Integrated Ocean Observing Systems as a source of scientific information for supporting oil spill response: From Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of Guinea

As of 2013, the Gulf of Guinea produces about 5.5 million barrels of oil per day – more than 60% of the total daily crude oil production in sub-Saharan Africa. Potential oil spills and their impact on the environment and the economy are of concern. As was seen in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, information from the United States Integrated Ocean Observing Systems (IOOS®) was key in the response. A robust IOOS-like system in the Gulf of Guinea could support oil spill response and enhance the existing Global Ocean Observing System for Africa (GOOS for Africa). There is great potential within the Gulf of Guinea for regional stakeholder resources to coordinate systematic metocean and coastal data, and share these data across the West, Central and Southern African countries. Through such coordinated efforts, the society benefits from the development of a "blue economy" and from improved disaster response more than from individual observations. Drawing from the examples in the Gulf of Mexico, the paper integrates the lessons from IOOS types of assets into useful response efforts for the Gulf of Guinea area. Responders, decision makers, scientists and the public all benefit from improved access to environmental information and forecasts. We include a "mock up" of how an IOOS asset would support scientific spill response in the Gulf of Guinea.