The energy industry has been a powerhouse of the Gulf region’s economy. Climate change is forcing a change in the energy landscape, including a national commitment to dramatically reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. GRP is supporting work to help the region navigate this energy transition and support safer production and transportation of all offshore energy.

Examples:

•  Offshore Situation Room

•  The Use of Dispersants in Marine Oil Spill Response (2020)

•  Advancing Understanding of Offshore Oil and Gas Systemic Risk in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (2023)

Many Gulf communities are experiencing the compounding effects of multiple disasters that have prolonged recovery periods and increased social vulnerability to future catastrophic events and other disruptions. GRP’s programming supports the health and resilience of Gulf Coast communities by working with institutions, organizations, and other stakeholders to identify health and resilience priorities, enhance and integrate the evidence base into planning and decision making, and support the implementation of innovative local projects.

Examples:

• Compounding Disasters in Gulf Coast Communities, 2020-2021: Impacts, Findings, and Lessons Learned

• Grant Awards: Disaster Related Mental Health

• Investing in Resilient Infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico: A Workshop

The Gulf Coast is an evolving landscape at the nexus of human development, environmental restoration efforts, coastal erosion, and sea-level rise. GRP is connecting communities and decision makers with scientific knowledge to inform management practices and protect the unique environments of the Gulf region.

Examples:

•  An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration (2022)

•  Understanding and Predicting the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current (2018)

GRP is dedicated to supporting the next generation of leaders in the Gulf region. In support of this goal, GRP is working with students and academic institutions to build the skills needed to address the major issues facing the Gulf region now and in the future.

Examples:

•  Gulf Futures Design Studios 

•  Gulf Scholars Program

•  Workforce Development for the Energy Transition

GRP fosters the development of science, engineering approaches, and medical knowledge to generate new and integrated scientific information or understanding of the socioeconomic, biological, and physical systems that interact with the Gulf region.

GRP seeks science-based solutions through applied research, demonstration or pilot projects, and a range of other activities. In keeping with its funding and mandate, GRP aspires to use its remaining two decades to translate, apply, and communicate current understanding and support for new research to develop solutions to the Gulf region’s challenges related to offshore energy, the environment, and the health and resilience of its communities.

GRP prioritizes building partnerships and strengthening networks to engage the people it serves and realize the promise of the program to endure beyond the end of the GRP. Partnerships are essential to program impact as the scope of the issues and scale of assets at stake exceed the capacity of any single entity, including the GRP. The investments and efforts of each individual organization are amplified when leveraged through partnerships within the scientific community, and even more importantly with people and organizations active in the Gulf region.

GRP uses data to identify trends and describe how the Gulf region evolves over time. The GRP tracks progress and change across the region related to community disaster resilience, physical dynamics in the marine and riverine environments, and biodiversity in Gulf ecosystems.