Oil Spill on the Brazilian Coast

Abstract

It is a pleasure to introduce the Special Issue (NE) of research articles focusing on the scientific and technological aspects related to the oil spill that hit the coast of northeastern Brazil in 2019. This event has been considered the worst marine environmental disaster in the history of Brazil due to its geographic extension, with more than 4,000 km of the North-Northeast-Southeast coast; because it was not from Brazilian oil fields; and because its duration and volume of oil that reached the coastline of the country. Many Brazilian scientists acted voluntarily in the emergency phase of the disaster, together with agents from the agencies involved, aiming to determine the origin of the spill and the recovery of the various coastal ecosystems affected. In addition, several of these scientists were linked to Working Groups (WG) of the Assessment and Monitoring Group (GAA) made up of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), the Brazilian Navy and the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) or in projects supported by municipal, state and federal funding agencies. Thus, they have been generating quality scientific knowledge, from the beginning of the disaster to the present day. Some of this knowledge has been published in scientific journals, but another significant part of this knowledge is presented here. Articles containing original research results related to the event in question, with scientific quality based on a robust dataset and that rose scientific interest for a wide audience. Thus, the main objective of the Special Number (NE) of the Annals of the ABC (AABC) is to give visibility to the “best science” available on the oil spill that reached the Brazilian coast.