C. Herb Ward is Professor Emeritus at Rice University. He held the A. J. FoytFamily Chair of Engineering and was Professor of Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering in the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Professor ofEcology and Evolutionary Biology in the Weiss School of Natural Sciences.He is now a Scholar in Environmental Science and Technology Policy in theJames A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. He receivedhis BS (1955) in Biology and Agricultural Science from New Mexico Collegeof Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, his MS (1958) and PhD (1960) inMicrobial Diseases, Physiology, and Genetics of Plants from CornellUniversity, and the MPH (1978) in Environmental Health from theUniversity of Texas School of Public Health. He is a registered professionalengineer in Texas and a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer by theAmerican Academy of Environmental Engineers. He was the founding Chairof the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chair of theDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the inauguralDirector of the Energy and Environmental Systems Institute at RiceUniversity. He also served as Director of the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (USEPA)-sponsored National Center for Ground Water Researchand the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)-sponsored Advanced Applied(Environmental) Technology Development Facility. Dr. Ward was a memberof the USEPA Science Advisory Board and served as Chair of theScientific Advisory Board of the DoD Strategic EnvironmentalResearch and Development Program (SERDP).

Title is also available as part of a set: Habitats and Biota of the Gulf of Mexico: Before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (978-1-4939-6894-7)

Volume 1.- 1.Habitats And Biota Of The Gulf Of Mexico: An Overview.- 2.Water Quality Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 3.Sediments Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 4.Sediment Contaminants Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 5.Oil And Gas Seeps In The Gulf Of Mexico.- 6.Coastal Habitats Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 7.Offshore Plankton And Benthos Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 8.Shellfish Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- Appendix A:List of Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Symbols.- Appendix B: Unit Conversion Table.- Index.- Volume 2.- 9. Fish Resources Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 10.Fish Resources Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 11.Fish Resources Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 12.Avian Resources Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 13.Marine Mammals Of The Gulf Of Mexico.- 14.Diseases And Mortalities Of Fishes And Other Animals In The Gulf Of Mexico.- Index.

The Gulf of Mexico is an open and dynamic marine ecosystem rich innatural resources but heavily impacted by human activities, includingagricultural, industrial, commercial and coastal development. Nutrientsand pollutants from coastal communities and dozens of rivers flow into theGulf, including material from the Mississippi River watershed, which drainsover one third of continental United States. The Gulf of Mexico has beencontinuously exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons for millions of yearsfrom natural oil and gas seeps on the sea floor, and more recently from oildrilling and production activities located in the water near and far fromshore. Major accidental oil spills in the Gulf are infrequent.
This is a two volume open access set under a CC BY-NC license.