scholarly journals BARGE BUFFALO 292: OBSERVATIONS OF SATELLITE-TRACKED SURFACE DRIFTERS

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 916-919
Author(s):  
Debra A. Simecek-Beatty ◽  
William J. Lehr ◽  
Walter R. Johnson ◽  
James M. Price
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Wind Drift ◽  
Vector Correlation ◽  
Joint Program ◽  
Surface Drifters ◽  
Visual Observations

ABSTRACT As part of a joint program to use satellite-tracked drifters at accidental oil spills, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration deployed three drifters supplied by the Minerals Management Service during the barge Buffalo 292 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The deployments complemented visual observations of the oil spill and provided data for calibrating the on-scene spill model. The data-rich environment of this particular spill response made it possible to calculate the vector correlation between the drifters and a hindcast of the oil movement and to estimate the wind-drift factors for the oil-tracking drifters.

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.

Recent Results from Oil Spill Response Research

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 673-676
Author(s):  
Edward Tennyson
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Yield Information ◽  
Environmental Test ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Spilled Oil

ABSTRACT Recent large oil spills from tankers have reaffirmed the need for continuing technology assessment and research to improve oil-spill response capabilities. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) remains a lead agency in conducting these studies. This paper discusses MMS concerns, as reinforced by the acceleration of its research program in 1990. It briefly assesses the current state-of-the-art technology for major aspects of spill response, including remote sensing, open-ocean containment, recovery, in-situ burning, chemical treating agents, beach-line cleanup, and oil behavior. The paper reports on specific research projects that have begun to yield information that will improve detection and at-sea equipment performance. The first detection project, for which MMS has patent pending, involves the use of shipboard navigational radar to track slicks at relatively long range. The second project involves the use of conventional containment and cleanup in a downwind mode, which is contrary to the traditional procedures. The paper also discusses current research projects, including the development of an airborne, laser-assisted fluorosensor that can determine whether apparent slicks contain oil. Additional projects involve the development of improved strategies for responding to oil in broken-ice conditions, for gaining an improved understanding of the fate and behavior of spilled oil as it affects response strategies, and for reopening and operating the oil and hazardous materials simulated environmental test tank (OHMSETT) facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. Recent progress on the development of safe and environmentally acceptable strategies to burn spilled oil in-situ is also discussed. The OHMSETT facility is necessary for testing prospective improvements in chemical treating agents and to develop standard procedures for testing and evaluating response equipment.

STATISTICAL ESTIMATES OF SHORELINE OIL CONTACT IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 547-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter R. Johnson ◽  
Zhen-Gang Ji ◽  
Charles F. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Wind Field ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Ocean Current ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Outer Continental Shelf ◽  
Statistical Estimates ◽  
Level Of Concern

ABSTRACT As steward of the Federal offshore lands known as the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Minerals Management Service (MMS), is responsible for balancing the Nation's search for commercial oil and gas with protection of the human and marine environments. The MMS regulates the development of mineral resources in an environmentally safe manner by analyzing environmental consequences of the OCS program prior to lease sales or approval of industry's plans. The Oil-Spill Risk Analysis (OSRA) model was developed by the DOI for the analysis of possible oil-spill impact from offshore oil and gas operations. The OSRA model produces statistical estimates of hypothetical oil-spill occurrence and contact from projected OCS operations. The model generates an ensemble of sea surface oil-spill trajectories by initiating thousands of oil-spill simulations at hypothetical spill locations to statistically characterize oil-spill risk in areas of prospective drilling and production and along projected pipeline routes. The hypothetical spills are initiated every day and move at the velocity of the vector sum of the surface ocean currents plus an empirical wind-induced drift of speed equal to 3.5% of the local wind speed, with a wind-speed-dependent direction (Samuels et al., 1982). The model generates oil-spill trajectories by integrating interpolated values of the wind and ocean current fields at intervals short enough to use the full spatial resolution of the ocean current and wind fields. The OSRA model, as applied to the Gulf of Mexico, uses 3-hourly ocean current fields over 7 years (1993–1999) generated by the Princeton Regional Ocean Forecast System (PROFS) (Oey et al., 2004). The PROFS is driven by synoptic winds, heat flux, and river flows. The wind field is based on the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts surface winds enhanced by observations from meteorological buoys and Coastal-Marine Automated Network stations. The same wind field used to force the ocean model is used to move the oil in the spill trajectories. As an example of environmental assessment, the OSRA model was used to estimate the spreading of oil spills by simultaneously modeling fractions of each spill, referred to as spillets. The spillets were used to calculate additional statistics, in particular, the length of coastline contacted by a large spill. The coastline was divided into equal length segments. Assumptions were made regarding what fraction of the spill (i.e., the number of spillets) that contacted a land segment would constitute a contact larger than the “level of concern.” Sensitivity of the analysis to key assumed parameters, such as the number of spillets and the level of concern, were tested.

OIL SPILL SORBENTS: TESTING PROTOCOL AND CERTIFICATION LISTING PROGRAM

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 549-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Cooper ◽  
Ingvil Gausemel
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Petroleum Products ◽  
Test Methods ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Laboratory Evaluation ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Environment Canada ◽  
Operating Characteristics

ABSTRACT Environment Canada's Emergencies Engineering Division is spearheading a program in conjunction with the Canadian General Standards Board that would see the development of a certification and listing program in addition to a national standard for the testing of sorbent materials. Funding for this program is provided by Environment Canada (EC), Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS). The test methods are based upon those defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials and previous test methods developed by Environment Canada for our series of reports entitled Selection Criteria and Laboratory Evaluation of Oil Spill Sorbents. This series, which was started in 1975, encompasses a number of commercially available oil spill sorbents tested with different petroleum products and hydrocarbon solvents. The testing program will categorize the sorbents according to their operating characteristics. The main categories are oil spills on water, oil spills on land, and industrial use. The characteristics we will be evaluating with the new test protocols include initial and maximum sorption capacities, water pickup, buoyancy, reuse potential, retention profile, disintegration (material integrity), and ease of application and retrieval. In the near future we plan to incorporate changes to the test that would involve increasing our list of test liquids to encompass spills in an industrial setting, in addition to testing sorbent booms and addressing the disposal problem.

REVIEW OF DISPERSANT USE IN U.S. GULF OF MEXICO WATERS SINCE THE OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 439-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlie Henry
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Contingency Planning ◽  
Monitoring Plan ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Spilled Oil

ABSTRACT Since the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), dispersants have been used as part of a combined response to mitigate seven oil spills in United States Gulf of Mexico (GOM) waters. Of the dispersant operations reported, four utilized the Regional Response Team VI pre-approval authority to the Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) that requires a monitoring plan. The successful integration of dispersant pre-authorization along with a fully funded ready response delivery system maintained by industry contributed to the successful use of dispersants to aid in mitigating spilled oil. A key element to gaining the original pre-approval authority was a functional operational monitoring plan. While each response was considered a successful dispersant operation, each incident provided valuable lessons learned that have been integrated into subsequent contingency planning and modifications to existing pre-authorization requirements in the GOM. This paper provides a chronological review of oil spill responses where dispersants were applied in the GOM since OPA 90.

The Minerals Management Service Cutting-Edge Oil Spill Response Research

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 1167-1169
Author(s):  
Joseph V. Mullin
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Equipment Testing ◽  
Physical And Chemical

ABSTRACT The Minerals Management Service (MMS), is the principal U.S. government agency funding offshore oil spill response research. The MMS, a bureau of the Department of the Interior, maintains a comprehensive Oil Spill Response Research program in support of oil spill prevention and response. Through funding provided by MMS, scientists and engineers from the public and private sectors worldwide are working to address outstanding gaps in information and technology concerning the cleanup of oil spills. Joint research projects with Environment Canada (EC) continue to focus on determining the physical and chemical properties of crude oil, the fate and behavior of spilled oil, remote sensing and mapping of oil slicks, chemical treating agents including dispersants, and innovative shoreline cleanup strategies. In joint projects with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), MMS continues to assess the capabilities of in situ burning as an oil spill response tool. Also discussed is OHMSETT, the national Oil Spill Response Test Facility. OHMSETT is the only facility in the world where government agencies, universities, and private companies can conduct full-scale oil spill response equipment testing, research, and training with oil under controlled conditions.

TRACKING BUOYS FOR OIL SPILLS

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron H. Goodman ◽  
Debra Simecek-Beatty ◽  
Don Hodgins
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Positioning Errors ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
And Training ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACT The use of tracking buoys in oil spill response, planning, and training and criteria for the selection of these buoys were studied in conjunction with an experiment conducted in the Gulf of Mexico during March 1994 on the relative motions of several oil spill drifter buoys. For the test, wood chips and cottonseed hulls were used to simulate the motion of the oil. Six different types of buoys and three different positioning and tracking systems, in various combinations, were tested. The first day of the program was conducted in Galveston Bay, the second in the Gulf of Mexico off Galveston. Significant differences were noted in the movements of the various buoys. Analysis of the data from these experiments suggests that tracking of the buoys should occur for a longer time period than in the experiments in order to reduce the influence of positioning errors.

RESULTS FROM OIL SPILL RESPONSE RESEARCH—AN UPDATE

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 541-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J. Tennyson
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Yield Information ◽  
Broken Ice ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Spilled Oil

ABSTRACT Recent large oil spills from tankers have reaffirmed the need for continuing technology assessment and research to improve oil spill response capabilities. This paper discusses Minerals Management Service concerns, as reinforced by the acceleration of its research program in 1990. It briefly assesses current state-of-the-art technology for major aspects of spill response, including remote sensing, open-ocean containment and recovery, in-situ burning, use of chemical treating agents, beachline cleanup, and oil behavior. Specific research projects have begun to yield information that will improve detection and at-sea equipment performance; current projects, include the development of an airborne laser-fluorosensor to determine whether apparent slicks contain oil. Additional projects involve the development of improved strategies for responding to oil in broken-ice conditions, for gaining an improved understanding of the fate and behavior of spilled oil as it affects response strategies, and for defining the capabilities of available dispersants and development of improved formulations. Recently progress has been made on the development of safe and environmentally acceptable strategies to burn spilled oil in situ. The Ohmsett facility has been reopened and will be used to test prospective improvements in chemical treating agents and to develop standard procedures for testing and evaluating response equipment. Results of research published since the last Oil Spill Conference are discussed.

Oil Spill Risk Analysis for Assessing Environmental Contact Probabilities in the Gulf of Mexico

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 1931-1949
Author(s):  
Zhen-Gang Ji ◽  
Walter R. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Current ◽  
Oil Well ◽  
Outer Continental Shelf ◽  
Oil And Gas Development

ABSTRACT 2017-051: The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) maintains a leasing program for commercial oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf in U.S. territorial waters. To evaluate the potential impacts of these activities, BOEM performs oil spill risk analysis (OSRA) using, in part, a statistical model for estimating the movement of hypothetical oil spills on the ocean surface based on model-generated surface wind and surface current. OSRA examines oil spill risks over long periods of time ranging from 5 years to decades. The latest OSRA analysis estimated the contact probabilities of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region by modeling over 40 million hypothetical oil spill trajectories over extended areas of the U. S. continental shelf and tabulating the frequencies with which the simulated oil spills contacted designated natural resources within a specified number of days. The modeled ocean currents and wind fields used in the GOM analysis are from 1993 to 2007 (15 years). The OSRA model was also applied to analyze the contact probabilities of the Ixtoc Oil Spill, which happened on June 3, 1979 in the Bay of Campeche of the GOM and lasted for 10 months. The Ixtoc I Oil Well suffered a blowout, resulting in one of the largest oil spills in history and 3 million barrels of oil spilled. The OSRA model was applied to simulate particle trajectories released at the Ixtoc location using the same GOM current and wind field data from 1993 through 2007. The model results for the Ixtoc simulation were consistent with the descriptions of the oil spill by Hooper (1982), which shows that the OSRA model can provide a reasonable projection of the contact probabilities of hypothetical oil spills.

scholarly journals CLEAN GULF ASSOCIATES UNVEILS A NEW GENERATION OF OIL-SPILL CLEANUP EQUIPMENT

1975 ◽  
Vol 1975 (1) ◽  
pp. 323-327
Author(s):  
W. L. Berry ◽  
J. W. Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Texas Coast ◽  
Set Up ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

ABSTRACT Clean Gulf Associates was established in 1972 by the petroleum operators in the Gulf of Mexico to provide the capability for fast, effective cleanup of oil spills in both coastal and offshore waters. Initially, about $1.5 million was expended for equipment stockpiles at three bases along the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Approximately $1 million is being spent to improve and expand these inventories and set up a fourth base. Additionally, two bases have been established in Florida, and plans are underway for bases along the Texas Coast. The organization and capabilities of Clean Gulf Associates are briefly reviewed. New Cost Participation Areas, planned new equipment additions, and improvements to existing items are discussed.

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