Responding to Oil Spills Under Ice: Alaska Clean Seas' Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) Training Course

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 300320
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Hall ◽  
Leonard Zabilansky
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Oil Exploration ◽  
Cold Regions ◽  
Training Course ◽  
The North ◽  
Oil Spill Response

The Alaska North Slope region is a demanding operating environment for oil exploration, production and transportation operations. The Arctic Ocean remains frozen for an average of nine months of the year, with only a limited open-water season in the summer. There are long periods of darkness, extremely harsh weather conditions, remote installations and limited infrastructure. As Arctic oil exploration, production and transportation activities expand, there is growing concern about the ability of public and private sector response organizations to effectively clean up oil spills under ice. Alaska Clean Seas (ACS) is the Alaska North Slope oil spill response cooperative based in Prudhoe Bay, AK. ACS oversees the training and coordination of the North Slope Spill Response Team (NSSRT), a volunteer-based organization consisting of personnel from the workforce of ACS' Member Companies and their support contractors. Beginning in January 2012, ACS partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, NH, to develop an Advanced Oil Spill Response in Ice Course. Now in its third year, this partnership has combined the unique facilities, capabilities and ice research history of CRREL with the Arctic response expertise and experience of Alaska Clean Seas to deliver realistic, one-of-a-kind training for recovering oil spilled under ice. Participants have included members of the NSSRT, several federal regulatory agencies and representatives from the Global Response Network. ACS provides response equipment from the North Slope and several vendors have demonstrated additional skimming and pumping systems specifically designed for recovery in ice. Central to the course is CRREL's outdoor saline test basin, a 60′ × 25′ × 7′ refrigerated in-ground tank equipped to grow and maintain a two-foot cover of sea ice. Approximately 600 gallons of Alaska North Slope crude oil are injected under the ice to provide a realistic field scenario to practice response tactics. These tactics include assessment and profiling techniques for safely working on the ice; employing underwater lights and ground penetrating radar for detection of oil under ice; use of augers and chainsaw sleds to cut holes and slots in the ice; deployment of recovery and storage systems to remove oil from an ice environment; and in-situ burning operations in slush and broken ice. This poster highlights the development of the CRREL Training Course and provides guidelines for course content, length, and special considerations for similar advanced field training courses.

Use of, and limits to telecommunications supporting Spill Response in the Arctic

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 281407
Author(s):  
Jim White
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Satellite Communications ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
The North ◽  
Response Network ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska ◽  
Oil Spill Response

The ability to exchange critical information across a broad spectrum of users is the success of a response. Communicating on the North Slope of Alaska is a technical challenge. One of the most critical elements supporting any Contingency Response is telecommunications (telecom). Telecom, as an issue rears its head after almost every exercise or real world response situation. It never seems to matter what type of event the response is supporting, the location of the response or weather that is occurring. Telecom continues to come up as a 'lessons learned'. Recent technological advances (Last 15–20 Years) have resolved some older, yet lingering issues, (e.g. SATCOM, Fiber Optics, Digitization, and the Internet). That said, trying to communicate over an area covering tens-of-thousands of square miles in some of the harshest, most remote regions on the planet is at the very least - demanding. Technically, in many regions, telecom issues can be fairly easy to resolve. In the Arctic, several factors as well as weather play a major part in our ability to respond to an incident. Many areas are not accessible on a road system. Ice roads provide seasonal, temporary access. When ice roads are not available then various aircraft can be utilized. Some sites may only be accessible via specialized vehicles treading lightly on the tundra or that displace the tons of equipment over a broad area for frozen pond, lake and river crossings, minimizing environmental impact. To meet the challenge of Spill Response on the North Slope of Alaska, Alaska Clean Seas and its member companies have developed and employ a network of Very High Frequency (VHF), Ultra-High Frequency (UHF), Cellular, Microwave, and SATellite COMmunications (SATCOM) Systems. A recent Federal Communications Commission directive to reduce bandwidth usage forced the modernization of Alaska's Oil Spill Response Network. The nationwide requirement enables the same number of users to occupy half the frequency spectrum. Alaska is unique in that the entire State's Oil Spill Response Network shares the same frequencies and compatible equipment. This enables the cooperatives to seamlessly support each another. One of the obvious reasons that telecom becomes an issue is non-standardized exchange of ideas, recommendations, or commands. User unfamiliarity with telecom devices (radios, speaker microphones) also contributes to communication barriers. Use of jargon, ten codes and often cultural references can inhibit needed messages from being received as expected. This can easily be improved through Incident Command System training

scholarly journals Planning Oil Spill Response Tactics for Offshore Production Islands

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 1163-1166
Author(s):  
Michael Bronson ◽  
Thomas Chappie ◽  
Larry Dietrick ◽  
Ronald Hocking ◽  
James McHale
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Regulatory Approval ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
The North ◽  
Offshore Production ◽  
Offshore Oil Production

ABSTRACT In anticipation of the Beaufort Sea's first two offshore production islands, Alaska's North Slope oil producers recently expanded their oil spill recovery tactical plans and equipment. To seek regulatory approval for offshore oil production, industry responders joined agency regulators and made plans to clean up as much as 225,000 barrels of oil from potential blowouts over 15 days. Response technicians are configuring new and existing skimmers, vessels, and barges on the North Slope to implement those planning standards. This paper outlines the oil spill tactical plans and equipment that Alaska's North Slope oil industry recently assembled in seeking regulatory approval for the first offshore production islands in the Arctic. The operators of North America's largest oil fields are beginning the first production from oil wells separated from roads and most spill response vessels. For example, the new Badami production pad lies on the Arctic coast more than 25 miles from the Prudhoe Bay facilities, across river courses and roadless tundra. Eight miles of ice-infested sea will separate the proposed Northstar and Liberty production islands from response vessel berths. The new fields regularly experience waves, cold, and ice invasions that constrain oil recovery efforts. Yet regulatory approval to begin oil production requires that the industry have plans and equipment to clean up all the oil that may enter open water, even from the largest spills, within 72 hours.

OIL SPILL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA

1975 ◽  
Vol 1975 (1) ◽  
pp. 329-335
Author(s):  
S.L. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The North ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Remote Sensing Systems ◽  
Technology Group ◽  
St Lawrence River

ABSTRACT In mid-1972, the Environmental Emergency Branch was formed within the Canadian Department of the Environment. This organization, which is part of the Environmental Protection Service, is responsible for protective and preventative activities related to pollution emergencies, including oil spills. The technology development work carried out by the branch can be divided into two main programs. One is the testing, evaluation, and development of oil spill countermeasures equipment, materials, and techniques. The program for oil spill equipment including skimmers, booms, pumps, and remote sensing systems is being carried out in Hamilton Harbour and Lake Ontario. Much work is also underway on the testing, evaluation, and development of various oil spill treating agents, including dispersants, absorbents, sinking agents, biodegradation agents, combustion agents, and chemical oil herders. The other main responsibility of the spill technology group is to design and develop various countermeasures systems for specific high risk and sensitive areas in Canada. This program involves putting together the various countermeasures equipment and materials described above into integrated systems that can be used to fight spills in specific locations. Four areas which are being thoroughly investigated at this time are Vancouver Harbour, the Beaufort Sea, the St. Clair River, and the St. Lawrence River. These areas are quite different environmentally, and the “custom-designed” countermeasures systems needed for each area are similarly different. Much of the technology development and research effort in Canada has been directed toward cold environment problems. This includes studies related to drilling blowouts in the Arctic, to pipeline spills under winter conditions, to dyking of storage facilities in the north, and to spills in ice-infested water.

THE APPLICATION OF EXISTING OIL SPILL ABATEMENT EQUIPMENT TO COLD REGIONS

1977 ◽  
Vol 1977 (1) ◽  
pp. 309-311
Author(s):  
L. A. Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Technical Literature ◽  
Cold Regions ◽  
Temporary Storage ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Limited Degree ◽  
Functional Areas ◽  
Response Capability

ABSTRACT The increased interest in, and development of, arctic petroleum resources has increased correspondingly the potential for oil spills in cold regions. A recently completed survey of cold regions oil spill mitigation technology included a cursory determination of the applicability of presently available means to the problems of detection, containment, recovery, temporary storage, and disposal of oil spilled in cold regions. For purposes of the study, cold regions were characterized by the existence of low temperatures and the presence of ice in its many forms. The evaluations were based upon the experience of the authors in conducting other cold regions laboratory and field programs, and the experiences of others in cold regions as reported in the technical literature. This survey revealed that, while a very limited degree of oil spill response capability is available for use in cold regions based upon using the techniques and equipment currently employed in warmer climates, a great deal of development work must be undertaken before a total cold regions oil spill response capability will be available. Current technology falls far short of the desired capability in all functional areas including remote sensing, containment, recovery, temporary storage, and disposal.

NEW IMO/EPPR GUIDES TO ARCTIC OIL SPILL RESPONSE – STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 1182-1193
Author(s):  
E. H. Owens ◽  
D. F. Dickins ◽  
L. B. Solsberg ◽  
O-K. Bjerkemo
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Field Guide ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Snow And Ice

ABSTRACT In 2015 and 2016, two complementary projects produced both a new strategic guide (in two versions) and an updated operationally oriented guide to assist managers, regulators and responders in responding effectively to oil spills in snow and ice conditions. The objective of the first initiative, which began as a Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) project, a “Guide to Oil Spill Response in Snow and Ice Conditions”, was to identify and describe the strategic aspects of planning and operations. This program gained a separate phase through the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) working group of the Arctic Council to adapt the Guide specifically for Arctic waters. The second initiative by EPPR was to update the 1998 “Field Guide for Oil Spill Response in Arctic Waters” while retaining the original operational focus. The 2016 version of the Field Guide incorporates major revisions and updates to sections on strategies and countermeasures, for example the use of herders and burning, dispersants in ice and specialized brush skimmers as well as advances in remote sensing and tracking. In addition, new sections address important topics such as Health and Human Safety, Logistics and Wildlife Response. The overall goal was to produce two complementary documents that provide a broad base of essential information to key decision-makers and responders at both the strategic planning level and at the field tactics and operations level. These two projects bring together a wide range of new knowledge generated over the past two decades that make many previous manuals and documents out of date. With such a vast amount of recent literature, the new strategic guide and the operational field guide update can only provide a brief summary of the new material but are valuable tools to indicate where the more detailed documents can be found.

scholarly journals A 30-Year Probability Map for Oil Spill Trajectories in the Barents Sea to Assess Potential Environmental and Socio-Economic Threats

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Victor Pavlov ◽  
Victor Cesar Martins de Aguiar ◽  
Lars Robert Hole ◽  
Eva Pongrácz
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Probability Map ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Oil Spill Response

Increasing exploration and exploitation activity in the Arctic Ocean has intensified maritime traffic in the Barents Sea. Due to the sparse population and insufficient oil spill response infrastructure on the extensive Barents Sea shoreline, it is necessary to address the possibility of offshore accidents and study hazards to the local environment and its resources. Simulations of surface oil spills were conducted in south-east of the Barents Sea to identify oil pollution trajectories. The objective of this research was to focus on one geographical location, which lies along popular maritime routes and also borders with sensitive ecological marine and terrestrial areas. As a sample of traditional heavy bunker oil, IFO-180LS (2014) was selected for the study of oil spills and used for the 30-year simulations. The second oil case was medium oil type: Volve (2006)—to give a broader picture for oil spill accident scenarios. Simulations for four annual seasons were run with the open source OpenDrift modelling tool using oceanographic and atmospheric data from the period of 1988–2018. The modelling produced a 30-year probability map, which was overlapped with environmental data of the area to discuss likely impacts to local marine ecosystems, applicable oil spill response tools and favourable shipping seasons. Based on available data regarding the environmental and socio-economic baselines of the studied region, we recommend to address potential threats to marine resources and local communities in more detail in a separate study.

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.

UNIQUE DISPOSAL TECHNIQUES FOR ARCTIC OIL SPILL RESPONSE

1985 ◽  
Vol 1985 (1) ◽  
pp. 395-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Swiss ◽  
Donald J. Smrke ◽  
William M. Pistruzak
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Open Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
One Step ◽  
Remote Sites ◽  
Forced Air

ABSTRACT Disposing of oil and oiled debris from Arctic oil spills presents problems not encountered in temperate regions. The remoteness of potential spill sites, the wide range of environmental conditions, the lack of support facilities like roads and dump sites, and the presence of permafrost make it impossible to use many standard disposal techniques used in the south. To solve this problem, Dome Petroleum Limited, has developed a number of unique techniques for disposing of oil and oiled debris in Arctic spill responses. These techniques include (1) a method for using air-deployable igniters to burn pooled oil, (2) an air-transportable burner that can be flown to remote sites to burn recovered liquid oil with water contents up to 80 percent, (3) a helicopter-transportable incinerator for burning oil-contaminated debris at remote sites, in which forced air cooling replaces refractory material as fire box protection, and (4) a fireproof boom, for offshore open water, that can collect and burn oil in one step. All of these techniques were developed to address specific disposal problems in the Arctic. They now form part of the industry's Beaufort Sea oil spill response arsenal.

Mobile Treatment and Rehabilitation Enclosure (MTRE) for small pinnipeds

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 300054
Author(s):  
Brett Long ◽  
Chip Arnold ◽  
Carrie Goertz ◽  
Lee Majors
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Life Support ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The North ◽  
Care Groups ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska

The North Slope of Alaska is a demanding and harsh environment. Being prepared for an oil spill involving wildlife in this region requires training, innovation, and partnerships. For the past three years animal care groups, industry oil spill response organizations, and federal agencies have been collaborating to prepare for such an event. Protocol development is an essential and initial process to accomplish response goals. In 2011, protocols were developed for the care of oiled affected phocid seals in Alaska, focusing on the need for remote, deployable operations in the arctic. While developing these protocols, authors drew from their experiences caring for pinnipeds at their facility as well as from involvement in the statewide marine mammal stranding network. As the only institution authorized to rehabilitate stranded marine mammals in Alaska, we are uniquely positioned to assist in mitigating risks associated with possible oil exposure to these animals. Finding resources to treat oiled wildlife is a challenge on the North Slope, especially for medium to long term care. With that in mind, we designed and developed a Mobile Treatment and Rehabilitation Enclosure (MTRE). This deployable enclosure and pool with a life support system meets Animal Welfare Act holding specifications for small pinnipeds including harbor seals, spotted seals, ringed seals, and ribbon seals. The enclosure is designed to be assembled by 2 to 4 individuals and ready for use within 12 hours. While it is purpose built for small pinnipeds it would also be appropriate for short term, triage care of other marine mammals such as walrus calves, polar bear cubs, and sea otters. As a test of our oiled pinniped protocols and the MTRE this system was deployed during the mutual aid drill on the North Slope in August of 2013.

scholarly journals MUTUAL AID IN OIL SPILL RESPONSE: THE ALASKAN NORTH SLOPE MODEL

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-22
Author(s):  
Bruce McKenzie ◽  
Norman Ingram
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Oil Fields ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
The North ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Alaskan North Slope

ABSTRACT The Alaskan Arctic Region provides one of the world's most remote and challenging environments in which to mount an oil spill response. To facilitate the timeliness and appropriateness of the response, Alaska Clean Seas (ACS) and the operators of the North Slope oil fields have implemented a mutual aid concept for spill response. The concept is based upon each operator on the North Slope maintaining its own inventory of personnel [a spill response team (SRT)] and equipment that is available on short notice to respond to a spill. If the spill exceeds the responsible operator's resources, additional resources can be obtained from other operators and/or ACS through mutual aid. Individuals from diverse organizations are brought together in a mutual aid event. To allow different organizations to function effectively in a multi-organizational environment, a common management structure was required. The structure chosen for the North Slope was the incident command system (ICS). A key concern when discussing mutual aid is the provision of indemnification from liability for responders. For the North Slope, ACS and its member companies are indemnified when responding to a spill through provisions in the ACS charter and the ACS response action contract.

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