First watch: Deepwater BP Oil Spill – Assessing the Damage Restoring the Coast

Next watch: Shoreline Assessment Webisode at

http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/media-center/videos/

Your Assignment:

In the wake of the Deepwater BP Oil Spill, you have been assigned to the Shoreline Assessment Team introduced in this video. You are employed as a junior member of the team responsible for gathering facts and presenting them to the team.

https://woods.stanford.edu/news-events/news/oil-causes-heart-problems-fish

You will develop a report for your team to present to stake-holders in the restoration of the Gulf Coast, including members of BP Oil Corporation. You must assume that these individuals are NOT scientists, and that the relevance of oil within an aquatic environment must be explained to them. You will present the evidence that oil causes physiological damage to vertebrates at the cellular level. Design a PowerPoint presentation to this group that includes:

An introduction that
Provides a brief background of the Deepwater BP Oil Spill. Include the date, the extent of the spill, and the partnerships working together to address the crisis.
Outlines the three steps in the damage assessment.
Explains your role in this assessment (be creative, but stay within the guidelines of the scenario above and the parameters of Assessment Teams explained in the videos).
A diagram of the relationships between atoms, molecules, organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems, and organisms.
A diagram of a hydrocarbon.
A labeled diagram of an animal cell. Label the following: cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria, ribosomes, and endoplasmic reticulum. Provide a brief definition of each in the notes section.
A labeled diagram of a phospholipid bilayer, AKA the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane. Include a brief discussion of the molecules that make up phospholipids and how water facilitates the arrangement of the phospholipid bilayer.
A labeled diagram of a heart cell. Label the following: sarcolemma, ion channels, ions responsible for signaling contraction, protein microfibrils that interact to facilitate contraction. Provide a brief definition of each in the notes section.
An outline of how alterations at the chemical level cause complications at the organismal level. (How does crude oil interrupt heart cell function? What does this do to the fish?)
An outline of the research techniques used in this study, including brief description of each technique.