This thesis examines the fiction of the Columbian author Gabriel García Márquez, and focuses on hyperbole as a fundamental characteristic of Márquez's fiction. There is special interest in three aspects of his work: setting, people, and themes.

The Gulf of Mexico (GoMx) is among the most productive regions for offshore oil and natural gas recovery. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) drilling rig exploded, burned for three days, sank, and released over 4 million barrels of oil in the subsequent 84 days before it was capped. Some oil was buoyant enough to float to the ocean surface, where some was removed via a myriad techniques. Importantly, a plume of oil remained suspended in the water column at approximately 1,100 m water depth, where it drove a marine snow event, and deposited large quantities of oil on the seafloor. The northern GoMx seafloor is complex and dynamic. Submarine canyons, mounds, channels, and salt domes dominate the seafloor along the continental slope surrounding the DWH well. Using high-resolution bathymetric data, variables derived to characterize the seafloor (water depth, distance, slope, and aspect), and spatial relationships between seafloor stations and the DWH well, relationships between concentrations, fluxes and inventories of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other seafloor variables were hypothesized to be statistically significantly related. The most significant seafloor characteristic to predict distributions was water depth, followed by distance, relative aspect, and slope.

Etapa inicial de uma investigação sobre as cidades imaginárias. A configuração de Macondo em Cem anos de solidão de Gabriel García Márquez; a construção da verossimilhança e o estatuto do imaginário. O conteúdo mítico da narrativa; relações entre a História, a Antropologia e a Literatura. A universalidade de um espaço regional. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-20T17:00:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Karina de Castilhos Lucena.pdf: 560989 bytes, checksum: 800580720adab0d38ba57078edee252d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-20T17:00:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Karina de Castilhos Lucena.pdf: 560989 bytes, checksum: 800580720adab0d38ba57078edee252d (MD5) / Etapa inicial de una investigación sobre las ciudades imaginarias. La configuración de Macondo en Cien años de soledad de Gabriel García Márquez; la construcción de la verosimilitud y el estatuto del imaginario. El contenido mítico de la narrativa; relaciones entre la Historia, la Antropología y la Literatura. La universalidad de un espacio regional.

Etapa inicial de uma investigação sobre as cidades imaginárias. A configuração de Macondo em Cem anos de solidão de Gabriel García Márquez; a construção da verossimilhança e o estatuto do imaginário. O conteúdo mítico da narrativa; relações entre a História, a Antropologia e a Literatura. A universalidade de um espaço regional. / Etapa inicial de una investigación sobre las ciudades imaginarias. La configuración de Macondo en Cien años de soledad de Gabriel García Márquez; la construcción de la verosimilitud y el estatuto del imaginario. El contenido mítico de la narrativa; relaciones entre la Historia, la Antropología y la Literatura. La universalidad de un espacio regional.

As shown by the Macondo blowout, a deepwater well control event can result in loss of life, harm to the environment, and significant damage to company and industry reputation. Consistent adherence to safety regulations is a recurring issue in deepwater well construction. The two federal entities responsible for offshore U.S. safety regulation are the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), with regulatory authorities that span well planning, drilling, completions, emergency evacuation, environmental response, etc. With such a wide range of rules these agencies are responsible for, safety compliance cannot be comprehensively verified with the current infrequency of on-site inspections. Offshore regulation and operational safety could be greatly improved through continuous remote real-time data monitoring. Many government agencies have adopted monitoring regimes dependent on real-time data for improved oversight (e.g. NASA Mission Control, USGS Earthquake Early Warning System, USCG Vessel Traffic Services, etc.). Appropriately, real-time data monitoring was either re-developed or introduced in the wake of catastrophic events within those sectors (e.g. Challenger, tsunamis, Exxon Valdez, etc.). Over recent decades, oil and gas operators have developed Real-Time Operations Centers (RTOCs) for continuous, pro-active operations oversight and remote interaction with on-site personnel. Commonly seen as collaborative hubs, RTOCs provide a central conduit for shared knowledge, experience, and improved decision-making, thus optimizing performance, reducing operational risk, and improving safety. In particular, RTOCs have been useful in identifying and mitigating potential well construction incidents that could have resulted in significant non-productive time and trouble cost. In this thesis, a comprehensive set of recommendations is made to BSEE and USCG to expand and improve their regulatory oversight activities through remote real-time data monitoring and application of emerging real-time technologies that aid in data acquisition and performance optimization for improved safety. Data sets and tools necessary for regulators to effectively monitor and regulate deepwater operations (Gulf of Mexico, Arctic, etc.) on a continuous basis are identified. Data from actual GOM field cases are used to support the recommendations. In addition, the case is made for the regulator to build a collaborative foundation with deepwater operators, academia and other stakeholders, through the employment of state-of-the-art knowledge management tools and techniques. This will allow the regulator to do “more with less”, in order to address the fast pace of activity expansion and technology adoption in deepwater well construction, while maximizing corporate knowledge and retention. Knowledge management provides a connection that can foster a truly collaborative relationship between regulators, industry, and non-governmental organizations with a common goal of safety assurance and without confusing lines of authority or responsibility. This solves several key issues for regulators with respect to having access to experience and technical know-how, by leveraging industry experts who would not normally have been inaccessible. On implementation of the proposed real-time and knowledge management technologies and workflows, a phased approach is advocated to be carried out under the auspices of the Center for Offshore Safety (COS) and/or the Offshore Energy Safety Institute (OESI). Academia can play an important role, particularly in early phases of the program, as a neutral playing ground where tools, techniques and workflows can be tried and tested before wider adoption takes place. / text