepwater Horizon spill.
University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System
Deployed and conducted vessel activities.
University of New Hampshire
Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of South Florida College of Marine Science
Providing oil spill trajectory forecasts both at the surface and subsurface using a variety of models and observations.
University of Southern Mississippi Department of Marine Science
Texas A&M University College of Geosciences
Part of the Unified Area Command's ongoing efforts to monitor and study the location, concentration and impacts of subsurface hydrocarbons near the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Tulane University
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University of Washington Applied Physics Lab
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University of West Florida
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Developing and adapting the tools and processes necessary to support the science and engineering objectives.
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