Oil spills, particularly large-scale incidents like the Deepwater Horizon disaster, are a major concern for coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil spills pose significant risks to Gulf of Mexico coastal ecosystems by contaminating water, harming marine life, and disrupting the food chain. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, for example, had devastating long-term impacts on the region's marine and coastal environments. While overfishing and coral bleaching are concerns in other regions, oil spills are a particularly acute issue in the Gulf due to the concentration of oil drilling activities. Desertification is not a major concern in this area, as the Gulf is not typically affected by the loss of arable land.