| The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil drilling rig on 20th April 2010 resulted in the largest oil-related environmental disaster in U.S history with an unprecedented amount of oil (779,000 t) and gas discharged continuously in the Gulf of Mexico, over a period of 3 months. As a response, 8 million L of chemical dispersants (mainly Corexit 9500A®) were applied on surface to dissipate the slicks, and injected directly at the well head (3 million L) at 1500 m depths. The oil spill coincided with the spawning and recruitment season of the ecologically and commercially important Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Due to its biological characteristics (sessile, filter-feeding, ubiquity, “free” spawner), oysters have been employed as a model... |
