Studying the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Introducing the Next Generation Oil Spill Researchers Initiative
Volunteers clean up oil slick washed up on a sand beach. Source: Shutterstock.

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Time: 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CT / 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET

Register for Session 2

Webinar Description

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster triggered far-reaching and interconnected health, environmental, and economic crises across the Gulf region. This session will examine key lessons learned from more than a decade of research on the only Spill of National Significance declared in U.S. history. The panel will examine the short- and long-term health impacts of the spill on people of the Gulf, explore how the disaster reshaped the region’s natural and built environments, and highlight the economic consequences for fisheries, tourism, transportation, and other Gulf industries. Together, the speakers will discuss how these overlapping impacts compounded vulnerabilities across Gulf communities and continue to influence the region’s recovery and resilience efforts. The session will conclude with time for Q&A and discussion.

This webinar will be recorded and posted on the Natural Hazards Center website after the event. You can learn more about the Next Generation Oil Spill Researchers community of practice here. Please remember to sign up for future webinars and free resources here.

Speakers

Ariane Rung, University of Nebraska Medical Center. Ariane Rung is associate professor and vice chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health. Her research centers around how social and built environments affect health. As a co-investigator on the Women and Their Children’s Health (WaTCH) Study and the follow-up WaTCH 2 study, she led the development and administration of the participant surveys, focusing on measures related to mental health, area-level context, and related socio-behavioral pathways. Rung is currently involved in studying the interactions between the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, epigenetic age acceleration, and chronic health disparities.

Learning Outcomes

  • Explore foundational studies and available datasets related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
  • Understand how overlapping and cascading impacts of the spill compounded existing social, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities in the Gulf region.
  • Identify how research findings from Deepwater Horizon have informed recovery, resilience, and future oil spill preparedness efforts.
  • Recognize research priorities for future oil spill studies.

Prepare Ahead

Additional Suggested Readings and Resources

  • Next Generation Oil Spill Researchers Annotated Bibliography (coming soon)

The Next Generation Oil Spill Researchers Community of Practice is funded by the Gulf Research Program at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Award #SCON-10001452). Opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations produced through this initiative are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Gulf Research Program or Natural Hazards Center.