TheGulf of Mexico basin is roughly oval and is about 810nautical miles (1,500 kilometres; 930 miles) wide. Its floor consists ofsedimentary rocks and recent sediments. It is connected to part of the Atlantic Ocean through theStraits of Florida between the U.S. and Cuba, and with theCaribbean Sea via theYucatán Channel between Mexico and Cuba. Because of its narrow connection to the Atlantic Ocean, the gulf has very smalltidal ranges.Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico also contributes to weather across the United States, including severe weather inTornado Alley.
The size of the gulf basin is about 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles). Almost half of the basin consists of shallowcontinental shelf waters. The volume of water in the basin is roughly 2.4 million cubic kilometres (580 thousand cubic miles).[5] The gulf is one of the most importantoffshore petroleum production regions in the world, making up 14% of the total production for the United States.[6]
English nautical chart from 1700 labels the body of water "the Great Bay of Mexico"English nautical chart dated 1775 labels "the Bay of Mexico", now glossing "Mexico" as an alternative name for New SpainU.S. Geological Survey map, February 2025
As with thename of Mexico, the gulf's name is associated with the ethnonymMexica, which refers to theNahuatl-speaking people of theValley of Mexico better known as theAztecs.[7] InAztec religion, the gulf was calledChalchiuhtlicueyecatl, or 'House ofChalchiuhtlicue', after the deity of the seas.[8] Believing that the sea and sky merged beyond the horizon, they called the seasilhuicaatl, meaning 'sky water', contrasting them with finite, landlocked bodies of water, such as lakes.[9] TheMaya civilization, which used the gulf asa major trade route, likely called the gulfnahá, meaning 'great water'.[10]
Up to 1530, European maps depicted the gulf, though left it unlabeled.[11]Hernán Cortés called it "Sea of the North" (Spanish:Mar del Norte) in his dispatches, while other Spanish explorers called it the "Gulf of Florida" (Golfo de Florida) or "Gulf of Cortés" (Golfo de Cortés).[11] A 1584 map byAbraham Ortelius also labeled it as the "Sea of the North" (Mare de Nort).[12] Other early European maps called it the "Gulf of St. Michael" (Latin:Sinus S. Michaelis),[13] "Gulf ofYucatán" (Golfo de Iucatan),[14] "Yucatán Sea" (Mare Iuchatanicum),[15] "GreatAntillean Gulf" (Sinus Magnus Antillarum), "Cathayan Sea" (Mare Cathaynum), or "Gulf of New Spain" (Spanish:Golfo de Nueva España).[11] At one point,New Spain encircled the gulf, with theSpanish Main extending into what later became Mexico and the southeastern United States.[12]
The name "Gulf of Mexico" (Spanish:golfo de México;French:golphe du Mexique, latergolfe du Mexique) first appeared on a world map in 1550 and a historical account in 1552.[11] As with other large bodies of water, Europeans named the gulf after Mexico, land of the Mexica, because mariners needed to cross the gulf to reach that destination.[16] This name has been the most common name since the mid-17th century,[11][17][18] when it was still considered a Spanish sea.[19] FrenchJesuits used this name as early as 1672.[20] In the 18th century, Spanish admiralty charts similarly labeled the gulf as "Mexican Cove" or "Mexican Sound" (Ensenada Mexicana orSeno Mexicano).[11] Until theRepublic of Texas broke away from Mexico in 1836, Mexico's coastal boundary extended eastward along the gulf to present-day Louisiana.[10]
The six Mexican states that face the gulf have a total population of 19.1 million people.[37]
Three provinces of northwestCuba, includingHavana, border on the gulf, have a combined population of 3,211,000.[38][39]
Geology
The Gulf of Mexico took shape about 300 million years ago as a result ofplate tectonics.[40] The consensus among geologists[40][41][42] is that before the lateTriassic, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist. Before the late Triassic, the area consisted of dry land, which includedcontinental crust that now underliesYucatán, within the middle of the supercontinentPangaea. This land lay south of a continuous mountain range that extended from north-central Mexico, through theMarathon Uplift in westTexas and theOuachita Mountains ofOklahoma, and toAlabama where it linked directly to theAppalachian Mountains. It was created by the collision of continental plates that formed Pangaea. As interpreted by Roy Van Arsdale and Randel T. Cox, this mountain range was breached in the lateCretaceous by the formation of theMississippi Embayment.[43][44]
Ship and oil rigs in the gulf (2002)
Therifting that created the basin was associated with zones of weakness within Pangaea, includingsutures where theLaurentia,South American, andAfrican plates collided to create it. Firstly, there was a late Triassic–earlyJurassic phase of rifting during whichrift valleys formed and filled with continentalred beds. Secondly, the continental crust was stretched and thinned as rifting progressed through the early and middle Jurassic times. This thinning created a broad zone of transitional crust, which displays modest and uneven thinning withblock faulting and a broad zone of uniformly thinned transitional crust, which is half the typical 40 km (25-mile) thickness of continental crust. At this time, rifting first created a connection to the Pacific Ocean across central Mexico and later eastwards to the Atlantic Ocean. This flooded the opening basin to create an enclosed marginal sea. The subsiding transitional crust was blanketed by the widespread deposition ofLouann Salt and associatedanhydriteevaporites. During the late Jurassic, continued rifting widened the basin and progressed to the point thatseafloor spreading and formation ofoceanic crust occurred. At this point, sufficient circulation with the Atlantic Ocean was established that the deposition of Louann Salt ceased.[41][42][45][46] Seafloor spreading stopped at the end of the Jurassic, about 145–150 million years ago.
During the late Jurassic through early Cretaceous, the basin experienced a period of cooling andsubsidence of the crust underlying it. The subsidence resulted from crustal stretching, cooling, and loading. Initially, the crustal stretching and cooling combination caused about 5–7 km (3.1–4.3 miles) of tectonic subsidence of the central thin transitional and oceanic crust. The basin expanded and deepened because subsidence occurred faster than sediment could fill it.[41][46][47]
Later, loading of the crust within the basin and adjacent coastal plain by the accumulation of kilometers of sediments during the rest of theMesozoic and all of theCenozoic further depressed the underlying crust to its current position about 10–20 km (6.2–12.4 miles) below sea level. Particularly during the Cenozoic, a time of relative stability for the coastal zones,[48] thickclastic wedges built out the continental shelf along the northwestern and northern margins of the basin.[41][46][47]
To the east, the stableFlorida Platform was not covered by the sea until the latest Jurassic or the beginning of Cretaceous time. TheYucatán Platform was emergent until the mid-Cretaceous. After both platforms were submerged, the formation ofcarbonates and evaporites has delineated the geologic history of these two stable areas. Most of the basin was rimmed during the early Cretaceous by carbonate platforms, and its western flank was involved during the latest Cretaceous and earlyPaleogene periods in a compressive deformation episode, theLaramide Orogeny, which created theSierra Madre Oriental of eastern Mexico.[2]
South Florida Continental Shelf and Slope; extends along the coast from Apalachee Bay to theStraits of Florida and includes the Florida Keys andDry Tortugas.
Bay of Campeche; abight extending from the western edge of Campeche Bank to the offshore regions east ofVeracruz.
Western Gulf of Mexico; located between Veracruz to the south and theRio Grande to the north.
Northwest Gulf of Mexico; extends from Alabama to the Rio Grande.
Brine pools
A number ofbrine pools, sometimes called brine lakes, are known on the seafloor of the northern half of the Gulf of Mexico. Brine pools in the Gulf of Mexico range from just 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) across to 20 kilometres (12 mi) long.Brine is produced wherever the water of the Gulf comes in contact with the Louann Salt, anevaporite formation from the Jurassic period, along faults or in unconsolidated sediments. The Louann Salt extends under most of the continental shelf around the northern part of the Gulf from west of Florida to Texas. Under the pressure of overlaying sediments, the salt deforms and migrates, a process known assalt tectonics. Masses of salt may rise through overlaying sediments to formsalt domes, or may be extruded along theSigsbee Escarpment where the slope of the continental shelf exposes lower laying stata.[52][53]
The brines usually exceed 200parts-per-thousand (ppt) of salt and are 25% or more denser than most seawater (average 35 ppt). The density difference inhibits mixing of the brine with other sea water, and the brine flows downslope and gathers in depressions in the gulf floor. Hydrocarbons and gas hydrates rising from saltdiapirs may cause doming of the gulf floor, with the gas sometimes erupting strongly enough to leave a depression in the gulf floor surrounded by a rim, where brine may pool. The East Flower Garden Bank brine pool is in a crater formed by the collapsed cap of a salt dome. The circular pool covers 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft) with a maximum depth of 25 centimetres (9.8 in), and is 70 metres (230 ft) beneath the surface of the Gulf. It isanoxic and contain quantities of hydrogen sulfide and methane.[54]: 383
The brine pool known as GB425, which is 600 metres (2,000 ft) deep, is fed by amud volcano. The temperature at the surface of the pool can vary from 6 to 48 °C (43 to 118 °F), and is on average 20 °C (68 °F) warmer than normal bottom temperatures. The brine pool known as GC233 is at a depth similar to that of GB425, 650 metres (2,130 ft) deep. The pool sits in a depression at the top of a mound and covers about 190 square metres (2,000 sq ft). Although GC233 has a lower inflow of brine than GB425 and a temperature about 15 °C (59 °F) below that of GB425, the two pools share some similarities, such as a salinity of about 130 ppt, low sulfides, almost no sulfates, and high concentrations of hydrocarbons.[55]
TheOrca Basin is 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) deep, and covers about 400 square kilometres (150 sq mi) with a maximum depth of 350 metres (1,150 ft). The large size is the result of the merger of several salt domes. Salinity in the pool increases gradually over a depth of 75 metres (246 ft), and reaches 300 ppt at depth, with zero dissolved oxygen.[55]: 383–384
A brine pool was discovered in 2014 on the sea floor at a depth of 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) with a circumference of 30 meters (100 ft) and depth of 4 meters (12 ft), which is four to five times saltier than the surrounding water. The site cannot sustain any kind of life other than bacteria,mussels with asymbiotic relationship,tube worms, and certain kinds ofshrimp. It has been called the "Jacuzzi of Despair" because it is warmer at 18 °C (65 °F) compared to the surrounding water at 4 °C (39 °F).[56]
Hydrology
Circulation of water in and through the Gulf is part of the larger circulation patterns of the Atlantic Ocean. Water flows into the Gulf from the Caribbean Sea through theYucatan Channel as theYucatan Current, and exits to the North Atlanic Ocean through theFlorida Straits as theFlorida Current, which becomes theGulf Stream. Movement through the two straits is confined to the upper layers of ocean water, as the Yucatan Strait has a maximum depth of only 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), while the Florida Straits has a maximum depth of only 900 metres (3,000 ft).[57]: 14221
The Yucatan Current fills most of the Yucatan Channel to a depth of up to 800 metres (2,600 ft), with a maximum flow of 120 centimetres (47 in) per second. There are weaker countercurrents along the coasts of Cuba and Yucatan and below the main current. The averagevolumetric flow rate through the Yucatan Channel varied between 15.8 and 28.1Sverdrups (hectometers per second) from 1999 to 2013. The Florida Current fills all of the Florida Straits (at approximately 81°W, between the lowerFlorida Keys and Cuba) to a depth of 800 metres (2,600 ft), with a maximum flow of 110 centimetres (43 in) per second. The averagevolumetric flow rate through the Florida Straits varied between 27.2 and 27.9 Sverdrups.[58]: 1382, 1388–1389
The Yucatan Current is connected to the Florida Current by ananti-cyclonic (clockwise) loop of variable size, theLoop Current. The Loop Current may extend into the northeastern part of the Gulf, and may flow over the continental shelf along the west coast of the Florida peninsula. The Loop Current is as strong as the Gulf Stream and dominates the Gulf. Anti-cyclonic and cyclonic (anti-clockwise) rings oreddies are shed from the Loop Current and move into the western Gulf. Cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies form pairs, and such pairs of eddies often dominate circulation in the western Gulf.[57]: 14221 [59]: 2
The Loop Current is up to 300 kilometres (190 mi) in diameter and is surrounded by small cyclonic (anti-clockwise) eddies. Large warm-core rings or eddies are shed off the Loop Current at irregular intervals. The Loop Current can be seen in satellite images using bothsea surface temperatures andSea surface height.[59]: 2 On the east side of the Gulf, a weak countercurrent flows north along thecontinental slope of the Florida peninsula. In the Northeast corner of the Gulf there is a weak cyclonic circulation over the continental shelf. The strength of this circulation is inversely proportional to how far north the Loop Current extends.[57]: 14234
The Loop Current is part of theNorth Atlantic Gyre, anocean current circulation that includes theGulf Stream,North Atlantic Current,Canary Current, andNorth Equatorial Current. The eddies shed by the Loop Current spread though the Gulf, affecting the circulation in almost all parts of the Gulf. The creation of the eddies is a variable and often complex process, influenced in part by how far the Loop Currents has penetrated into the Gulf. Eddies shed by the Loop Current sometimes reattach to the Loop Current. Eddies surrounding the Loop Current react interactively with it, affecting both the penetration of the loop into the Gulf, and the size and number of eddies shed by the loop.[60]: 13–14
Rings or eddies shed from the Loop Current may be up to 300 kilometres (190 mi) in diameter and 800 to 1,000 metres (2,600 to 3,300 ft) deep. The outer currents in the ring may flow at up to 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph), while the rings as a whole move westward at about 0.20 knots (0.37 km/h; 0.23 mph).[59]: 5
The water flowing into the Gulf from the Caribbean Sea is not homogenous. About 40% is from the South Atlantic Ocean, and is warmer and fresher than the rest of the water. The South Atlantic component is distinguishable in the upper 100 metres (330 ft) of the left hand and central parts of the Florida Current. Another component in the deeper part of the current isAntarctic Intermediate Water. The rest of the water carried into the Gulf consists of various masses from the North Atlantic.[60]: 15
Although Europeans credited the Spanish voyage ofChristopher Columbus with the discovery of the Americas, the ships in his four voyages did not reach the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, the Spanish sailed into the Caribbean around Cuba andHispaniola.[61] The first alleged European exploration of the Gulf of Mexico was byAmerigo Vespucci in 1497. Vespucci is purported to have followed the coastal land mass of Central America before returning to the Atlantic Ocean via the Straits of Florida between Florida and Cuba. However, this first voyage of 1497 is widely disputed. Many historians doubt that it took place as described.[62] In his letters, Vespucci described this trip, and onceJuan de la Cosa returned to Spain, afamous world map was produced.
In 1506,Hernán Cortés participated in the conquest of Hispaniola and Cuba, receiving a large estate of land and enslavingIndigenous people for his efforts. In 1510, he accompaniedDiego Velázquez de Cuéllar, an aide to the governor of Hispaniola, on his expedition to conquer Cuba. In 1518, Velázquez put him in command of an expedition to explore and secure the interior of Mexico for colonization.
In 1517,Francisco Hernández de Córdoba discovered the Yucatán Peninsula. This was the first European encounter with an advanced civilization in the Americas, with solidly built buildings and complex social structures which they found comparable to those of theOld World. They also had reason to expect that this new land would have gold. All of this encouraged two further expeditions, the first in 1518 under the command ofJuan de Grijalva, and the second in 1519 under the command ofHernán Cortés, which led to the Spanish exploration, military invasion, and ultimately settlement and colonization known as theConquest of Mexico. Hernández did not live to see the continuation of his work: he died in 1517, the year of his expedition, as the result of the injuries and the extreme thirst suffered during the voyage, and disappointed in the knowledge that Velázquez had given precedence to Grijalva as the captain of the next expedition to Yucatán.
In 1523, atreasure ship was wrecked en route atPadre Island, Texas. When word of the disaster reached Mexico City, the viceroy requested a rescue fleet and sentÁngel de Villafañe from Mexico City, marching overland to find the treasure-laden vessels. Villafañe traveled toPánuco and hired a ship to transport him to the site, which that community had already visited. He arrived in time to greet García de Escalante Alvarado (a nephew ofPedro de Alvarado), commander of the salvage operation, when Alvarado arrived by sea on July 22, 1554. The team labored until September 12 to salvage the Padre Island treasure. This loss, combined with other ship disasters around the Gulf of Mexico, led to a plan for establishing a settlement on the northern Gulf Coast to protect shipping and rescue castaways more quickly. As a result, the expedition ofTristán de Luna y Arellano was sent and landed atPensacola Bay on August 15, 1559.
On December 11, 1526,Charles V of theHoly Roman Empire grantedPánfilo de Narváez a license to establish colonial settlements along the present-day Gulf Coast of the United States, known as theNarváez expedition. The contract gave him one year to gather an army, leave Spain, be large enough to found at least two towns of 100 people each, and garrison two more fortresses anywhere along the coast. On April 7, 1528, they spotted land north of what is nowTampa Bay. They turned south and traveled for two days, looking for a great harbor the master pilot Miruelo knew of. Sometime during these two days, one of the five remaining ships was lost on the rugged coast, but nothing else is known.
The first permanent settlement, Fort Maurepas (nowOcean Springs, Mississippi), was founded in 1699 by d'Iberville. By then the French had also built a small fort at the mouth of the Mississippi at a settlement they namedLa Balize (or La Balize), "seamark" in French.[64]
Geography
Gulf beach near Sabine Pass
The Gulf of Mexico's eastern, northern, and northwestern shores lie along the US states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The US portion of the coastline spans 2,700 km (1,700 miles),[65] receiving water from 33 major rivers that drain 31 states and 2 Canadian provinces, and consisting of the coastline from the southern tip of Florida and theFlorida Keys to theU.S.–Mexican border betweenBrownsville, Texas, andMatamoros, Tamaulipas.[66][22] The Mexican coastline spans 2,200 km (1,400 miles), consisting of the coastline from the US border to theCabo CatocheLight (nearCancún) at the northern tip of theYucatán Peninsula.[22][65] Cuba has only 100–400 km (60–250 miles) of official gulf coastline, along its northern land boundary.[67][68][dubious –discuss] The southwestern and southern shores of the gulf lie along theMexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and the northernmost tip of Quintana Roo. On its southeast quadrant, the gulf is bordered by Cuba. It supports major American, Mexican, and Cuban fishing industries. The outer margins of the wide continental shelves of Yucatán and Florida receive cooler, nutrient-enriched waters from the deep by a process known asupweling, which stimulates plankton growth in theeuphotic zone. This attracts fish, shrimp, and squid.[69] River drainage and atmospheric fallout from industrial coastal cities also provide nutrients to the coastal zone.
TheGulf Stream, a warm Atlantic Ocean current and one of the strongestocean currents known, originates in the gulf as a continuation of theCaribbean Current–Yucatán Current–Loop Current system. Other circulation features include a permanent cyclonicgyre in theBay of Campeche and anticyclonic gyres, which are shed by the Loop Current and travel westwards, where they eventually dissipate. The Bay of Campeche constitutes a major arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Numerous bays and smaller inlets fringe the gulf's shoreline. Streams that empty into the gulf include the Mississippi River and the Rio Grande in the northern gulf and theGrijalva andUsumacinta rivers in the southern gulf. The land that forms the gulf's coast, including many long, narrow barrier islands, is almost uniformly low-lying and is defined by marshes, swamps, and stretches of sandy beach.
Map of northern part of Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is an excellent example of apassive margin. Thecontinental shelf is quite wide at most points along the coast, notably at the Florida and Yucatán Peninsulas. The shelf is exploited for itsoil through offshore drilling rigs, most of which are situated in the western gulf and the Bay of Campeche. Another important commercial activity is fishing; major catches includered snapper,amberjack,tilefish,swordfish, and variousgrouper, as well asshrimp and crabs.Oysters are also harvested on a large scale from many bays and sounds. Other important industries along the coast include shipping, petrochemical processing and storage, military use, paper manufacture, and tourism.
The gulf is consideredaseismic; however, mild tremors have been recorded throughout history (usually 5.0 or less on theRichter magnitude scale). Interactions between sediment loading on the sea floor and adjustment by the crust may cause earthquakes.[73] On September 10, 2006, theU.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center reported that amagnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred about 400 km (250 miles) west-southwest ofAnna Maria, Florida. The quake was reportedly felt from Louisiana to Florida. There were no reports of damage or injuries.[74][75] Items were knocked from shelves andseiches were observed in swimming pools in parts of Florida.[76] The earthquake was described by theUSGS as anintraplate earthquake, the largest and most widely felt recorded in the past three decades in the region.[76] According toThe Tampa Tribune on the following day, earthquake tremors were last felt in Florida in 1952, recorded inQuincy, 32 km (20 miles) northwest ofTallahassee.
Maritime boundary delimitation agreements
Cuba and Mexico: Exchange of notes constituting an agreement on thedelimitation of the exclusive economic zone of Mexico in the sector adjacent to Cuban maritime areas (with map), of July 1976.
Cuba and United States:Maritime boundary agreement between the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, of December 1977.
Mexico and United States: Treaty to resolve pending boundary differences and maintain the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundary, of November 1970; Treaty on maritime boundaries between the United States of America and the United Mexican States (Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean), of May 1978, and treaty on the delimitation of the continental shelf in the western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi), of June 2000.
In December 2007, Mexico submitted information to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) regarding the extension of Mexico's continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.[77] Mexico sought an extension of its continental shelf in the Western Polygon based on international law, UNCLOS, and bilateral treaties with the United States, in accordance with Mexico's domestic legislation. In March 2009, the CLCS accepted Mexico's arguments for extending its continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles (650 km; 400 mi) into the Western Polygon. Since this would extend Mexico's continental shelf well into territory claimed by the United States, Mexico and the United States would need to enter a bilateral agreement based on international law that delimits their respective claims.
Shipwrecks
A ship now called theMardi Gras sank around the early 19th century about 56 km (35 mi) off the coast of Louisiana in 1,200 m (3,900 feet) of water. The ship, whose real identity remains a mystery, is believed to have been aprivateer or trader. The shipwreck lay forgotten at the bottom of the sea until it was discovered in 2002 by an oilfield inspection crew working for the Okeanos Gas Gathering Company (OGGC). In 2007, an expedition led by Texas A&M University and funded by OGGC under an agreement with the Minerals Management Service (nowBOEM) was launched to undertake the deepest scientific archaeological excavation to that date to study the site on the seafloor and recover artifacts for public display in theLouisiana State Museum. Videos and a documentary about the project,Mystery Mardi Gras Shipwreck, was made byNautilus Productions with help from BOEM, Texas A&M University, theFlorida Public Archaeology Network[78] and Veolia Environmental[79] about the project, short videos and video updates during the expedition. Video footage from the ROV was used in the documentary.[80]
On July 30, 1942, theSSRobert E. Lee, captained by William C. Heath, was torpedoed by theGerman submarine U-166. The steamship was en route toNew Orleans, sailing southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi River; she was being escorted by USSPC-566, captained by Lieutenant Commander Herbert G. Claudius. The explosion destroyed the No. 3 hold; vented through the B and C decks; and damaged the engines, the radio compartment, and the steering gear.PC-566 droppeddepth charges on asonar contact, sinkingU-166. The badly damagedRobert E. Lee first listed to port, then to starboard, and finally sank within about 15 minutes of the attack. One officer, nine crew members, and 15 passengers were lost. The passengers aboardRobert E. Lee were primarily survivors of previous torpedo attacks by German U-boats.[81] In 2001, the wrecks ofU-166 andRobert E. Lee were found during the C & C Marine survey. The submarine was found in 1,500 meters (5,000 ft) of water, about three km (1.9 miles) from where it had attacked the liner.[82]
TheSmithsonian Institution Gulf of Mexico holdings are expected to provide an important baseline of understanding for future scientific studies on the impact of theDeepwater Horizon oil spill.[85] In Congressional testimony,Jonathan Coddington, associate director of Research and Collections at the Smithsonian'sNational Museum of Natural History, provides a detailed overview of the Gulf collections and their sources which Museum staff have made available on an online map. The samples were collected for years by the former Minerals Management Service (renamed theBureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) to help predict the potential impacts of future oil/gas explorations. Since 1979, the specimens have been deposited in the national collections of the National Museum of Natural History.[86]
The major environmental threats to the gulf areagricultural runoff andoil drilling. There are 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells beneath the gulf. These have generally not been checked for potential environmental problems.[87] In 1973, theUnited States Environmental Protection Agency prohibited the dumping of undiluted chemical waste by manufacturing sediment interests into the gulf, and the military confessed to similar behavior in waters offHorn Island.[88]Microplastics within semi-enclosed seas like the gulf have been reported in high concentrations and the gulf's first such study, initiated in 2015, estimated concentrations that rival the highest globally reported.[89]
There are frequent "red tide" algae blooms[90] that kill fish and marine mammals and cause respiratory problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to shore. This has especially been plaguing the southwest and southern Florida coast, from theFlorida Keys to north ofPasco County, Florida.
The gulf contains ahypoxicdead zone that runs east–west along the Texas–Louisiana coastline. In July 2008, researchers reported that between 1985 and 2008, the area roughly doubled in size.[91] It was 22,730 km2 (8,780 square miles) in 2017, the largest ever recorded.[92] Poor agricultural practices in the northern portion of the Gulf of Mexico have led to a tremendous increase ofnitrogen andphosphorus in neighboring marine ecosystems, which has resulted inalgae blooms and a lack of available oxygen. Occurrences ofvirilization andestrogen suppression were observed as a result. A 2007 study of theAtlantic croaker found a disproportioned sex ratio of 61% males to 39% females in hypoxic sites. This was compared with a 52% to 48% male-female ratio found in reference sites, showing impaired reproductive output for fish populations inhabiting hypoxic coastal zones.[93]
According to theNational Response Center, the oil industry has thousands of minor accidents annually in the Gulf of Mexico.[94] The gulf's largestoil spill to date began in June 1979, when theIxtoc Ioil platform in the Bay of Campeche suffered ablowout and a catastrophic explosion, and lasted until the well was finally capped in April 1980.
On April 20, 2010, theDeepwater Horizon oil platform, located in theMississippi Canyon about 64 km (40 miles) off the Louisiana coast and operated by the British multinational companyBP,suffered a catastrophic explosion and later sank.[95][87][d] Oil flowed from thewellhead, about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) below the surface on the ocean floor,[98] creating aslick that covered hundreds of square kilometers of ocean surface, threatening marine life, adjacentcoastal wetlands, and the livelihoods of Gulf Coast shrimpers and fishermen.[99] Estimates of the daily flow jumped several times—on April 24, it was 160 cubic metres (1,000 bbl) by BP's estimate; on April 28, aNOAA scientist increased the estimate to 5,000 barrels (790 m3);[100][101] and on May 27, theUSGS put the rate at 12,000–19,000 barrels per day (1,900–3,000 m3/d).[102] Final estimates suggested a leak of 62,000 barrels per day (9,900 m3/d), a scale that had been suggested by both independent observers and federal scientists early on, but official attempts to release modeling data had been suppressed by theWhite House Office of Management and Budget, according to a report bythe government commission investigating the response.[101][97]: 10 On July 15, BP announced that the leak had stopped. In July, BP agreed to pay $18.7 billion to the U.S. government, the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, as well as 400 local authorities. As of 2015[update], BP had spent $54 billion on cleanup, penalties, and to repair environmental and economic damage.[103]
On May 12, 2016, oil from subsea infrastructure onShell'sBrutus oil rig released 2,100 barrels of oil. This leak created a 5 to 34 km (3.1 to 21.1 mi) oil slick in the sea about 156 km (97 miles) south ofPort Fourchon, Louisiana, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.[94][104]
Meteorological significance
Graph showing the overall water temperature of the Gulf between HurricanesKatrina andRita. Although Katrina cooled waters in its path by up to 4 °C (7.2 °F), they had rebounded by the time of Rita's appearance.
The gulf's warmsea surface temperatures can feed powerful, deadly, and destructiveAtlantic hurricanes such asHurricane Katrina in2005. In the open Atlantic, ahurricane willdraw up cool water from the depths, making it less likely that further hurricanes will follow (warm water being one of the preconditions necessary for their formation). However, the gulf is shallower; when a hurricane passes over, the water temperature may drop, but it soon rebounds enough to support another tropical cyclone.[105] From 1970 to 2020, surface temperatures warmed at about twice the rate observed for the global ocean surface.[106]
Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico is a primary factor for the development of tornadoes and other severe weather inTornado Alley, a term used to describe an area of the United States that is one of the most tornado-prone areas in the world. Dry air from theRocky Mountains converges with Gulf moisture in the area, which produces storms andsupercells that produce some of the most violent tornadoes in the world.[107] A study published in theJournal of Climate by Dongmin Kim, Sang-Ki Lee, and Hosmay Lopez, found that theMadden–Julian oscillation strengthens the North American low-level jet, which increases the flow of Gulf moisture andatmospheric instability into the Central United States, furtheringtornadogenesis in the region.[108]
^Fernández, Adela (1992).Dioses prehispánicos de México: mitos y deidades del panteón náhuatl [Prehispanic deities of Mexico: myths and deities of the Nahuatl pantheon] (in Spanish). Mexico City: Panorama Editorial. pp. 118–119.ISBN978-9-6838-0306-1 – via Internet Archive.Chalchiuhtlicue, 'La de la falda de jades o falda preciosa' es la deidad que representa el agua bajo distintos fenómenos. Ella conforma elhueyatl, 'mar', y por eso el Golfo de México se llamaChalchiuhtlicueyecatl, 'morada de la que tiene falda de esmeraldas'. [Chalchiuhtlicue, 'She of the Jade Skirt or Precious Skirt', is the deity that represents the water in different phenomena. She forms thehueyatl, 'sea', and thus the Gulf of Mexico is calledChalchiuhtlicueyecatl, 'abode of she of the emerald skirt'.]
^Gulf of America can be found atGEOnet Names Server, atthis link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-1506402" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
^abcdSalvador, Amos (1991). "Origin and development of the Gulf of Mexico basin". In Salvador, Amos (ed.).The Gulf of Mexico Basin: The Geology of North America. Vol. J. Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America. pp. 389–444.doi:10.1130/DNAG-GNA-J.ISBN978-0-8137-5459-8.
^Buffler, Richard T. (1991). "Early Evolution of the Gulf of Mexico Basin". In Goldthwaite, D. (ed.).Introduction to Central Gulf Coast Geology. New Orleans, Louisiana: New Orleans Geological Society. pp. 1–15.
^abcGalloway, William E. (2008). "Depositional evolution of the Gulf of Mexico sedimentary basin". In Miall, Andrew D. (ed.).The Sedimentary Basins of the United States and Canada, Sedimentary Basins. Sedimentary Basins of the World. Vol. 5. Elsevier.ISBN978-0-444-50425-8.
^abSawyer, D. S.; Buffler, R. T.; Pilger, R. H. Jr. (1991). "The crust under the Gulf of Mexico basin". In Salvador, A. (ed.).The Gulf of Mexico Basin: The Geology of North America. Vol. J.Boulder, Colorado:Geological Society of America. pp. 53–72.
^Ward, C. H.; Tunnell, J. W. (2017). "Habitats and Biota of the Gulf of Mexico: An Overview". In Ward, C. (ed.).Habitats and Biota of the Gulf of Mexico: Before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. New York, NY: Springer. pp. 1–54.doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3447-8_1.ISBN978-1-4939-3445-4.
^abcSturges, W.; Lugo-Fernandez, A.; Shargel, M. D. (2005). "Introduction to Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico". In Sturges, Wilton; Lugo-Fernandez, Alexis (eds.).Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico: Observations and Models. Geophysical Monograph Series.American Geophysical Union. pp. 1–10.doi:10.1029/161GM02.ISBN978-1-118-66616-6.
^abSchmitz, W. J. Jr.; Biggs, D. C.; Lugo-Fernandez, A.; Oey, L.-Y.; Sturges, W. (2005). "A Synopsis of the Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico and on its Continental Margins". In Sturges, Wilton; Lugo-Fernandez, Alexis (eds.).Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico: Observations and Models. Geophysical Monograph Series.American Geophysical Union. pp. 11–30.doi:10.1029/161GM03.ISBN978-1-118-66616-6.
^"Gulf of Mexico".Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. June 15, 2010.Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. RetrievedJune 26, 2010.
^National Geophysical Data Center, 1999. Global Land One-kilometer Base Elevation (GLOBE) v.1. Hastings, D. and P.K. Dunbar.National Geophysical Data Center, NOAAArchived February 10, 2011, at theWayback Machine. doi:10.7289/V52R3PMS [access date: March 16, 2015]
^Helgason, Guðmundur."Robert E. Lee".German U-boats of World War II – uboat.net.Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. RetrievedAugust 1, 2015.
^Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (November 2006). "Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2007–2012. Western Planning Area Sales 204, 207, 210, 215, and 218. Central Planning Area Sales 205, 206, 208, 213, 216, and 222. Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Volume I: Chapters 1–8 and Appendices". U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans. page 3-27–3-34PDFArchived March 26, 2009, at theWayback Machine
^abDonn, Jeff (July 7, 2010). "Gulf home to 27,000 abandoned wells". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 1A.
^Davis, Jack E. (2018). The Gulf: the Making of an American Sea. New York: Liveright Publishing Corp. p. 416.ISBN978-1-63149-402-4.
^Di Mauro, Rosana; Kupchik, Matthew J.; Benfield, Mark C. (November 2017). "Abundant plankton-sized microplastic particles in shelf waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico".Environmental Pollution.230:798–809.Bibcode:2017EPoll.230..798D.doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2017.07.030.PMID28734261.
^abNational Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (October 6, 2010)."The Amount and Fate of the Oil"(PDF). Draft. Staff Working Paper No. 3. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on November 25, 2010.
^Crooks, Ed; Adams, Christopher (July 9, 2015)."BP: Into uncharted waters".Financial Times.Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. RetrievedAugust 10, 2015.
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