2019. On April 5, 2019, USC Sea Grant in collaboration with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine Gulf Research Program, Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, and Sea Grant partners held a day-long workshop at the Santa Barbara Zoo as part of a series of five regional workshops around the nation to address information needs pertaining to social, economic, and health disruptions from oil spills. Sixty-seven practitioners and stakeholders came together in Santa Barbara for a day of presentations and vibrant discussions to review lessons learned from the 2015 Refugio Spill and identify research needs for future improvements in topics related to response, monitoring, and public communication of oil spills in Santa Barbara.
Our report summarizes and synthesizes ideas and research needs discussed at the workshop. The report begins with a general summary of the workshop followed by research needs and gaps identified during presentations and breakout sessions.