OHMSETT TESTS OF A ROPE-MOP SKIMMER IN ICE-INFESTED WATERS1

1985 ◽  
Vol 1985 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Shum ◽  
M. Borst Mason & Hanger-Silas
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Cold Weather ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Test Tank ◽  
Broken Ice ◽  
Petroleum Development ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

ABSTRACT The increase in petroleum development activities in the arctic region has raised concerns over potential oil spills during the broken ice season. Currently, exploratory drilling for oil and gas is restricted during this season due to the lack of proven oil spill cleanup methods for broken ice fields. Test programs have been conducted at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Oil and Hazardous Materials Simulated Environmental Test Tank (OHMSETT) to determine the feasibility of cold weather testing and to evaluate various oil spill cleanup methods considered for use in the arctic. This paper describes a test program to determine the practicality of using a catamaran-mounted rope-mop skimmer for spill cleanup in broken ice fields. An Oil Map Pollution Control, Ltd., prototype arctic skimmer was tested in the test tank under controlled conditions during January 30 to February 7, 1984. Freshwater ice cubes of 250 to 280 millimeters (mm) were used in the tests to approximate a broken ice field. During tests, a predetermined ice condition was established across the encounter width of the rope mops and oil was distributed over the ice. The oil and ice were channeled into the skimmer by two booms, which were joined to the skimmer at the bow. Nine tests were conducted at a tow speed of 1 knot using Circo 4X light oil. During the tests, ice concentrations were varied from 0 to 75 percent of the surface area, and oil slick thickness varied from 3 to 8 mm. The test results demonstrated the spill cleanup capability of the skimmer in ice-infested waters having up to 50 percent ice coverage. At higher ice concentrations, the skimmer was ineffective due to ice jamming at the skimmer inlet.

In Situ Oil Spill Countermeasures in Ice-Infested Waters: A Modeling Study of the Fate/Behaviours of Spilled Oil

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1215-1225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haibo Niu ◽  
Kenneth Lee ◽  
Michel C. Boufadel ◽  
Lin Zhao ◽  
Brian Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Oil Transport ◽  
Habitat Recovery ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Oil Biodegradation ◽  
Arctic Conditions ◽  
Spilled Oil

ABSTRACT The expansion of offshore oil and gas and marine transport activities in the Arctic have raised the level of risk for an oil spill to occur in the Arctic region. Existing technologies for oil spill cleanup in ice-covered conditions are limited and there is a need for improved oil spill countermeasures for use under Arctic conditions. A recent field study has assessed a proposed oil spill response technique in ice-infested waters based on the application of fine minerals in a slurry with mixing by propeller-wash to promote the formation of oil-mineral aggregates (OMA). While it was verified in the experimental study that the dispersion was enhanced and mineral fine additions promoted habitat recovery by enhancing both the rate and extent of oil biodegradation, limited monitoring data provide little insights on the fate of dispersed oil after the response. To help understand the oil transport process following mineral treatment in ice-covered conditions, mathematical modeling was used in this study to simulate the transport of OMA and calculate the mass balances of the spilled oil. To study the effects of ice and minerals on the fate and transport, the result was compared with scenarios without ice and without the addition of mineral fines. The results show general agreement between the modeling results and field observations, and further confirm the effectiveness and potential for using mineral treatment as a new oil spill counter-measure technology. This technique offers several operational advantages for use under Arctic conditions, including reduced number of personnel required for its application, lack of need for waste disposal sites, and cost effectiveness.

scholarly journals Inter- and Intra-Annual Bacterioplankton Community Patterns in a Deepwater Sub-Arctic Region: Persistent High Background Abundance of Putative Oil Degraders

mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelina G. Angelova ◽  
Barbara Berx ◽  
Eileen Bresnan ◽  
Samantha B. Joye ◽  
Andrew Free ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Bacterioplankton Community ◽  
Degrading Bacteria

ABSTRACT Hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria naturally degrade and remove petroleum pollutants, yet baselines do not currently exist for these critical microorganisms in many regions where the oil and gas industry is active. Furthermore, understanding how a baseline community changes across the seasons and its potential to respond to an oil spill event are prerequisites for predicting their response to elevated hydrocarbon exposures. In this study, 16S rRNA gene-based profiling was used to assess the spatiotemporal variability of baseline bacterioplankton community composition in the Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC), a deepwater sub-Arctic region where the oil and gas industry has been active for the last 40 years. Over a period of 2 years, we captured the diversity of the bacterioplankton community within distinct water masses (defined by their temperature and salinity) that have a distinct geographic origin (Atlantic or Nordic), depth, and direction of flow. We demonstrate that bacterioplankton communities were significantly different across water samples of contrasting origin and depth. Taxa of known hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria were observed at higher-than-anticipated abundances in water masses originating in the Nordic Seas, suggesting these organisms are sustained by an unconfirmed source of oil input in that region. In the event of an oil spill, our results suggest that the response of these organisms is severely hindered by the low temperatures and nutrient levels that are typical for the FSC. IMPORTANCE Oil spills at sea are one of the most disastrous anthropogenic pollution events, with the Deepwater Horizon spill providing a testament to how profoundly the health of marine ecosystems and the livelihood of its coastal inhabitants can be severely impacted by spilled oil. The fate of oil in the environment is largely dictated by the presence and activities of natural communities of oil-degrading bacteria. While a significant effort was made to monitor and track the microbial response and degradation of the oil in the water column in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill, the lack of baseline data on the microbiology of the Gulf of Mexico confounded scientists’ abilities to provide an accurate assessment of how the system responded relative to prespill conditions. This data gap highlights the need for long-term microbial ocean observatories in regions at high risk of oil spills. Here, we provide the first microbiological baseline established for a subarctic region experiencing high oil and gas industry activity, the northeast Atlantic, but with no apparent oil seepage or spillage. We also explore the presence, relative abundances, and seasonal dynamics of indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading communities. These data will advance the development of models to predict the behavior of such organisms in the event of a major oil spill in this region and potentially impact bioremediation strategies by enhancing the activities of these organisms in breaking down the oil.

scholarly journals Responder Needs Addressed by Arctic Maritime Oil Spill Modeling

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Jessica Manning ◽  
Megan Verfaillie ◽  
Christopher Barker ◽  
Catherine Berg ◽  
Amy MacFadyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Maritime Shipping ◽  
Oil Spill Modeling ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Natural Resource Development ◽  
Spilled Oil

There is a greater probability of more frequent and/or larger oil spills in the Arctic region due to increased maritime shipping and natural resource development. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for effective spilled-oil computer modeling to help emergency oil spill response decision makers, especially in waters where sea ice is present. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Response & Restoration (OR&R) provides scientific support to the U.S. Coast Guard Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) during oil spill response. OR&R’s modeling products must provide adequate spill trajectory predictions so that response efforts minimize economic, cultural, and ecologic impacts, including those to species, habitats, and food supplies. The Coastal Response Research Center is conducting a project entitled Oil Spill Modeling for Improved Response to Arctic Maritime Spills: The Path Forward, in conjunction with modelers, responders, and researchers. A goal of the project is to prioritize new investments in model and tool development to improve response effectiveness in the Arctic. The project delineated FOSC needs during Arctic maritime spill response and provided a solution communicating sources of uncertainty in model outputs using a Confidence Estimates of Oil Model Inputs and Outputs (CEOMIO) table. The table shows the level of confidence (high, medium, low) in a model’s trajectory prediction over scenario-specific time intervals and the contribution of different component inputs (e.g., temperature, wind, ice) to that result.

CONTAINMENT AND RECOVERY TECHNIQUES FOR COLD WEATHER, INLAND OIL SPILLS

1979 ◽  
Vol 1979 (1) ◽  
pp. 345-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan A. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Cold Weather ◽  
Recovery Techniques ◽  
Spill Control ◽  
Training Exercises ◽  
Ice Water ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

ABSTRACT The maintenance of an around-the-clock oil spill cleanup service in Alaska offers an unusual opportunity to develop and test a variety of oil spill containment and recovery techniques. The experiences during numerous actual cleanup efforts, together with the results of training exercises on snow, ice, water, and land, provide valuable information for those faced with the potential spillage of oil during cold-weather conditions. Off-the-shelf cleanup equipment and materials can frequently be modified or used in a slightly different mode to achieve effective spill control under subzero temperatures on, in, and beneath ice and snow. Monitoring the fate and behavior of several types of oil under such real-world conditions also provides quantitative data leading to the development of innovative spill control techniques which emphasize the use of naturally found materials at the site of a spill. Such techniques involve snow berms, cross-river ice cuts, induced ground-surface leaching with snow, various damming and trenching methods, surface flooding, absorption of pooled oil with snow, and the construction of various types of filter fences and diversionary booms.

scholarly journals A method for modeling of the consequences of super-continuous accidents on oil production objects in the Arctic region

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-454
Author(s):  
S. N. Zatsepa ◽  
A. A. Ivchenko ◽  
V. V. Solbakov ◽  
V. V. Stanovoy
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Free Water ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Specially Protected Natural Areas ◽  
Total Oil

The elimination of the oil spill at the DWH (Deep-Water Horizon) well in the Gulf of Mexico took place in almost ideal hydrometeorological conditions, which did not create serious difficulties for the operation of the response forces and means. There is a problem of assessing the possible consequences of an accident of this scale in the Arctic conditions. The simulation method of a long-lasting oil spill in the ice infested region is considered. A new model for the spreading of an elementary spill (ES) is described. A total oil spill is constructed as superposition of a number of an elementary spill. Taking into account the transport of oil by drifting ice, the potential impact of spills on vulnerable areas in the sea and coasts can reach distance of hundreds and thousands of kilometers. The distribution of ES on the surface of ice-free water is limited by the lifetime, depending on the properties of oil and regional hydro-meteorological conditions and elongated by the duration of the ice capture. The paper presents examples of estimating the lifetime of an ongoing oil spill in open water conditions based on the analysis of wind conditions in the area of interest by long-term series of meteorological reanalysis. On the basis of the analysis, an efficient computational algorithm to estimate the probability of a long-lasting oil spills impact on specially protected natural areas is constructed.

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.

Application of biofilter plantation for oil spill cleanup in the Arctic coastal waters

2015 ◽  
pp. 3541-3550
Author(s):  
M Naseri ◽  
Abbas Barabadi ◽  
Javad Barabady ◽  
G Voskoboynikov
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

ANALISA PENCEMARAN LAUT OLEH PTT EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION (PTTEP) AUSTRALASIA TERHADAP LAUT TIMOR INDONESIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Paulin Yosephin Marini ◽  
Sherlly Monica Bonsapia ◽  
Johni R.V. Korwa
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Compensation Mechanisms ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Data Collection Technique ◽  
The Impact

<p><em>This study aims to analyze a blowout from an oil and gas leak owned by PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) Australasia in the Montara oil field in the Indonesian Timor Sea, and how to resolve disputes between Australia and Indonesia. A qualitative approach was used in this study, whilst the data collection technique was through library research. The theory of state responsibility, the concept of human security, and the concept of international maritime law are used to analyze disputes between Indonesia and Australia. The study found that the Montara oil spill had not only damaged the marine ecosystem but also polluted Indonesian waters. It also found that although the Australian government had formed a special commission to resolve cases and even used dispersant, it had not satisfied all parties. Several points are summarized. First, the Montara oil spill in Australia is a transnational study because the impact has crossed national borders. Secondly, UNCLOS has a weakness in the settlement of the Montara case because the Convention only provides a description related to ‘Responsibility of Each Country’ and does not specifically arrange material compensation mechanisms to countries that cause sea pollution. Third, the Montara oil spill has caused huge losses for Indonesian seaweed farmers, especially 13 districts in NTT. The recommendations are that the Indonesian government along with the Montara Victim Peoples’ Advocacy Team should continue to follow up the case of oil spills from the Montara platform and continue to fight for compensation to the Australian government and the PTTEP as the responsible party.</em></p>

Sustainable Development of Oil Production in the Arctic Shelf and Evolution of Fish Stock

2019 ◽  
pp. 451-469
Author(s):  
Yuri Yegorov
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Renewable Resource ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fish Stock ◽  
Common Pool ◽  
Arctic Fish

Arctic region is an important resource for hydrocarbons (oil and gas). Their exploitation is not immediate but will develop fast as soon as oil prices approach $100 per barrel again. In the Arctic, fish stock is an important renewable resource. Contrary to hydrocarbons, it is already overexploited. Future simultaneous exploitation of both resources poses several problems, including externalities and common pool. The academic community still has some time for theoretical investigation of those future problems and working out the corresponding policy measures that are consistent with sustainable development of the region. The Barents Sea is especially important because it has a common pool both in hydrocarbons and fish.

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.

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