Oil Spills in the Arctic: A Review of Three Decades of Research at Environment Canada

2008 ◽  
pp. 5-6
Author(s):  
B. Hollebone ◽  
M. F. Fingas
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Environment Canada

scholarly journals Quantifying the consequence of applying conservative assumptions in the assessment of oil spill effects on polar cod (Boreogadus saida) populations

Polar Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 575-586
Author(s):  
Pepijn De Vries ◽  
Jacqueline Tamis ◽  
Jasmine Nahrgang ◽  
Marianne Frantzen ◽  
Robbert Jak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Threshold Concentration ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Cod ◽  
Boreogadus Saida ◽  
Precautionary Approach ◽  
Recovery Duration ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn order to assess the potential impact from oil spills and decide the optimal response actions, prediction of population level effects of key resources is crucial. These assessments are usually based on acute toxicity data combined with precautionary assumptions because chronic data are often lacking. To better understand the consequences of applying precautionary approaches, two approaches for assessing population level effects on the Arctic keystone species polar cod (Boreogadus saida) were compared: a precautionary approach, where all exposed individuals die when exposed above a defined threshold concentration, and a refined (full-dose-response) approach. A matrix model was used to assess the population recovery duration of scenarios with various but constant exposure concentrations, durations and temperatures. The difference between the two approaches was largest for exposures with relatively low concentrations and short durations. Here, the recovery duration for the refined approach was less than eight times that found for the precautionary approach. Quantifying these differences helps to understand the consequences of precautionary assumptions applied to environmental risk assessment used in oil spill response decision making and it can feed into the discussion about the need for more chronic toxicity testing. An elasticity analysis of our model identified embryo and larval survival as crucial processes in the life cycle of polar cod and the impact assessment of oil spills on its population.

Oil Spills in the Arctic Ocean: Extent of Spreading and Possibility of Large-Scale Thermal Effects

Science ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 186 (4166) ◽  
pp. 843-845
Author(s):  
R. C. Ayers ◽  
H. O. Jahns ◽  
J. L. Glaeser
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Thermal Effects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Science Lags on Saving the Arctic From Oil Spills

Science ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 325 (5946) ◽  
pp. 1335-1335 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Torrice
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic

A Study of the Behavior of Oil Spills in the Arctic

1972 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Glaeser ◽  
George P. Vance
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic

Laboratory Testing of a Flexible Boom for Ice Management

1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Lo̸set ◽  
G. W. Timco
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Offshore Structure ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
Ice Concentration ◽  
Broken Ice ◽  
Ice Field ◽  
Force Components

Combatting oil spills in the Arctic is a major challenge. Drilling or producing oil or gas in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) may allow booms to be deployed upstream of an offshore structure to clear the water of ice, thereby enabling conventional oil spill countermeasures to be used. Such a boom would be kept in place by two ice-going service vessels or by moored buoys. SINTEF NHL and NRC have performed a number of small-scale tests with a flexible boom in the NRC ice basin in Ottawa. The purpose of the tests was to measure the effectiveness of using a flexible boom for collecting ice, and to determine the loads associated with collecting the ice. In the tests, various boom configurations were towed against a broken ice field consisting of ice pieces typically 50–100 mm across and 30 mm thick. The ice concentration was usually 10/10, but it was reduced to 8/10 and 5/10 for two tests. The boom was towed at speeds of 20 and 50 mm-s−1. Both the width of the boom and the slackness of the boom were varied over reasonable ranges. Two six-component dynamometers were used to support the boom. Thus, the force components on each end of the boom were measured. Further, two video cameras were used to record the effectiveness of each boom configuration. In this paper, the full results of this test program are presented and the application of the test results to the full-scale situation are discussed. The tests show that, under certain conditions, the use of boom is feasible for ice management in oil-contaminated water.

ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT CANADA EMERGENCY OFFICERS IN OIL SPILL RESPONSE MANAGEMENT

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 909-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Ladanowski
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Environment Canada ◽  
Preliminary Assessment ◽  
Legal Evidence ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
The Media

ABSTRACT Environment Canada has established standard operating procedures (SOPs) for their emergency response officers so that they can respond to environmental emergencies with a uniform and professional approach. The SOPs cover a wide range of issues due to the complexity and intricacy of spills and related emergency situations. The focus here is on procedures for responding to oil spills. These include, but are not limited to, conducting a preliminary assessment of the spill, determining lead government agency responsibility, assessing and addressing response and protection needs, ensuring appropriate information is documented and distributed to concerned groups, dealing with the media, obtaining legal evidence and support, arranging finances, and using and obtaining approval for implementing certain response technologies.

Burning of Oil Spills

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 677-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.D. Evans ◽  
G.W. Mulholland ◽  
J.R. Lawson ◽  
E.J. Tennyson ◽  
M.F. Fingas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Heat Radiation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Environment Canada ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT The Center for Fire Research (CFR) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is conducting research related to safety in offshore drilling and oil spill pollution under joint funding from Minerals Management Service (MMS), U.S. Coast Guard, and the American Petroleum Institute. Technical assistance in measurement has been donated by Environment Canada. This research has focused on examining the phenomena associated with crude oil combustion and the impact of using burning as a spill response method. The process of burning crude oil on water as a means to mitigate oil spills has been investigated with a research effort combining both small-scale experiments and calculations. As a result of these studies, there has been increased understanding of the burning process, including burning rate, heat radiation, smoke emission, smoke composition, and smoke dispersion in the atmosphere. A key to gaining acceptance of burning as a spill response technique is the demonstration that favorable results obtained at laboratory scale can be shown to continue in test burns representing the size of fires expected in actual operations. Field-scale burn tests are being planned and coordinated jointly by MMS, API, USCG, and Environment Canada to document the use of burning technology under conditions simulating actual oil spill cleanup operations. The purpose of this project is to measure the effects of oil spill burning in laboratory and field tests.

The Fate of Oil in the Water Column Following Experimental Oil Spills in the Arctic Marine Nearshore

ARCTIC ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Humphrey ◽  
D.R. Green ◽  
B.R. Fowler ◽  
D. Hope ◽  
P.D. Boehm
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Marine Nearshore
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