Sample records for oil spill cleanup

  1. Oil spill cleanup method and apparatus

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mayes, F.M.

    1980-06-24

    A method for removing oil from the surface of water where an oil spill has occurred, particularly in obstructed or shallow areas, which comprises partially surrounding a hovercraft with a floating oil-collecting barrier, there being no barrier at the front of the hovercraft, moving the oil-barrier-surrounded-hovercraft into oil contaminated water, and collecting oil gathered within the barrier behind the hovercraft through a suction line which carries the oil to a storage tank aboard the hovercraft. The invention also embodies the hovercraft adapted to effect an oil spill cleanup.

  2. The Great Oil Spill Cleanup Contest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hampton, Elaine

    1993-01-01

    Presents an exciting way to acquaint students with current methods to clean up oil spills. Students also have the freedom to create new clean-up methods as they think through the problem and experiment to find effective solutions. (PR)

  3. Optimizing oil spill cleanup efforts: A tactical approach and evaluation framework.

    PubMed

    Grubesic, Tony H; Wei, Ran; Nelson, Jake

    2017-12-15

    Although anthropogenic oil spills vary in size, duration and severity, their broad impacts on complex social, economic and ecological systems can be significant. Questions pertaining to the operational challenges associated with the tactical allocation of human resources, cleanup equipment and supplies to areas impacted by a large spill are particularly salient when developing mitigation strategies for extreme oiling events. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the application of advanced oil spill modeling techniques in combination with a developed mathematical model to spatially optimize the allocation of response crews and equipment for cleaning up an offshore oil spill. The results suggest that the detailed simulations and optimization model are a good first step in allowing both communities and emergency responders to proactively plan for extreme oiling events and develop response strategies that minimize the impacts of spills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Microstructures of superhydrophobic plant leaves - inspiration for efficient oil spill cleanup materials.

    PubMed

    Zeiger, Claudia; Rodrigues da Silva, Isabelle C; Mail, Matthias; Kavalenka, Maryna N; Barthlott, Wilhelm; Hölscher, Hendrik

    2016-08-16

    The cleanup of accidental oil spills in water is an enormous challenge; conventional oil sorbents absorb large amounts of water in addition to oil and other cleanup methods can cause secondary pollution. In contrast, fresh leaves of the aquatic ferns Salvinia are superhydrophobic and superoleophilic, and can selectively absorb oil while repelling water. These selective wetting properties are optimal for natural oil absorbent applications and bioinspired oil sorbent materials. In this paper we quantify the oil absorption capacity of four Salvinia species with different surface structures, water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Lotus leaves (Nelumbo nucifera), and compare their absorption capacity to artificial oil sorbents. Interestingly, the oil absorption capacities of Salvinia molesta and Pistia stratiotes leaves are comparable to artificial oil sorbents. Therefore, these pantropical invasive plants, often considered pests, qualify as environmentally friendly materials for oil spill cleanup. Furthermore, we investigated the influence of oil density and viscosity on the oil absorption, and examine how the presence and morphology of trichomes affect the amount of oil absorbed by their surfaces. Specifically, the influence of hair length and shape is analyzed by comparing different hair types ranging from single trichomes of Salvinia cucullata to complex eggbeater-shaped trichomes of Salvinia molesta to establish a basis for improving artificial bioinspired oil absorbents.

  5. Oil Spill Cleanup

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kauble, Christena Ann

    2011-01-01

    Several classroom activities using a model of a seashore and an oil spill demonstrate the basic properties of oil spills in oceans. Students brainstorm about how to best clean up the mess. They work in teams, and after agreeing on how they will proceed, their method is tested by measuring the amount of oil removed and by rating the cleanliness of…

  6. Oil Spill!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ansberry, Karen Rohrich; Morgan, Emily

    2005-01-01

    An oil spill occurs somewhere in the world almost every day of the year, and the consequences can be devastating. In this month's column, students explore the effects of oil spills on plants, animals, and the environment and investigate oil spill clean-up methods through a simulated oil spill. The activities described in this article give students…

  7. Pollution control: utility ships adapt for spill cleanups

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1986-02-01

    A practical and cost effective approach to oil spill cleanup is being undertaken by Dutch companies. The approach involves constructing and equipping multi-use ships for pollution control. Usually, these ships are maintained in another type of service and come into use for spill cleanup only when needed. The use of these ships in pollution control is discussed.

  8. Hebei Spirit Oil Spill Exposure and Subjective Symptoms in Residents Participating in Clean-Up Activities

    PubMed Central

    Cheong, Hae-Kwan; Lee, Jong Seong; Kwon, Hojang; Ha, Eun-Hee; Hong, Yun-Chul; Choi, Yeyong; Jeong, Woo-Chul; Hur, Jongil; Lee, Seung-Min; Kim, Eun-Jung; Im, Hosub

    2011-01-01

    Objectives This study was conducted to examine the relationship between crude oil exposure and physical symptoms among residents participating in clean-up work associated with the Hebei Spirit oil spill, 2007 in Korea. Methods A total of 288 residents responded to a questionnaire regarding subjective physical symptoms, sociodemographic characteristics and clean-up activities that occurred between two and eight weeks after the accident. Additionally, the urine of 154 of the respondents was analyzed for metabolites of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. To compare the urinary levels of exposure biomarkers, the urine of 39 inland residents who were not directly exposed to the oil spill were analyzed. Results Residents exposed to oil remnants through clean-up work showed associations between physical symptoms and the exposure levels defined in various ways, including days of work, degree of skin contamination, and levels of some urinary exposure biomarkers of VOCs, metabolites and metals, although no major abnormalities in urinary exposure biomarkers were observed. Conclusions This study provides evidence of a relationship between crude oil exposure and acute human health effects and suggests the need for follow-up to evaluate the exposure status and long-term health effects of clean-up participants. PMID:22125768

  9. Oil Spills

    MedlinePlus

    ... oil, assessing shoreline impact, and evaluating accepted cleanup technologies. Students and teachers can find a variety of oil spill-related educational resources in our Education section . For stories, news, and updates about current, notable, and historical ...

  10. The GuLF STUDY: A Prospective Study of Persons Involved in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response and Clean-Up

    PubMed Central

    Kwok, Richard K.; Engel, Lawrence S.; Miller, Aubrey K.; Blair, Aaron; Curry, Matthew D.; Jackson, W. Braxton; Stewart, Patricia A.; Stenzel, Mark R.; Birnbaum, Linda S.; Sandler, Dale P.

    2017-01-01

    Background: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster led to the largest ever marine oil spill. Individuals who worked on the spill were exposed to toxicants and stressors that could lead to adverse effects. Objectives: The GuLF STUDY was designed to investigate relationships between oil spill exposures and multiple potential physical and mental health effects. Methods: Participants were recruited by telephone from lists of individuals who worked on the oil spill response and clean-up or received safety training. Enrollment interviews between 2011 and 2013 collected information about spill-related activities, demographics, lifestyle, and health. Exposure measurements taken during the oil spill were used with questionnaire responses to characterize oil exposures of participants. Participants from Gulf states completed a home visit in which biological and environmental samples, anthropometric and clinical measurements, and additional health and lifestyle information were collected. Participants are being followed for changes in health status. Results: Thirty-two thousand six hundred eight individuals enrolled in the cohort, and 11,193 completed a home visit. Most were young (56.2% ≤ 45 years of age), male (80.8%), lived in a Gulf state (82.3%), and worked at least 1 day on the oil spill (76.5%). Workers were involved in response (18.0%), support operations (17.5%), clean-up on water (17.4%) or land (14.6%), decontamination (14.3%), and administrative support (18.3%). Using an ordinal job exposure matrix, 45% had maximum daily total hydrocarbon exposure levels ≥ 1.0 ppm. Conclusions: The GuLF STUDY provides a unique opportunity to study potential adverse health effects from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Citation: Kwok RK, Engel LS, Miller AK, Blair A, Curry MD, Jackson WB II, Stewart PA, Stenzel MR, Birnbaum LS, Sandler DP for the GuLF STUDY Research Team. 2017. The GuLF STUDY: a prospective study of persons involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and

  11. Mental health indicators associated with oil spill response and clean-up: cross-sectional analysis of the GuLF STUDY cohort.

    PubMed

    Kwok, Richard K; McGrath, John A; Lowe, Sarah R; Engel, Lawrence S; Jackson, W Braxton; Curry, Matthew D; Payne, Julianne; Galea, Sandro; Sandler, Dale P

    2017-12-01

    Adverse mental health effects have been reported following oil spills but few studies have identified specific responsible attributes of the clean-up experience. We aimed to analyse the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (Gulf of Mexico) disaster on the mental health of individuals involved in oil spill response and clean-up. We used data from the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study, a cohort of workers and volunteers involved in oil spill clean-up after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. We included 8968 workers (hired after completing training for oil spill response and clean-up) and 2225 non-workers (completed training but were not hired) who completed a Patient Health Questionnaire-8 and four-item Primary Care PTSD Screen to assess for probable depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) indicators. Participants were recruited between March 28, 2011, and March 29, 2013. The mental health indicators were assessed at home visits done between May 12, 2011, and May 15, 2013. We used regression models to analyse the effect of potentially stressful job experiences, job type, and total hydrocarbon exposure on mental health indicators. Oil spill response and clean-up work was associated with increased prevalence of depression (prevalence ratio [PR] 1·22, 95% CI 1·08-1·37) and PTSD (PR 1·35, 95% CI 1·07-1·71). Among workers, individuals who reported smelling oil, dispersants, or cleaning chemicals had an elevated prevalence of depression (1·56, 1·37-1·78) and PTSD (2·25, 1·71-2·96). Stopping work because of the heat was also associated with depression (1·37, 1·23-1·53) and PTSD (1·41, 1·15-1·74), as was working as a commercial fisherman before the spill (1·38, 1·21-1·57; and 2·01, 1·58-2·55, respectively). An increase in exposure to total hydrocarbons appeared to be associated with depression and PTSD, but after taking into account oil spill job experiences, only the association between the highest amount of total hydrocarbons and PTSD

  12. Oil spill environmental forensics: the Hebei Spirit oil spill case.

    PubMed

    Yim, Un Hyuk; Kim, Moonkoo; Ha, Sung Yong; Kim, Sunghwan; Shim, Won Joon

    2012-06-19

    After the Hebei Spirit oil spill (HSOS) in December 2007, mixtures of three types of Middle East crude oil (total 12,547 kL) were stranded along 375 km of coastline in Western Korea. Emergency responses together with 1.3 million volunteers' activity rapidly removed ca. 20% of spilled oil but the lingering oils have been found along the heavily impacted shorelines for more than 4 years. The HSOS was the worst oil spill case in Republic of Korea, and there were many issues and lessons to be shared. In this study, we summarized some of the oil spill environmental forensic issues that were raised after the HSOS. Rapid screening using on-site measurement, long-term monitoring of multimedia, fingerprinting challenges and evaluation of the extent of the submerged oil were introduced, which supported decision making process of oil spill cleanup, mitigation of debates among stakeholders and provided scientific backgrounds for reasonable compensation.

  13. Oil Spill Cleanup

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1994-01-01

    Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP) is a new way of cleaning up oil spills. It consists of thousands of microcapsules, tiny balls of beeswax with hollow centers, containing live microorganisms and nutrients to sustain them. As oil flows through the microcapsule's shell, it is consumed and digested by the microorganisms. Pressure buildup causes the PRP to explode and the enzymes, carbon dioxide and water are released into the BioBoom used in conjunction with PRP, preventing contaminated water from spreading. The system incorporates technology originally developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Marshall Space Flight Center.

  14. Approaches to sheltered-water oil spills

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jacobs, M.A.; Waldron, D.M.

    Technology has produced more effective and efficient oil removal equipment for on-water cleanup in the past five years. Much of the innovation has been to increase recovery capacity to meet the planning volumes required to government regulations. However, more than 95 percent of the spills are relatively small. Large equipment, often requiring large platforms, is not very useful and is difficult/expensive to operate on small spills. In addition, damage from spills results when oil impacts shorelines. The emphasis on spill response should address the ability of the equipment to remove oil in a nearshore environment. Clean Seas has been attemptingmore » to address this need since the Avila Pipeline spill in 1992, in which a 180 barrel spill resulted in about $18 million damage/cleanup cost.« less

  15. The GuLF STUDY: A Prospective Study of Persons Involved in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response and Clean-Up.

    PubMed

    Kwok, Richard K; Engel, Lawrence S; Miller, Aubrey K; Blair, Aaron; Curry, Matthew D; Jackson, W Braxton; Stewart, Patricia A; Stenzel, Mark R; Birnbaum, Linda S; Sandler, Dale P

    2017-04-01

    The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster led to the largest ever marine oil spill. Individuals who worked on the spill were exposed to toxicants and stressors that could lead to adverse effects. The GuLF STUDY was designed to investigate relationships between oil spill exposures and multiple potential physical and mental health effects. Participants were recruited by telephone from lists of individuals who worked on the oil spill response and clean-up or received safety training. Enrollment interviews between 2011 and 2013 collected information about spill-related activities, demographics, lifestyle, and health. Exposure measurements taken during the oil spill were used with questionnaire responses to characterize oil exposures of participants. Participants from Gulf states completed a home visit in which biological and environmental samples, anthropometric and clinical measurements, and additional health and lifestyle information were collected. Participants are being followed for changes in health status. Thirty-two thousand six hundred eight individuals enrolled in the cohort, and 11,193 completed a home visit. Most were young (56.2% ≤ 45 years of age), male (80.8%), lived in a Gulf state (82.3%), and worked at least 1 day on the oil spill (76.5%). Workers were involved in response (18.0%), support operations (17.5%), clean-up on water (17.4%) or land (14.6%), decontamination (14.3%), and administrative support (18.3%). Using an ordinal job exposure matrix, 45% had maximum daily total hydrocarbon exposure levels ≥ 1.0 ppm. The GuLF STUDY provides a unique opportunity to study potential adverse health effects from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

  16. The Development of Long-Term Adverse Health Effects in Oil Spill Cleanup Workers of the Deepwater Horizon Offshore Drilling Rig Disaster.

    PubMed

    D'Andrea, Mark A; Reddy, G Kesava

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term adverse health effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill exposure in workers who participated in its cleanup work. Medical charts of both the oil spill exposed and unexposed subjects were reviewed. The changes in the white blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT) levels, as well as their pulmonary and cardiac functions were evaluated. Medical records from 88 subjects (oil spill cleanup workers, n  = 44 and unexposed, n  = 44) were reviewed during initial and 7 years follow up visits after the disaster occurred. Compared with the unexposed subjects, oil spill exposed subjects had significantly reduced platelet counts (×10 3 /µL) at their initial (254.1 ± 46.7 versus 289.7 ± 63.7, P  = 0.000) and follow-up (242.9 ± 55.6 versus 278.4 ± 67.6, P  = 0.000) visits compared with the unexposed subjects (254.6 ± 51.9 versus 289.7 ± 63.7, P  = 0.008). The hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were increased significantly both at their initial and follow-up visits in the oil spill exposed subjects compared to the unexposed subjects. Similarly, the oil spill exposed subjects had significantly increased ALP, AST, and ALT levels at their initial and follow-up visits compared with those of the unexposed subjects. Illness symptoms that were reported during their initial visit still persisted at their 7-year follow-up visit. Notably, at their 7-year follow-up visit, most of the oil spill exposed subjects had also developed chronic rhinosinusitis and reactive airway dysfunction syndrome as new symptoms that were not reported during their initial visit. Additionally, more abnormalities in pulmonary and cardiac functions were also seen in the oil spill exposed subjects. This long-term follow-up study demonstrates that those people involved

  17. Extent and Degree of Shoreline Oiling: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico, USA

    PubMed Central

    Michel, Jacqueline; Owens, Edward H.; Zengel, Scott; Graham, Andrew; Nixon, Zachary; Allard, Teresa; Holton, William; Reimer, P. Doug; Lamarche, Alain; White, Mark; Rutherford, Nicolle; Childs, Carl; Mauseth, Gary; Challenger, Greg; Taylor, Elliott

    2013-01-01

    The oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico was documented by shoreline assessment teams as stranding on 1,773 km of shoreline. Beaches comprised 50.8%, marshes 44.9%, and other shoreline types 4.3% of the oiled shoreline. Shoreline cleanup activities were authorized on 660 km, or 73.3% of oiled beaches and up to 71 km, or 8.9% of oiled marshes and associated habitats. One year after the spill began, oil remained on 847 km; two years later, oil remained on 687 km, though at much lesser degrees of oiling. For example, shorelines characterized as heavily oiled went from a maximum of 360 km, to 22.4 km one year later, and to 6.4 km two years later. Shoreline cleanup has been conducted to meet habitat-specific cleanup endpoints and will continue until all oiled shoreline segments meet endpoints. The entire shoreline cleanup program has been managed under the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) Program, which is a systematic, objective, and inclusive process to collect data on shoreline oiling conditions and support decision making on appropriate cleanup methods and endpoints. It was a particularly valuable and effective process during such a complex spill. PMID:23776444

  18. GREEN BEAST™ OIL SPILL & ODOR REMEDIATOR

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Technical product bulletin: this surface washing agent used in oil spill cleanups works best applied at high pressure, for treating hydrocarbons on beaches, rocks, and hard surfaces. Preferably applied over 3 consecutive days on heavy spills.

  19. A sustainable approach to controlling oil spills.

    PubMed

    Al-Majed, Abdul Aziz; Adebayo, Abdulrauf Rasheed; Hossain, M Enamul

    2012-12-30

    As a result of the huge economic and environmental destruction from oil spills, studies have been directed at improving and deploying natural sorbents which are not only the least expensive but also the safest means of spill control. This research reviews the limitations and environmental impact of existing cleanup methods. It also justifies the need for concerted research effort on oil spill control using natural and sustainable technology concepts. The article proposes future guidelines for the development of a sustainable cleanup technology. Finally, guidelines for the development of a new technology for the Middle East are proposed, which is the use of an abundant resource--date palm fibers--for such techniques. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Offshore oil spill response practices and emerging challenges.

    PubMed

    Li, Pu; Cai, Qinhong; Lin, Weiyun; Chen, Bing; Zhang, Baiyu

    2016-09-15

    Offshore oil spills are of tremendous concern due to their potential impact on economic and ecological systems. A number of major oil spills triggered worldwide consciousness of oil spill preparedness and response. Challenges remain in diverse aspects such as oil spill monitoring, analysis, assessment, contingency planning, response, cleanup, and decision support. This article provides a comprehensive review of the current situations and impacts of offshore oil spills, as well as the policies and technologies in offshore oil spill response and countermeasures. Correspondingly, new strategies and a decision support framework are recommended for improving the capacities and effectiveness of oil spill response and countermeasures. In addition, the emerging challenges in cold and harsh environments are reviewed with recommendations due to increasing risk of oil spills in the northern regions from the expansion of the Arctic Passage. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Laser-based sensors for oil spill remote sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, Carl E.; Fingas, Mervin F.; Mullin, Joseph V.

    1997-07-01

    Remote sensing is becoming an increasingly important tool for the effective direction of oil spill countermeasures. Cleanup personnel have recognized that remote sensing can increase spill cleanup efficiency. It has long been recognized that there is no one sensor which is capable of detecting oil and related petroleum products in all environments and spill scenarios. There are sensors which possess a wide field-of- view and can therefore be used to map the overall extent of the spill. These sensors, however lack the capability to positively identify oil and related products, especially along complicated beach and shoreline environments where several substrates are present. The laser-based sensors under development by the Emergencies Science Division of Environment Canada are designed to fill specific roles in oil spill response. The scanning laser environmental airborne fluorosensor (SLEAF) is being developed to detect and map oil and related petroleum products in complex marine and shoreline environments where other non-specific sensors experience difficulty. The role of the SLEAF would be to confirm or reject suspected oil contamination sites that have been targeted by the non-specific sensors. This confirmation will release response crews from the time-consuming task of physically inspecting each site, and direct crews to sites that require remediation. The laser ultrasonic remote sensing of oil thickness (LURSOT) sensor will provide an absolute measurement of oil thickness from an airborne platform. There are presently no sensors available, either airborne or in the laboratory which can provide an absolute measurement of oil thickness. This information is necessary for the effective direction of spill countermeasures such as dispersant application and in-situ burning. This paper describes the development of laser-based airborne oil spill remote sensing instrumentation at Environment Canada and identifies the anticipated benefits of the use of this technology

  2. The Other Major 2010 Oil Spill: Oil weathering after the Kalamazoo River Dilbit Spill

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Swarthout, B.; Reddy, C. M.; Nelson, R. K.; Hamilton, S. K.; Aeppli, C.; Valentine, D. L.; Fundaun, S. E.; Oliveira, A. H.

    2016-02-01

    Diluted bitumen (dilbit) from the oil sands (tar sands) of western Canada is increasingly being transported to US markets. North America's largest inland oil spill and the first major oil sands spill in a freshwater environment occurred in 2010, when at least 843,000 gallons leaked from a pipeline into the Kalamazoo River of southwest Michigan. Cleanup of this oil was unusually difficult and protracted, lasting through 2014 and costing over a billion dollars, largely because a substantial fraction of the oil became submersed and deposited in slack water areas over 60 km of river channel, reservoirs, and floodplain backwaters. To investigate the fate of the spilled dilbit from the 2010 Kalamazoo River release, black rings, presumably oil residues, on the bark of dead trees were collected in 2015. These residues were deposited on the trees during high flood levels that have not been observed since the spill and represent an opportunity to constrain weathering processes excluding dissolution. This material contained a major non-GC amenable fraction of 90-95%, presumably oxygenated hydrocarbons. The GC amenable portion was consistent with laboratory weathered dilbit. We used a variety of analytical tools to characterize the dilbit residues, as well as to identify dilbit weathering processes that occurred since the spill.

  3. In-situ burning of oil in coastal marshes. 2. Oil spill cleanup efficiency as a function of oil type, marsh type, and water depth.

    PubMed

    Lin, Qianxin; Mendelssohn, Irving A; Carney, Kenneth; Miles, Scott M; Bryner, Nelson P; Walton, William D

    2005-03-15

    In-situ burning of spilled oil, which receives considerable attention in marine conditions, could be an effective way to cleanup wetland oil spills. An experimental in-situ burn was conducted to study the effects of oil type, marsh type, and water depth on oil chemistry and oil removal efficiency from the water surface and sediment. In-situ burning decreased the totaltargeted alkanes and total targeted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the burn residues as compared to the pre-burn diesel and crude oils. Removal was even more effective for short-chain alkanes and low ring-number PAHs. Removal efficiencies for alkanes and PAHs were >98% in terms of mass balance although concentrations of some long-chain alkanes and high ring-number PAHs increased in the burn residue as compared to the pre-burn oils. Thus, in-situ burning potentially prevents floating oil from drifting into and contaminating adjacent habitats and penetrating the sediment. In addition, in-situ burning significantly removed diesel oil that had penetrated the sediment for all water depths. Furthermore, in-situ burning at a water depth 2 cm below the soil surface significantly removed crude oil that had penetrated the sediment. As a result, in-situ burning may reduce the long-term impacts of oil on benthic organisms.

  4. OIL SPILL RESPONSE SCENARIOS FOR REMOTE ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Special problems occur during oil spill cleanup in remote inland areas in cold climates. In Alaska these problems result from the harsh climate, the unusual terrain features, and the special problems of spills along swift rivers. The analysis begins with a description of the envi...

  5. Weathered Oil and Tar Sampling Data for BP Spill/Deepwater Horizon

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010.In response to the BP oil spill, EPA sampled air, water, sediment, and waste generated by the cleanup operations.

  6. Mental Health Service Use by Cleanup Workers in the Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    PubMed Central

    Lowe, Sarah R.; Kwok, Richard K.; Payne, Julianne; Engel, Lawrence S.; Galea, Sandro; Sandler, Dale P.

    2015-01-01

    High rates of mental health (MH) problems have been documented among disaster relief workers. However, few workers utilize MH services, and predictors of service use among this group remain unexplored. The purpose of this study was to explore associations between predisposing, illness-related, and enabling factors from Andersen’s behavioral model of treatment-seeking and patterns of service use among participants who completed at least one full day of cleanup work after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and participated in home visits for the NIEHS GuLF STUDY (N = 8,931). Workers reported on MH symptoms and whether they had used counseling or medication for MH problems since the oil spill. Hierarchical logistic regression models explored associations between predictors and counseling and medication use in the full sample, and type of use (counseling only, medication only, both) among participants who used either service. Analyses were replicated for subsamples of participants with and without symptom inventory scores suggestive of probable post-disaster mental illness. Having a pre-spill MH diagnosis, pre-spill service use, more severe post-spill MH symptoms, and healthcare coverage were positively associated with counseling and medication use in the full sample. Among participants who used either service, non-Hispanic Black race, pre-spill counseling, lower depression, and not identifying a personal doctor or healthcare provider were predictive of counseling only, whereas older age, female gender and pre-spill medication were predictive of medication only. The results were generally consistent among participants with and without probable post-disaster mental illness. The results suggest variability in which factors within Andersen’s behavioral model are predictive of different patterns of service use among disaster relief workers. PMID:25697635

  7. Toluene diisocyanate based phase-selective supramolecular oil gelator for effective removal of oil spills from polluted water.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yongzhen; Wang, Youshan; Yan, Xingru; Wu, Songquan; Shao, Lu; Liu, Yuyan; Guo, Zhanhu

    2016-06-01

    Due to tremendous resource wastes and great harm to ecological environment caused by the accidental oil spills, an alkyl bicarbamate supramolecular oil gelator was synthesized and applied to selectively gelate oils from oil/water mixtures. Interestingly, the oil gelator could be self-assembled in a series of organic solvents, i.e., edible oils and fuel oils to form 3D networks and then turned into thermally reversible organogels, allowing easy separation and removal of oil spills from oil/water mixtures. The possible self-assembly mode for the formation of organogels was proposed. What's more, the optimal conditions for using the oil gelator to recover oils were experimentally determined. Inspiringly, taking gasoline as the co-congealed solvent, a complete gelation of oil phase was achieved within 15 min with high oil removal rate and oil retention rate after convenient salvage and cleanup of oil gels from oil/water mixtures. The oil gelator had some advantages in solidifying oil spills on water surface, exhibiting fast oil gelation, convenient and thorough oil removal and easy recovery. This work illustrates the significant role of oil gelators in the potential cleanup of spilled oils for water purification. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Cyber Physical Intelligence for Oil Spills (CPI)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lary, D. J.

    2015-12-01

    The National Academy of Sciences estimate 1.7 to 8.8 million tons of oil are released into global waters every year. The effects of these spills include dead wildlife, oil covered marshlands and contaminated water. Deepwater horizon cost approximately $50 billion and severely challenged response capabilities. In such large spills optimizing a coordinated response is a particular challenge. This challenge can be met in a revolutionary new way by using an objectively optimized Cyber Physical Decision Making System (CPS) for rapid response products and a framework for objectively optimized decision-making in an uncertain environment. The CPS utilizes machine learning for the processing of the massive real-time streams of Big Data from comprehensive hyperspectral remote sensing acquired by a team of low-cost robotic aerial vehicles, providing a real-time aerial view and stream of hyperspectral imagery from the near UV to the thermal infrared, and a characterization of oil thickness, oil type and oil weathering. The objective decision making paradigm is modeled on the human brain and provides the optimal course trajectory for response vessels to achieve the most expeditious cleanup of oil spills using the available resources. In addition, oil spill cleanups often involve surface oil burns that can lead to air quality issues. The aerial vehicles comprehensively characterize air quality in real-time, streaming location, temperature, pressure, humidity, the abundance of 6 criterion pollutants (O3, CO, NO, NO2, SO2, and H2S) and the full size distribution of airborne particulates. This CPS can be readily applied to other systems in agriculture, water conversation, monitoring of stream quality, air quality, diagnosing risk of wild fires, etc..

  9. Mental health service use by cleanup workers in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    PubMed

    Lowe, Sarah R; Kwok, Richard K; Payne, Julianne; Engel, Lawrence S; Galea, Sandro; Sandler, Dale P

    2015-04-01

    High rates of mental health (MH) problems have been documented among disaster relief workers. However, few workers utilize MH services, and predictors of service use among this group remain unexplored. The purpose of this study was to explore associations between predisposing, illness-related, and enabling factors from Andersen's behavioral model of treatment-seeking and patterns of service use among participants who completed at least one full day of cleanup work after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and participated in home visits for the NIEHS GuLF STUDY (N = 8931). Workers reported on MH symptoms and whether they had used counseling or medication for MH problems since the oil spill. Hierarchical logistic regression models explored associations between predictors and counseling and medication use in the full sample, and type of use (counseling only, medication only, both) among participants who used either service. Analyses were replicated for subsamples of participants with and without symptom inventory scores suggestive of probable post-disaster mental illness. Having a pre-spill MH diagnosis, pre-spill service use, more severe post-spill MH symptoms, and healthcare coverage were positively associated with counseling and medication use in the full sample. Among participants who used either service, non-Hispanic Black race, pre-spill counseling, lower depression, and not identifying a personal doctor or healthcare provider were predictive of counseling only, whereas older age, female gender and pre-spill medication were predictive of medication only. The results were generally consistent among participants with and without probable post-disaster mental illness. The results suggest variability in which factors within Andersen's behavioral model are predictive of different patterns of service use among disaster relief workers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Air quality implications of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    PubMed

    Middlebrook, Ann M; Murphy, Daniel M; Ahmadov, Ravan; Atlas, Elliot L; Bahreini, Roya; Blake, Donald R; Brioude, Jerome; de Gouw, Joost A; Fehsenfeld, Fred C; Frost, Gregory J; Holloway, John S; Lack, Daniel A; Langridge, Justin M; Lueb, Rich A; McKeen, Stuart A; Meagher, James F; Meinardi, Simone; Neuman, J Andrew; Nowak, John B; Parrish, David D; Peischl, Jeff; Perring, Anne E; Pollack, Ilana B; Roberts, James M; Ryerson, Thomas B; Schwarz, Joshua P; Spackman, J Ryan; Warneke, Carsten; Ravishankara, A R

    2012-12-11

    During the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, a wide range of gas and aerosol species were measured from an aircraft around, downwind, and away from the DWH site. Additional hydrocarbon measurements were made from ships in the vicinity. Aerosol particles of respirable sizes were on occasions a significant air quality issue for populated areas along the Gulf Coast. Yields of organic aerosol particles and emission factors for other atmospheric pollutants were derived for the sources from the spill, recovery, and cleanup efforts. Evaporation and subsequent secondary chemistry produced organic particulate matter with a mass yield of 8 ± 4% of the oil mixture reaching the water surface. Approximately 4% by mass of oil burned on the surface was emitted as soot particles. These yields can be used to estimate the effects on air quality for similar events as well as for this spill at other times without these data. Whereas emission of soot from burning surface oil was large during the episodic burns, the mass flux of secondary organic aerosol to the atmosphere was substantially larger overall. We use a regional air quality model to show that some observed enhancements in organic aerosol concentration along the Gulf Coast were likely due to the DWH spill. In the presence of evaporating hydrocarbons from the oil, NO(x) emissions from the recovery and cleanup operations produced ozone.

  11. Air quality implications of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

    PubMed Central

    Middlebrook, Ann M.; Murphy, Daniel M.; Ahmadov, Ravan; Atlas, Elliot L.; Bahreini, Roya; Blake, Donald R.; Brioude, Jerome; de Gouw, Joost A.; Fehsenfeld, Fred C.; Frost, Gregory J.; Holloway, John S.; Lack, Daniel A.; Langridge, Justin M.; Lueb, Rich A.; McKeen, Stuart A.; Meagher, James F.; Meinardi, Simone; Neuman, J. Andrew; Nowak, John B.; Parrish, David D.; Peischl, Jeff; Perring, Anne E.; Pollack, Ilana B.; Roberts, James M.; Ryerson, Thomas B.; Schwarz, Joshua P.; Spackman, J. Ryan; Warneke, Carsten; Ravishankara, A. R.

    2012-01-01

    During the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, a wide range of gas and aerosol species were measured from an aircraft around, downwind, and away from the DWH site. Additional hydrocarbon measurements were made from ships in the vicinity. Aerosol particles of respirable sizes were on occasions a significant air quality issue for populated areas along the Gulf Coast. Yields of organic aerosol particles and emission factors for other atmospheric pollutants were derived for the sources from the spill, recovery, and cleanup efforts. Evaporation and subsequent secondary chemistry produced organic particulate matter with a mass yield of 8 ± 4% of the oil mixture reaching the water surface. Approximately 4% by mass of oil burned on the surface was emitted as soot particles. These yields can be used to estimate the effects on air quality for similar events as well as for this spill at other times without these data. Whereas emission of soot from burning surface oil was large during the episodic burns, the mass flux of secondary organic aerosol to the atmosphere was substantially larger overall. We use a regional air quality model to show that some observed enhancements in organic aerosol concentration along the Gulf Coast were likely due to the DWH spill. In the presence of evaporating hydrocarbons from the oil, NOx emissions from the recovery and cleanup operations produced ozone. PMID:22205764

  12. HANDBOOK FOR OIL SPILL PROTECTION AND CLEANUP PRIORITIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This handbook was developed in an easily accessible yet extensive field format for use by federally designated on-scene coordinators (OSC) to guide them in assessing priorities during all phases of an oil spill response. The guidelines presented will enable the OSC to (1) determi...

  13. Specific sensors for special roles in oil spill remote sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, Carl E.; Fingas, Mervin F.

    1997-01-01

    Remote sensing is becoming an increasingly important tool for the effective direction of oil spill countermeasures. Cleanup personnel have recognized that remote sensing can increase spill cleanup efficiency. The general public expects that the government and/or the spiller know the location and the extent of the contamination. The Emergencies Science Division (ESD) of Environment Canada, is responsible for remote sensing during oil spill emergencies along Canada's three coastlines, extensive inland waterways, as well as over the entire land mass. In addition to providing operational remote sensing, ESD conducts research into the development of airborne oil spill remote sensors, including the Scanning Laser Environmental Airborne Fluorosensor (SLEAF) and the Laser Ultrasonic Remote SEnsing of Oil Thickness (LURSOT) sensor. It has long been recognized that there is not one sensor or 'magic bullet' which is capable of detecting oil and related petroleum products in all environments and spill scenarios. There are sensors which possess a wide filed-of-view and can therefore be used to map the overall extent of the spill. These sensors, however lack the specificity required to positively identify oil and related products. This is even more of a problem along complicated beach and shoreline environments where several substrates are present. The specific laser- based sensors under development by Environment Canada are designed to respond to special roles in oil spill response. In particular, the SLEAF is being developed to unambiguously detect and map oil and related petroleum products in complicated marine and shoreline environments where other non-specific sensors experience difficulty. The role of the SLEAF would be to confirm or reject suspected oil contamination sites that have been targeted by the non- specific sensors. This confirmation will release response crews from the time consuming task of physically inspecting each site, and direct crews to sites that

  14. A GIS planning model for urban oil spill management.

    PubMed

    Li, J

    2001-01-01

    Oil spills in industrialized cities pose a significant threat to their urban water environment. The largest city in Canada, the city of Toronto, has an average 300-500 oil spills per year with an average total volume of about 160,000 L/year. About 45% of the spills was eventually cleaned up. Given the enormous amount of remaining oil entering into the fragile urban ecosystem, it is important to develop an effective pollution prevention and control plan for the city. A Geographic Information System (GIS) planning model has been developed to characterize oil spills and determine preventive and control measures available in the city. A database of oil spill records from 1988 to 1997 was compiled and geo-referenced. Attributes to each record such as spill volume, oil type, location, road type, sector, source, cleanup percentage, and environmental impacts were created. GIS layers of woodlots, wetlands, watercourses, Environmental Sensitive Areas, and Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest were obtained from the local Conservation Authority. By overlaying the spill characteristics with the GIS layers, evaluation of preventive and control solutions close to these environmental features was conducted. It was found that employee training and preventive maintenance should be improved as the principal cause of spills was attributed to human errors and equipment failure. Additionally, the cost of using oil separators at strategic spill locations was found to be $1.4 million. The GIS model provides an efficient planning tool for urban oil spill management. Additionally, the graphical capability of GIS allows users to integrate environmental features and spill characteristics in the management analysis.

  15. Bacteria Provide Cleanup of Oil Spills, Wastewater

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2010-01-01

    Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts with Marshall Space Flight Center, Micro-Bac International Inc., of Round Rock, Texas, developed a phototrophic cell for water purification in space. Inside the cell: millions of photosynthetic bacteria. Micro-Bac proceeded to commercialize the bacterial formulation it developed for the SBIR project. The formulation is now used for the remediation of wastewater systems and waste from livestock farms and food manufacturers. Strains of the SBIR-derived bacteria also feature in microbial solutions that treat environmentally damaging oil spills, such as that resulting from the catastrophic 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

  16. Coast Guard's Response to Spilled Oil

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ard, R. W., Jr.

    1976-01-01

    The Coast Guard utilizes a number of monitoring detectors, sensors, and techniques to find, recover and identify oil spills. Discussed in this article are in-situ and airborne sensors, systems developed to provide clean-up capability such as air deployable anti-pollution transfer system (ADAPTS), and techniques which will determine the source of a…

  17. Diverse wettability of superoleophilicity and superoleophobicity for oil spill cleanup and recycling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Mengya; Wang, Gang; Zeng, Zhixiang; Chen, Junjun; Zhang, Xingyuan; Wang, Longsheng; Song, Weiguang; Xue, Qunji

    2017-12-01

    The frequent marine oil spill accidents in nowadays has aroused great attention all over the world. Lots of superwetting absorption materials with 2D or 3D structures are fabricated to efficiently remove oil spill, but the desorption of the absorbed oil is more difficult. Oil contaminants adhere on the surface will decline the performance and reusability of the absorption materials. Discarding or burning them will bring secondary pollution. Faced with these problems, we prepared an oil extractor integrated by a superhydrophobic-superoleophilic stainless steels wire mesh and a 3D porous cellulose sponge with superhydrophilicity-superoleophilicity in air and superoleophobicity in water. The oil extractor can in situ collect oil spill no matter on the water or under the water. More importantly, it is good at underwater oil desorption, which ensure the recovery and reuse of oil, and meanwhile avoid the materials being fouled by oils. More than 85.5% of crude oil could be successfully discharged only in 2 min when the oil-contaminated sponge was placed in water. The findings in this work not only put forward a new strategy for collection and reuse of various "oils", but also offer a facile method to achieve a combination of two kinds of materials with diverse wettability.

  18. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers.

    PubMed

    Michaels, David; Howard, John

    2012-07-18

    The fire and explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig resulted in an enormous oil spill that threatened large distances of coastline. The overall response was led by the United States Coast Guard and involved the oil company BP, federal agencies, and state and local governments of five states. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focused extensive resources on ensuring that BP and its contractors provided safe working conditions for thousands of workers involved in the response. Federal personnel visited worksites daily, identifying hazards and means of abatement; assessed training programs to ensure that workers were adequately trained in languages they could understand; monitored chemical exposures and determined that the proper personal protective equipment was deployed; insisted on implementation of a heat mitigation program; rostered thousands of workers; and conducted extensive outreach in communities impacted by the spill. Advance planning, immediate deployment, and collaboration across agencies helped ensure that the response operations resulted in no worker fatalities, and relatively few injuries and illnesses. For future responses, improvements should be made in how safety and health information, as well as the process behind safety and health decisions, are communicated to the public. Michaels D, Howard J. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2012 Jul 18.

  19. Effects of exposure to oil spills on human health: Updated review.

    PubMed

    Laffon, Blanca; Pásaro, Eduardo; Valdiglesias, Vanessa

    2016-01-01

    Oil spills may involve health risks for people participating in the cleanup operations and coastal inhabitants, given the toxicological properties of the oil components. In spite of this, only after a few major oil spills (crude oil or fuel oil no. 6) have studies on effects of exposure to diverse aspects of human health been performed. Previously, Aguilera et al. (2010) examined all documents published to that date dealing with any type of human health outcome in populations exposed to oil spills. The aim of the present review was to compile all new information available and determine whether evidence reported supports the existence of an association between exposure and adverse human health risks. Studies were classified in three groups according to type of health outcome addressed: (i) effects on mental health, (ii) physical/physiological effects, and (iii) genotoxic, immunotoxic, and endocrine toxicity. New studies published on oil-spill-exposed populations-coastal residents in the vicinity of the spills or participants in cleanup operations-provide additional support to previous evidence on adverse health effects related to exposure regarding different parameters in all three categories considered. Some of the observed effects even indicated that several symptoms may persist for some years after exposure. Hence, (1) health protection in these individuals should be a matter of concern; and (2) health risk assessment needs to be carried out not only at the time of exposure but also for prolong periods following exposure, to enable early detection of any potential exposure-related harmful effects.

  20. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers

    PubMed Central

    Michaels, David; Howard, John

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: The fire and explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig resulted in an enormous oil spill that threatened large distances of coastline. The overall response was led by the United States Coast Guard and involved the oil company BP, federal agencies, and state and local governments of five states. Methods: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focused extensive resources on ensuring that BP and its contractors provided safe working conditions for thousands of workers involved in the response. Federal personnel visited worksites daily, identifying hazards and means of abatement; assessed training programs to ensure that workers were adequately trained in languages they could understand; monitored chemical exposures and determined that the proper personal protective equipment was deployed; insisted on implementation of a heat mitigation program; rostered thousands of workers; and conducted extensive outreach in communities impacted by the spill. Results: Advance planning, immediate deployment, and collaboration across agencies helped ensure that the response operations resulted in no worker fatalities, and relatively few injuries and illnesses. Conclusions: For future responses, improvements should be made in how safety and health information, as well as the process behind safety and health decisions, are communicated to the public. Citation: Michaels D, Howard J. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2012 Jul 18 PMID:24678440

  1. A damage assessment model of oil spill accident combining historical data and satellite remote sensing information: a case study in Penglai 19-3 oil spill accident of China.

    PubMed

    Wei, Lai; Hu, Zhuowei; Dong, Lin; Zhao, Wenji

    2015-02-15

    Oil spills are one of the major sources of marine pollution; it is important to conduct comprehensive assessment of losses that occur as a result of these events. Traditional methods are required to assess the three parts of losses including cleanup, socioeconomic losses, and environmental costs. It is relatively slow because assessment is complex and time consuming. A relatively quick method was developed to improve the efficiency of assessment, and then applied to the Penglai 19-3 accident. This paper uses an SAR image to calculate the oil spill area through Neural Network Classification, and uses historical oil-spill data to build the relationship between loss and other factors including sea-surface wind speed, and distance to the coast. A multiple regression equation was used to assess oil spill damage as a function of the independent variables. Results of this study can be used for regulating and quickly dealing with oil spill assessment. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  2. 46 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill... COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B, App. A Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 68—Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response...

  3. 46 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill... COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B, App. A Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 68—Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response...

  4. 46 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill... COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B, App. A Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 68—Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response...

  5. 46 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill... COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B, App. A Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 68—Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response...

  6. 46 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill... COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B, App. A Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 68—Oath for Qualification of a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response...

  7. The iconic Torrey Canyon oil spill of 1967 - Marking its legacy.

    PubMed

    Wells, Peter G

    2017-02-15

    March 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the SS Torrey Canyon oil spill and cleanup, off the Cornwall coast in the English Channel. It was the world's first major supertanker disaster. It was a signature event in the marine pollution field, especially related to oil spill response and the initiation of scientific studies of monitoring and researching the fate and effects of oil in the sea. This paper recalls this event, notes our growing understanding of marine pollution and global efforts for cleaner seas, and encourages further work on both oil and the many emerging environmental issues affecting the marine environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Environmental Impacts and Recovery After the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill in Korea.

    PubMed

    Yim, U H; Khim, J S; Kim, M; Jung, J-H; Shim, W J

    2017-07-01

    The Hebei Spirit oil spill (HSOS) on December 7, 2007 was the worst oil spill recorded in Korea, with the release of approximately 10,900 tons of crude oil and 375 km of coastline polluted along the west coast of Korea. Cleanup operation was conducted by official and contract responders as well as volunteers for massive oil containment and removal of heavy accumulations of stranded oil. Together with the oil cleanup, a long-term environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the HSOS was initiated based on the Marine Environmental Management Act, which covers oil contamination in a multimedia environment, toxic effects on organisms, and ecosystem injury. This review summarizes the long-term monitoring results of HSOS EIA focused on (1) pollution status of seawater, sediment, and bivalves, (2) ecotoxicological effects, and (3) ecosystem recovery. Overall, concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment indicated that their concentrations were well down to at or near background or pre-spill contamination levels at most sites after 1 year. The potential toxic effects of residual oils in sediments have decreased to background levels in most coastal areas of Taean. The entire ecosystem in the most affected area of the Taean coasts appear to be considerably, but not fully, recovered at present, namely after 8 years of the HSOS. The presence of lingering oil and elevated contamination levels at several sites still require continuous long-term monitoring.

  9. 40 CFR 761.125 - Requirements for PCB spill cleanup.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ...) Additional pre- or post-cleanup sampling. (B) The estimated cost of the cleanup by man-hours, dollars, or... section are designed to be consistent with existing reporting requirements to the extent possible so as to...) by standard commercial wipe tests. (ii) All soil within the spill area (i.e., visible traces of soil...

  10. 40 CFR 761.125 - Requirements for PCB spill cleanup.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ...) Additional pre- or post-cleanup sampling. (B) The estimated cost of the cleanup by man-hours, dollars, or... section are designed to be consistent with existing reporting requirements to the extent possible so as to...) by standard commercial wipe tests. (ii) All soil within the spill area (i.e., visible traces of soil...

  11. 40 CFR 761.125 - Requirements for PCB spill cleanup.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ...) Additional pre- or post-cleanup sampling. (B) The estimated cost of the cleanup by man-hours, dollars, or... section are designed to be consistent with existing reporting requirements to the extent possible so as to...) by standard commercial wipe tests. (ii) All soil within the spill area (i.e., visible traces of soil...

  12. 40 CFR 761.125 - Requirements for PCB spill cleanup.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ...) Additional pre- or post-cleanup sampling. (B) The estimated cost of the cleanup by man-hours, dollars, or... section are designed to be consistent with existing reporting requirements to the extent possible so as to...) by standard commercial wipe tests. (ii) All soil within the spill area (i.e., visible traces of soil...

  13. 40 CFR 761.125 - Requirements for PCB spill cleanup.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ...) Additional pre- or post-cleanup sampling. (B) The estimated cost of the cleanup by man-hours, dollars, or... section are designed to be consistent with existing reporting requirements to the extent possible so as to...) by standard commercial wipe tests. (ii) All soil within the spill area (i.e., visible traces of soil...

  14. 46 CFR Appendix B to Subpart B of... - Oath for Documentation of Vessels for Use by a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative B Appendix B to Subpart B of Part 68 Shipping COAST GUARD...: EXCEPTIONS TO COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Oath for...

  15. 46 CFR Appendix B to Subpart B of... - Oath for Documentation of Vessels for Use by a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative B Appendix B to Subpart B of Part 68 Shipping COAST GUARD...: EXCEPTIONS TO COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Oath for...

  16. 46 CFR Appendix B to Subpart B of... - Oath for Documentation of Vessels for Use by a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative B Appendix B to Subpart B of Part 68 Shipping COAST GUARD...: EXCEPTIONS TO COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Oath for...

  17. 46 CFR Appendix B to Subpart B of... - Oath for Documentation of Vessels for Use by a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative B Appendix B to Subpart B of Part 68 Shipping COAST GUARD...: EXCEPTIONS TO COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Oath for...

  18. 46 CFR Appendix B to Subpart B of... - Oath for Documentation of Vessels for Use by a Not-For-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative B Appendix B to Subpart B of Part 68 Shipping COAST GUARD...: EXCEPTIONS TO COASTWISE QUALIFICATION Documentation of Certain Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup Pt. 68, Subpt. B...-Profit Oil Spill Response Cooperative Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Oath for...

  19. Fish Gill Inspired Crossflow for Efficient and Continuous Collection of Spilled Oil.

    PubMed

    Dou, Yuhai; Tian, Dongliang; Sun, Ziqi; Liu, Qiannan; Zhang, Na; Kim, Jung Ho; Jiang, Lei; Dou, Shi Xue

    2017-03-28

    Developing an effective system to clean up large-scale oil spills is of great significance due to their contribution to severe environmental pollution and destruction. Superwetting membranes have been widely studied for oil/water separation. The separation, however, adopts a gravity-driven approach that is inefficient and discontinuous due to quick fouling of the membrane by oil. Herein, inspired by the crossflow filtration behavior in fish gills, we propose a crossflow approach via a hydrophilic, tilted gradient membrane for spilled oil collection. In crossflow collection, as the oil/water flows parallel to the hydrophilic membrane surface, water is gradually filtered through the pores, while oil is repelled, transported, and finally collected for storage. Owing to the selective gating behavior of the water-sealed gradient membrane, the large pores at the bottom with high water flux favor fast water filtration, while the small pores at the top with strong oil repellency allow easy oil transportation. In addition, the gradient membrane exhibits excellent antifouling properties due to the protection of the water layer. Therefore, this bioinspired crossflow approach enables highly efficient and continuous spilled oil collection, which is very promising for the cleanup of large-scale oil spills.

  20. Oil Spills

    MedlinePlus

    Oil spills often happen because of accidents, when people make mistakes or equipment breaks down. Other causes include natural disasters or deliberate acts. Oil spills have major environmental and economic effects. Oil ...

  1. Navigation of autonomous vehicles for oil spill cleaning in dynamic and uncertain environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jin, Xin; Ray, Asok

    2014-04-01

    In the context of oil spill cleaning by autonomous vehicles in dynamic and uncertain environments, this paper presents a multi-resolution algorithm that seamlessly integrates the concepts of local navigation and global navigation based on the sensory information; the objective here is to enable adaptive decision making and online replanning of vehicle paths. The proposed algorithm provides a complete coverage of the search area for clean-up of the oil spills and does not suffer from the problem of having local minima, which is commonly encountered in potential-field-based methods. The efficacy of the algorithm is tested on a high-fidelity player/stage simulator for oil spill cleaning in a harbour, where the underlying oil weathering process is modelled as 2D random-walk particle tracking. A preliminary version of this paper was presented by X. Jin and A. Ray as 'Coverage Control of Autonomous Vehicles for Oil Spill Cleaning in Dynamic and Uncertain Environments', Proceedings of the American Control Conference, Washington, DC, June 2013, pp. 2600-2605.

  2. Oil spill detection from TerraSAR-X dual-polarized images using artificial neural network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, D.; Jung, H.-S.

    2017-10-01

    Marine pollution from oil spills destroys ecosystems. In order to minimize the damage, it is important to fast cleanup it after predicting how the oil will spread. In order to predict the spread of oil spill, remote sensing technique, especially radar satellite image is widely used. In previous studies, only the back-scattering value is generally used for the detection of oil spill. However, in this study, oil spill was detected by applying ANN (Artificial Neural Network) as input data from the back-scattering value of the radar image as well as the phase information extracted from the dual polarization. In order to maximize the efficiency of oil spill detection using a back-scattering value, the speckle noise acting as an error factor should be removed first. NL-means filter was applied to multi-look image to remove it without smoothing of spatial resolution. In the coherence image, the sea has a high value and the oil spill area has a low value due to the scattering characteristics of the pulse. In order to using the characteristics of radar image, training sample was set up from NL-means filtered images(HH, VV) and coherence image, and ANN was applied to produce probability map of oil spill. In general, the value was 0.4 or less in the case of the sea, and the value was mainly in the range of 0.7 to 0.9 in the oil spill area. Using coherence images generated from different polarizations showed better detection results for relatively thin oil spill areas such as oil slick or oil sheen than using back-scattering information alone. It is expected that if the information about the look-alike of oil spill such as algae, internal wave and rainfall area is provided, the probability map can be produced with higher accuracy.

  3. State of the art satellite and airborne marine oil spill remote sensing: Application to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Leifer, Ira; Lehr, William J.; Simecek-Beatty, Debra; Bradley, Eliza; Clark, Roger N.; Dennison, Philip E.; Hu, Yongxiang; Matheson, Scott; Jones, Cathleen E; Holt, Benjamin; Reif, Molly; Roberts, Dar A.; Svejkovsky, Jan; Swayze, Gregg A.; Wozencraft, Jennifer M.

    2012-01-01

    The vast and persistent Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill challenged response capabilities, which required accurate, quantitative oil assessment at synoptic and operational scales. Although experienced observers are a spill response's mainstay, few trained observers and confounding factors including weather, oil emulsification, and scene illumination geometry present challenges. DWH spill and impact monitoring was aided by extensive airborne and spaceborne passive and active remote sensing.Oil slick thickness and oil-to-water emulsion ratios are key spill response parameters for containment/cleanup and were derived quantitatively for thick (> 0.1 mm) slicks from AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) data using a spectral library approach based on the shape and depth of near infrared spectral absorption features. MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite, visible-spectrum broadband data of surface-slick modulation of sunglint reflection allowed extrapolation to the total slick. A multispectral expert system used a neural network approach to provide Rapid Response thickness class maps.Airborne and satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) provides synoptic data under all-sky conditions; however, SAR generally cannot discriminate thick (> 100 μm) oil slicks from thin sheens (to 0.1 μm). The UAVSAR's (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle SAR) significantly greater signal-to-noise ratio and finer spatial resolution allowed successful pattern discrimination related to a combination of oil slick thickness, fractional surface coverage, and emulsification.In situ burning and smoke plumes were studied with AVIRIS and corroborated spaceborne CALIPSO (Cloud Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) observations of combustion aerosols. CALIPSO and bathymetry lidar data documented shallow subsurface oil, although ancillary data were required for confirmation.Airborne hyperspectral, thermal infrared data have nighttime and

  4. Observations and analysis of oil spills using polarized imagery

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Israel, S. A.; Duncan, M. E.; Johnson, W. R.; Whitehead, V. S.

    1991-01-01

    On Saturday, July 28, 1990, a train of barges collided with the Greek tanker Shinoussa in Galveston Bay off Red Fish Island near Texas City, Texas. The first barge sank and the second began to leak while the third barge in the chain and the Shinoussa both escaped without damage. The NASA Flight Science Support Office sponsored a graduate student from SUNY - College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a student from Texas, to survey the damage. The purpose of these surveys was to correlate aircraft base data with orbital data obtained during the Space Shuttle Polarization Experiment and existing laboratory data to evaluate the potential for an application such as oil spill monitoring and mapping. NASA has no charter with the local response agencies to support oil spill monitoring and cleanup.

  5. [A literature review on health effects of exposure to oil spill].

    PubMed

    Ha, Mina; Lee, Won Jin; Lee, Seungmin; Cheong, Hae Kwan

    2008-09-01

    Our objective is to review and summarize the previous studies on the health effects of exposure to oil spills in order to make suggestions for mid- and long-term study plans regarding the health effects of the Hebei Spirit oil spill occurred in Korea. We searched PubMed to systemically retrieve reports on the human health effects related to oil spill accidents. The papers' reference lists and reviews on the topic were searched as well. We found 24 articles that examined seven oil spill accidents worldwide over the period from 1989 to August 2008, including the Exxon Valdes, Braer, Sea Empress, Erika, Nakhodka, Prestige and Tasman Spirit oil spills. Most of the studies applied cross-sectional and short-term follow-up study designs. The exposure level was measured by assessing the place of residence, using a questionnaire and environmental and personal monitoring. Studies on the acute or immediate health effects mainly focused on the subjective physical symptoms related to clean-up work or residential exposure. Late or mid-term follow-up studies were performed to investigate a range of health effects such as pulmonary function and endocrine, immunologic and genetic toxicity. The economic and social impact of the accidents resulted in the socio-psychological exposure and the psychosocial health effects. Studies of the health effects of exposure to oil spills should consider a range of health outcomes, including the physical and psychological effects, and the studies should be extended for a considerable period of time to study the long-term chronic health effects.

  6. Hollow Few-Layer Graphene-Based Structures from Parafilm Waste for Flexible Transparent Supercapacitors and Oil Spill Cleanup.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Duc Dung; Hsieh, Ping-Yen; Tsai, Meng-Ting; Lee, Chi-Young; Tai, Nyan-Hwa; To, Bao Dong; Vu, Duc Tu; Hsu, Chia Chen

    2017-11-22

    We report a versatile strategy to exploit parafilm waste as a carbon precursor for fabrication of freestanding, hollow few-layer graphene fiber mesh (HFGM) structures without use of any gaseous carriers/promoters via an annealing route. The freestanding HFGMs possess good mechanical flexibility, tailorable transparency, and high electrical conductivity, consequently qualifying them as promising electrochemical electrodes. Because of the hollow spaces, electrolyte ions can easily access into and contact with interior surfaces of the graphene fibers, accordingly increasing electrode/electrolyte interfacial area. As expected, solid-state supercapacitors based on the HFGMs exhibit a considerable enhancement in specific capacitance (20-30 fold) as compared to those employing chemical vapor deposition compact graphene films. Moreover, the parafilm waste is found to be beneficial for one-step fabrication of nanocarbon/few-layer graphene composite meshes with superior electrochemical performance, outstanding superhydrophobic property, good self-cleaning ability, and great promise for oil spill cleanup.

  7. Environmental impacts of the Chennai oil spill accident - A case study.

    PubMed

    Han, Yuling; Nambi, Indumathi M; Prabhakar Clement, T

    2018-06-01

    Chennai, a coastal city in India with a population of over 7 million people, was impacted by a major oil spill on January 28th 2017. The spill occurred when two cargo ships collided about two miles away from the Chennai shoreline. The accident released about 75 metric tons of heavy fuel oil into the Bay of Bengal. This case study provides field observations and laboratory characterization data for this oil spill accident. Our field observations show that the seawalls and groins, which were installed along the Chennai shoreline to manage coastal erosion problems, played a significant role in controlling the oil deposition patterns. A large amount of oil was trapped within the relatively stagnant zone near the seawall-groin intersection region. The initial cleanup efforts used manual methods to skim the trapped oil and these efforts indeed helped recover large amount of oil. Our laboratory data show that the Chennai oil spill residues have unique fingerprints of hopanes and steranes which can be used to track the spill. Our weathering experiments show that volatilization processes should have played a significant role in degrading the oil during initial hours. The characterization data show that the source oil contained about 503,000 mg/kg of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and 17,586 mg/kg of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The field samples collected 6 and 62 days after the spill contained about 71,000 and 28,000 mg/kg of TPH and 4854 and 4016 mg/kg of total PAHs, respectively. The field samples had a relatively large percentage of heavy PAHs, and most of these PAHs are highly toxic compounds that are difficult to weather and their long-term effects on coastal ecosystems are largely unknown. Therefore, more detailed studies are needed to monitor and track the long term environmental impacts of the Chennai oil spill residues on the Bay of Bengal coastal ecosystem. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Methodology for environmental assessments of oil and hazardous substance spills

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, W. P.; Scott, G. I.; Getter, C. D.; Hayes, M. O.; Gundlach, E. R.

    1980-03-01

    Scientific assessment of the complex environmental consequences of large spills of oil or other hazardous substances has stimulated development of improved strategies for rapid and valid collection and processing of ecological data. The combination of coastal processes and geological measurements developed by Hayes & Gundlach (1978), together with selected field biological and chemical observations/measurements, provide an ecosystem impact assessment approach which is termed “integrated zonal method of ecological impact assessment.” Ecological assessment of oil and hazardous material spills has been divided into three distinct phases: (1) first-order response studies — conducted at the time of the initial spill event, which gather data to document acute impacts and assist decision-makers in prioritization of cleanup efforts and protection of ecologically sensitive habitats, (2) second-order response studies — conducted two months to one year post-spill, which document any delayed mortality and attempt to identify potential sublethal impacts in sensitive species, and (3) third-order response studies — conducted one to three years post-spill, to document chronic impacts (both lethal and sublethal) to specific indicator species. Data collected during first-order response studies are gathered in a quantitative manner so that the initial assessment may become a baseline for later, more detailed, post-spill scientific efforts. First- and second-order response studies of the “Peck Slip” oil spill in Puerto Rico illustrate the usefulness of this method. The need for contingency planning before a spill has been discussed along with the use of the Vulnerability Index, a method in which coastal environments are classified on a scale of 1 10, based upon their potential susceptibility to oiling. A study of the lower Cook Inlet section of the Alaskan coast illustrates the practical application of this method.

  9. NOAA Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill - Protecting Oceans, Coasts and Fisheries (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lubchenco, J.

    2010-12-01

    As the nation’s leading scientific resource for oil spills, NOAA has been on the scene of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill from the start, providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. NOAA has mobilized experts from across the agency to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico’s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists advised the U.S. Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. As a major partner in the federal response to this incident, NOAA provided the necessary coastal and marine expertise required for sound, timely decision-making and helped protect the affected Gulf Coast communities and coastal marine environment and will continue to do so for ongoing restoration efforts.

  10. LITERATURE REVIEW ON THE USE OF COMMERCIAL BIOREMEDIATION AGENTS FOR CLEAN-UP OF OIL-CONTAMINATED ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The objective of this document is to conduct a comprehensive review of the use of commercial bioremediation products treating oil spills in all environments, Literature assessed includes peer-reviewed articles, company reports, government reports, and reports by cleanup contracto...

  11. The adverse health effects of oil spills: a review of the literature and a framework for medically evaluating exposed individuals.

    PubMed

    Levy, Barry S; Nassetta, William J

    2011-01-01

    In April 2010, an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers, injured 17 workers, and spilled an estimated 185 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf. Adverse effects on the health of cleanup workers, fishermen, and others as well as on the ecosystem are being studied. This paper reviews published studies of the adverse health effects due to previous oil spills. Acute effects have included: respiratory, eye, and skin symptoms; headache; nausea; dizziness; and tiredness or fatigue. Chronic effects have included: psychological disorders, respiratory disorders, genotoxic effects, and endocrine abnormalities. We also present a systematic approach to evaluating individuals exposed to oil spills.

  12. Persistence of spilled oil on shores and its effects on biota

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Irvine, G.V.; ,

    2000-01-01

    Over two million tonnes of oil are estimated to enter the world's oceans every year. A small percentage, but still a large volume, of this oil strands onshore, where its persistence is governed primarily by the action of physical forces. In some cases, biota influence the persistence of stranded oil or the rate of its weathering. Oil's deleterious effects on biota are frequently related to the persistence and degree of weathering of the oil, with long-lasting effects in low-energy environments such as salt marshes and coastal mangroves, or in higher-energy environments where oil is sequestered. However, an oil spill can have disproportionately large biological effects when it affects key species or processes (e.g., structurally important species, predators, prey, recruitment, or succession). In these cases, the continuing presence of oil is not always a prerequisite for continuing biological effects. There are relatively few long-term studies of the effects of oil spills; data from these suggest that oil can persist for decades in some environments or situations, and that biological effects can be equally persistent. Broad-based, integrated studies have been the most revealing in terms of the importance of direct and indirect effects, spillover effects between different parts of the environment, and continuing linkages between residual oil and biologic effects. Clean-up and treatment techniques applied to spilled or stranded oil can also have significant, long-lasting effects and need to be carefully evaluated prior to use.

  13. Air Monitoring Data for BP Spill/Deepwater Horizon

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010.In response to the BP oil spill, EPA sampled air, water, sediment, and waste generated by the cleanup operations.

  14. Water Sampling Data for BP Spill/Deepwater Horizon

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010.In response to the BP oil spill, EPA sampled air, water, sediment, and waste generated by the cleanup operations.

  15. Waste Sampling Data for BP Spill/Deepwater Horizon

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010.In response to the BP oil spill, EPA sampled air, water, sediment, and waste generated by the cleanup operations.

  16. Air Sampling Data for BP Spill/Deepwater Horizon

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010.In response to the BP oil spill, EPA sampled air, water, sediment, and waste generated by the cleanup operations.

  17. Sediment Sampling Data for BP Spill/Deepwater Horizon

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010.In response to the BP oil spill, EPA sampled air, water, sediment, and waste generated by the cleanup operations.

  18. Chemometric techniques in oil classification from oil spill fingerprinting.

    PubMed

    Ismail, Azimah; Toriman, Mohd Ekhwan; Juahir, Hafizan; Kassim, Azlina Md; Zain, Sharifuddin Md; Ahmad, Wan Kamaruzaman Wan; Wong, Kok Fah; Retnam, Ananthy; Zali, Munirah Abdul; Mokhtar, Mazlin; Yusri, Mohd Ayub

    2016-10-15

    Extended use of GC-FID and GC-MS in oil spill fingerprinting and matching is significantly important for oil classification from the oil spill sources collected from various areas of Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah (East Malaysia). Oil spill fingerprinting from GC-FID and GC-MS coupled with chemometric techniques (discriminant analysis and principal component analysis) is used as a diagnostic tool to classify the types of oil polluting the water. Clustering and discrimination of oil spill compounds in the water from the actual site of oil spill events are divided into four groups viz. diesel, Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), Mixture Oil containing Light Fuel Oil (MOLFO) and Waste Oil (WO) according to the similarity of their intrinsic chemical properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrates that diesel, HFO, MOLFO and WO are types of oil or oil products from complex oil mixtures with a total variance of 85.34% and are identified with various anthropogenic activities related to either intentional releasing of oil or accidental discharge of oil into the environment. Our results show that the use of chemometric techniques is significant in providing independent validation for classifying the types of spilled oil in the investigation of oil spill pollution in Malaysia. This, in consequence would result in cost and time saving in identification of the oil spill sources. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  19. Oil spills and their impacts on sand beach invertebrate communities: A literature review.

    PubMed

    Bejarano, Adriana C; Michel, Jacqueline

    2016-11-01

    Sand beaches are highly dynamic habitats that can experience considerable impacts from oil spills. This review provides a synthesis of the scientific literature on major oil spills and their impacts on sand beaches, with emphasis on studies documenting effects and recoveries of intertidal invertebrate communities. One of the key observations arising from this review is that more attention has generally been given to studying the impacts of oil spills on invertebrates (mostly macrobenthos), and not to documenting their biological recovery. Biological recovery of sand beach invertebrates is highly dynamic, depending on several factors including site-specific physical properties and processes (e.g., sand grain size, beach exposure), the degree of oiling, depth of oil burial, and biological factors (e.g., species-specific life-history traits). Recovery of affected communities ranges from several weeks to several years, with longer recoveries generally associated with physical factors that facilitate oil persistence, or when cleanup activities are absent on heavily oiled beaches. There are considerable challenges in quantifying impacts from spills on sand beach invertebrates because of insufficient baseline information (e.g., distribution, abundance and composition), knowledge gaps in their natural variability (spatial and temporal), and inadequate sampling and replication during and after oil spills. Thus, environment assessments of impacts and recovery require a rigorous experimental design that controls for confounding sources of variability. General recommendations on sampling strategies and toxicity testing, and a preliminary framework for incorporating species-specific life history traits into future assessments are also provided. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Five Years Later | NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration

    Science.gov Websites

    Archive Home Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Five Years Later Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Five Years Later oil leak from the well. Before it was capped three months later, more than 100 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf-resulting in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The Trustees

  1. MEDSLIK oil spill model recent developments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lardner, Robin; Zodiatis, George

    2016-04-01

    MEDSLIK oil spill model recent developments Robin Lardner and George Zodiatis Oceanography Center, University of Cyprus, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus MEDSLIK is a well established 3D oil spill model that predicts the transport, fate and weathering of oil spills and is used by several response agencies and institutions around the Mediterranean, the Black seas and worldwide. MEDSLIK has been used operationally for real oil spill accidents and for preparedness in contingency planning within the framework of pilot projects with REMPEC-Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea and EMSA-European Maritime Safety Agency. MEDSLIK has been implemented in many EU funded projects regarding oil spill predictions using the operational ocean forecasts, as for example the ECOOP, NEREIDs, RAOP-Med, EMODNET MedSea Check Point. Within the frame of MEDESS4MS project, MEDSLIK is at the heart of the MEDESS4MS multi model oil spill prediction system. The MEDSLIK oil spill model contains among other, the following features: a built-in database with 240 different oil types characteristics, assimilation of oil slick observations from in-situ or aerial, to correct the predictions, virtual deployment of oil booms and/or oil skimmers/dispersants, continuous or instantaneous oil spills from moving or drifting ships whose slicks merge can be modelled together, multiple oil spill predictions from different locations, backward simulations for tracking the source of oil spill pollution, integration with AIS data upon the availability of AIS data, sub-surface oil spills at any given water depth, coupling with SAR satellite data. The MEDSLIK can be used for operational intervention for any user-selected region in the world if the appropriate coastline, bathymetry and meteo-ocean forecast files are provided. MEDSLIK oil spill model has been extensively validated in the Mediterranean Sea, both in real oil spill incidents (i.e. during the Lebanese oil pollution crisis in

  2. Exploring Oil Spills.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Czerniak, Charlene M.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Presents activities in which elementary and middle school students work together to gain environmental awareness about oil spills. Involves students experiencing a simulated oil spill and attempting to clean it up. Discusses the use of children's literature after the activity in evaluation of the activity. (JRH)

  3. Surface Water Sampling Data for BP Spill/Deepwater Horizon

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010.In response to the BP oil spill, EPA sampled air, water, sediment, and waste generated by the cleanup operations.

  4. Advances in Remote Sensing for Oil Spill Disaster Management: State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology for Oil Spill Surveillance

    PubMed Central

    Jha, Maya Nand; Levy, Jason; Gao, Yang

    2008-01-01

    Reducing the risk of oil spill disasters is essential for protecting the environment and reducing economic losses. Oil spill surveillance constitutes an important component of oil spill disaster management. Advances in remote sensing technologies can help to identify parties potentially responsible for pollution and to identify minor spills before they cause widespread damage. Due to the large number of sensors currently available for oil spill surveillance, there is a need for a comprehensive overview and comparison of existing sensors. Specifically, this paper examines the characteristics and applications of different sensors. A better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of oil spill surveillance sensors will improve the operational use of these sensors for oil spill response and contingency planning. Laser fluorosensors were found to be the best available sensor for oil spill detection since they not only detect and classify oil on all surfaces but also operate in either the day or night. For example, the Scanning Laser Environmental Airborne Fluorosensor (SLEAF) sensor was identified to be a valuable tool for oil spill surveillance. However, no single sensor was able to provide all information required for oil spill contingency planning. Hence, combinations of sensors are currently used for oil spill surveillance. Specifically, satellite sensors are used for preliminary oil spill assessment while airborne sensors are used for detailed oil spill analysis. While satellite remote sensing is not suitable for tactical oil spill planning it can provide a synoptic coverage of the affected area. PMID:27879706

  5. i4OilSpill, an operational marine oil spill forecasting model for Bohai Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Fangjie; Yao, Fuxin; Zhao, Yang; Wang, Guansuo; Chen, Ge

    2016-10-01

    Oil spill models can effectively simulate the trajectories and fate of oil slicks, which is an essential element in contingency planning and effective response strategies prepared for oil spill accidents. However, when applied to offshore areas such as the Bohai Sea, the trajectories and fate of oil slicks would be affected by time-varying factors in a regional scale, which are assumed to be constant in most of the present models. In fact, these factors in offshore regions show much more variation over time than in the deep sea, due to offshore bathymetric and climatic characteristics. In this paper, the challenge of parameterizing these offshore factors is tackled. The remote sensing data of the region are used to analyze the modification of wind-induced drift factors, and a well-suited solution is established in parameter correction mechanism for oil spill models. The novelty of the algorithm is the self-adaptive modification mechanism of the drift factors derived from the remote sensing data for the targeted sea region, in respect to empirical constants in the present models. Considering this situation, a new regional oil spill model (i4OilSpill) for the Bohai Sea is developed, which can simulate oil transformation and fate processes by Eulerian-Lagrangian methodology. The forecasting accuracy of the proposed model is proven by the validation results in the comparison between model simulation and subsequent satellite observations on the Penglai 19-3 oil spill accident. The performance of the model parameter correction mechanism is evaluated by comparing with the real spilled oil position extracted from ASAR images.

  6. How Are Oil Spills Treated?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitmore, William

    2005-01-01

    No two oil spills are the same. Logistically, oil spills are a nightmare because they are unanticipated and uncontrolled events. Oil spills present a threat to wildlife and coastal resources, concerning everyone from local residents to state environmental agencies and the federal government. Thousands of people may be involved in a significant…

  7. Adapting sensory data for multiple robots performing spill cleanup

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Storjohann, K.; Saltzen, E.

    1990-09-01

    This paper describes a possible method of converting a single performing robot algorithm into a multiple performing robot algorithm without the need to modify previously written codes. The algorithm to be converted involves spill detection and clean up by the HERMIES-III mobile robot. In order to achieve the goal of multiple performing robots with this algorithm, two steps are taken. First, the task is formally divided into two sub-tasks, spill detection and spill clean-up, the former of which is allocated to the added performing robot, HERMIES-IIB. Second, a inverse perspective mapping, is applied to the data acquired by the newmore » performing robot (HERMIES-IIB), allowing the data to be processed by the previously written algorithm without re-writing the code. 6 refs., 4 figs.« less

  8. Oil Spill Detection and their Impact on Climate in Shallow Coastal Areas in the Persian Gulf using Microwave Sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, P.; Katiyar, S.

    2016-02-01

    This paper is providing the study of geospatial technology to study the oil spill in various regions and develop oil spill risk management system to provide control and surveillance over large areas and provide tactical assistance in emergencies. Oil spill data which is been placed over GIS is interfaced with the relational database already been created for rapid access, retrieval and query, enhances strategic and strategic decision-making, potentially reducing incidence of spills by providing a deterrent factor and reducing the cost by providing rapid recovery solution. Microwave data are used to detect the oil spill in the shallow coastal region of Persian Gulf and spectral signatures are observed. Various observations can be extracted from this study like location of oil spill, quantity of oil spill and its distribution in effected coast or shoreline area. Satellite images with and without sun glint were studied as the spectral signature of oil slicks in the optical sphere of influence depends upon the viewing geometry and the solar angle in addition to the type of oil and its thickness. The oil slick with bright contrast observed by Microwave data showed lower temperature than oil-free areas. The GIS-based system can be used to establish the appropriate response and locate the dense areas in a slick and local surveillance, to permit clean-up vessels to detect the oil to be cleared in rapid circumstances. Oil spill verification has two parts: dark spot detection and feature extraction. The synergistic use of satellite observations and hydrodynamic modeling is recommended for establishing an early warning and decision support system for oil pollution response. Keywords: Oil Spill, Microwave data, GIS

  9. Susceptibility of seagrass to oil spills: A case study with eelgrass, Zostera marina in San Francisco Bay, USA.

    PubMed

    Fonseca, Mark; Piniak, Gregory A; Cosentino-Manning, Natalie

    2017-02-15

    Existing literature illustrates inconsistent responses of seagrasses to oil exposure, both in the field and in the laboratory. Here, we add a new study that combined morphometric, demographic and photophysiology assessments to determine the potential oiling impacts to eelgrass (Zostera marina) from the 2007 Cosco Busan event in San Francisco Bay. Shoot densities, reproductive status, and rhizome elongation of Z. marina were examined at sites with pre-spill data, and eelgrass photosynthetic efficiency was measured post-spill. Shoot densities and percent elongation of rhizome internodes formed after the oil spill varied but with no consistent relationship to adjacent shoreline cleanup assessment team (SCAT) oiling categories. Similarly, differences in seagrass photosynthetic efficiency were not consistent with SCAT oiling categories. While thresholds for negative impacts on seagrass in general remain to be defined, conclusive oiling indicators for degree and duration of exposure would be important considerations and need examination under controlled study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Best available techniques (BATs) for oil spill response in the Mediterranean Sea: calm sea and presence of economic activities.

    PubMed

    Guidi, Giambattista; Sliskovic, Merica; Violante, Anna Carmela; Vukic, Luka

    2016-01-01

    An oil spill is the accidental or intentional discharge of petroleum products into the environment due to human activities. Although oil spills are actually just a little percent of the total world oil pollution problem, they represent the most visible form of it. The impact on the ecosystems can be severe as well as the impact on economic activities. Oil spill cleanup is a very difficult and expensive activity, and many techniques are available for it. In previous works, a methodology based on different kinds of criteria in order to come to the most satisfactory technique was proposed and the relative importance of each impact criterion on the basis of the Saaty's Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was also evaluated. After a review of the best available techniques (BATs) available for oil spill response, this work suggests criteria for BATs' selection when oil spills occur in the Mediterranean Sea under well-defined circumstances: calm sea and presence of economic activities in the affected area. A group of experts with different specializations evaluated the alternative BATs by means of AHP method taking into account their respective advantages and disadvantages.

  11. H. R. 2223: Oil Spill Resource Restoration Act. Introduced in the House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, First Session, May 3, 1989

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1989-01-01

    H.R. 2223 would provide for expedited assessment of damages from major oil spills, and would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to disallow deduction of the costs for cleanup of oil or hazardous substance discharges. Upon receiving a petition for expedited preliminary damage, the administrator would immediately initiate an assessment of the damages to natural resources. Within 20 days if it is found to be a major spill, the administrator designates trustees for overseeing both Federal and state natural resources that are affected, establishes a commission of these trustees, makes a determination regarding the party responsible for the spill,more » and directs that party to establish a trust fund accessible to the commission in an amount determined to be adequate to pay reasonable costs incurred by the commission for a full assessment of the damages and for preparing a restoration and replacement plan. Deductions for cleanup of spills would be allowed only if it can be certified that the taxpayer made good faith efforts to comply with the Clean Water Act for oil spills or with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for hazardous substances spills or if it can be proved that the spill was caused by an act of God, and act of war, negligence on the part of the US government, or an act of omission of a third party. The bill would be applicable to spills occurring after March 23, 1989.« less

  12. Assessing oil spill sensitivity in unsheltered coastal environments: A case study for Lithuanian-Russian coasts, South-eastern Baltic Sea.

    PubMed

    Depellegrin, Daniel; Pereira, Paulo

    2016-01-15

    This study presents a series of oil spill indexes for the characterization of physical and biological sensitivity in unsheltered coastal environments. The case study extends over 237 km of Lithuanian-Russian coastal areas subjected to multiple oil spill threats. Results show that 180 km of shoreline have environmental sensitivity index (ESI) of score 3. Natural clean-up processes depending on (a) shoreline sinuosity, (b) orientation and (c) wave exposure are favourable on 72 km of shoreline. Vulnerability analysis from pre-existing Kravtsovskoye D6 platform oil spill scenarios indicates that 15.1 km of the Curonian Spit have high impact probability. The highest seafloor sensitivity within the 20 m isobath is at the Vistula Spit and Curonian Spit, whereas biological sensitivity is moderate over the entire study area. The paper concludes with the importance of harmonized datasets and methodologies for transboundary oil spill impact assessment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Multisource oil spill detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salberg, Arnt B.; Larsen, Siri O.; Zortea, Maciel

    2013-10-01

    In this paper we discuss how multisource data (wind, ocean-current, optical, bathymetric, automatic identification systems (AIS)) may be used to improve oil spill detection in SAR images, with emphasis on the use of automatic oil spill detection algorithms. We focus particularly on AIS, optical, and bathymetric data. For the AIS data we propose an algorithm for integrating AIS ship tracks into automatic oil spill detection in order to improve the confidence estimate of a potential oil spill. We demonstrate the use of ancillary data on a set of SAR images. Regarding the use of optical data, we did not observe a clear correspondence between high chlorophyll values (estimated from products derived from optical data) and observed slicks in the SAR image. Bathymetric data was shown to be a good data source for removing false detections caused by e.g. sand banks on low tide. For the AIS data we observed that a polluter could be identified for some dark slicks, however, a precise oil drift model is needed in order to identify the polluter with high certainty.

  14. Ixtoc oil spill assessment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Boehm, P.

    The blowout of the Ixtoc I oil well in the Bay of Campeche resulted in the largest documented spill in history. Approximately half a million metric tons of oil were released from June 3, 1979 to March 23, 1980. Of that amount, an estimated 11 thousand metric tons impacted south Texas beaches. As a result of the movement of oil from the Ixtoc I well blowout into the South Texas Outer Continental Shelf (STOCS) environment, a study was undertaken to establish the magnitude and areal extent of perturbation of the benthic community caused by chemical residues of Ixtoc oil. Themore » study focused on the inner shelf region to the 60-metre isobath and examined both the biology and hydrocarbon geochemistry of 12 sites coincident with those of four previously studied (1975-1977) baseline transects. Additionally, 26 sites within the region sampled during 1979 (mid-spill) for chemical parameters and again in 1980 (post-spill) for chemical and biological parameters, and 39 other sites sampled in 1979 for chemical parameters, were studied. The Burmah Agate oil tanker collided with the freighter Mimosa in November, 1979 5 miles off of Galveston, Texas and spilled part of its cargo of light crude oil. Approximately 21 thousand metric tons of the spilled oil burned in an ensuing fire. As the potentially complicating impact of the Burmah Agate tanker collision was of importance in the region, a set of six sites in the Galveston region were sampled to gain knowledge of the presence and nature of introduced chemical residues from this event. This study established a chemical and biological framework for carrying out spill assessment studies of this nature. It utilized a significant environmental data base for post-impact studies for the first time, and identified several sampling methodology deficiencies which, if corrected, may help to fine-tune such assessments.« less

  15. In-Situ Burning of Spilled Oil.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Alan A.

    1991-01-01

    Reviews in-situ burning with particular emphasis on how it can be applied in water-related oil spill situations. Presents and discusses the use of nomograms and development of techniques cited for safe and effective ignition and controlled burning of spilled oil. Includes representative oil spill scenarios and possible responses. (15 references)…

  16. OIL SOLUTIONS POWDER

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Technical product bulletin: aka OIL SOLUTIONS POWDER, SPILL GREEN LS, this miscellaneous oil spill control agent used in cleanups initially behaves like a synthetic sorbent, then as a solidifier as the molecular microencapsulating process occurs.

  17. Planning for the Human Dimensions of Oil Spills and Spill Response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Webler, Thomas; Lord, Fabienne

    2010-04-01

    Oil spill contingency planners need an improved approach to understanding and planning for the human dimensions of oil spills. Drawing on existing literature in social impact assessment, natural hazards, human ecology, adaptive management, global change and sustainability, we develop an integrative approach to understanding and portraying the human dimensions impacts of stressors associated with oil spill events. Our approach is based on three fundamental conclusions that are drawn from this literature review. First, it is productive to acknowledge that, while stressors can produce human impacts directly, they mainly affect intermediary processes and changes to these processes produce human impacts. Second, causal chain modeling taken from hazard management literature provides a means to document how oil spill stressors change processes and produce human impacts. Third, concepts from the global change literature on vulnerability enrich causal models in ways that make more obvious how management interventions lessen hazards and mitigate associated harm. Using examples from recent spill events, we illustrate how these conclusions can be used to diagrammatically portray the human dimensions of oil spills.

  18. OIL BOND®

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Technical product bulletin: this miscellaneous oil spill control agent is a solidifier used in cleanups. It absorbs and solidifies hydrocarbon spills on freshwater and saltwater or land applications. Ring spill with booms or pillows before treatment.

  19. Ambient air concentrations exceeded health-based standards for fine particulate matter and benzene during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    PubMed

    Nance, Earthea; King, Denae; Wright, Beverly; Bullard, Robert D

    2016-02-01

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is considered one of the largest marine oil spills in the history of the United States. Air emissions associated with the oil spill caused concern among residents of Southeast Louisiana. The purpose of this study was to assess ambient concentrations of benzene (n=3,887) and fine particulate matter (n=102,682) during the oil spill and to evaluate potential exposure disparities in the region. Benzene and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in the targeted parishes were generally higher following the oil spill, as expected. Benzene concentrations reached 2 to 19 times higher than background, and daily exceedances of PM2.5 were 10 to 45 times higher than background. Both benzene and PM2.5 concentrations were considered high enough to exceed public health criteria, with measurable exposure disparities in the coastal areas closer to the spill and clean-up activities. These findings raise questions about public disclosure of environmental health risks associated with the oil spill. The findings also provide a science-based rationale for establishing health-based action levels in future disasters. Benzene and particulate matter monitoring during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill revealed that ambient air quality was a likely threat to public health and that residents in coastal Louisiana experienced significantly greater exposures than urban residents. Threshold air pollution levels established for the oil spill apparently were not used as a basis for informing the public about these potential health impacts. Also, despite carrying out the most comprehensive air monitoring ever conducted in the region, none of the agencies involved provided integrated analysis of the data or conclusive statements about public health risk. Better information about real-time risk is needed in future environmental disasters.

  20. Contamination and Human Health Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Oysters After the Wu Yi San Oil Spill in Korea.

    PubMed

    Loh, Andrew; Yim, Un Hyuk; Ha, Sung Yong; An, Joon Geon; Kim, Moonkoo

    2017-07-01

    After the collision of the Singapore-registered oil tanker M/V Wu Yi San into the oil terminal of Yeosu, Korea on January 31, 2014, approximately 900 m 3 of oil and oil mixture were released from the ruptured pipelines. The oil affected more than 10 km of coastline along Gwangyang Bay. Emergency oil spill responses recovered bulk oil at sea and cleaned up the stranded oil on shore. As part of an emergency environmental impact assessment, region-wide monitoring of oil contamination in oyster had been conducted for 2 months. Highly elevated concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected at most of the spill affected sites. Four days after the spill, the levels of PAHs in oysters increased dramatically to 627-81,000 ng/g, the average of which was 20 times higher than those found before the spill (321-4040 ng/g). The level of PAHs in these oysters increased until 10 days after the spill and then decreased. Due to the strong tidal current and easterly winter winds, the eastern part of the Bay-the Namhae region-was heavily contaminated compared with other regions. The accumulation and depuration of spilled oil in oyster corresponded with the duration and intensity of the cleanup activities, which is the first field observation in oil spill cases. Human health risk assessments showed that benzo[a]pyrene equivalent concentrations exceeded levels of concern in the highly contaminated sites, even 60 days after the spill.

  1. PRP: The Proven Solution for Cleaning Up Oil Spills

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2006-01-01

    The basic technology behind PRP is thousands of microcapsules, tiny balls of beeswax with hollow centers. Water cannot penetrate the microcapsule s cell, but oil is absorbed right into the beeswax spheres as they float on the water s surface. This way, the contaminants, chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil such as fuels, motor oils, or petroleum hydrocarbons, are caught before they settle. PRP works well as a loose powder for cleaning up contaminants in lakes and other ecologically fragile areas. The powder can be spread over a contaminated body of water or soil, and it will absorb contaminants, contain them in isolation, and dispose of them safely. In water, it is important that PRP floats and keeps the oil on the surface, because, even if oil exposure is not immediately lethal, it can cause long-term harm if allowed to settle. Bottom-dwelling fish exposed to compounds released after oil spills may develop liver disease, in addition to reproductive and growth problems. This use of PRP is especially effective for environmental cleanup in sensitive areas like coral reefs and mangroves.

  2. Concentrations in human blood of petroleum hydrocarbons associated with the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gulf of Mexico.

    PubMed

    Sammarco, Paul W; Kolian, Stephan R; Warby, Richard A F; Bouldin, Jennifer L; Subra, Wilma A; Porter, Scott A

    2016-04-01

    During/after the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill, cleanup workers, fisherpersons, SCUBA divers, and coastal residents were exposed to crude oil and dispersants. These people experienced acute physiological and behavioral symptoms and consulted a physician. They were diagnosed with petroleum hydrocarbon poisoning and had blood analyses analyzed for volatile organic compounds; samples were drawn 5-19 months after the spill had been capped. We examined the petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in the blood. The aromatic compounds m,p-xylene, toluene, ethylbenzene, benzene, o-xylene, and styrene, and the alkanes hexane, 3-methylpentane, 2-methylpentane, and iso-octane were detected. Concentrations of the first four aromatics were not significantly different from US National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey/US National Institute of Standards and Technology 95th percentiles, indicating high concentrations of contaminants. The other two aromatics and the alkanes yielded equivocal results or significantly low concentrations. The data suggest that single-ring aromatic compounds are more persistent in the blood than alkanes and may be responsible for the observed symptoms. People should avoid exposure to crude oil through avoidance of the affected region, or utilizing hazardous materials suits if involved in cleanup, or wearing hazardous waste operations and emergency response suits if SCUBA diving. Concentrations of alkanes and PAHs in the blood of coastal residents and workers should be monitored through time well after the spill has been controlled.

  3. Low Drag Porous Ship with Superhydrophobic and Superoleophilic Surface for Oil Spills Cleanup.

    PubMed

    Wang, Gang; Zeng, Zhixiang; Wang, He; Zhang, Lin; Sun, Xiaodong; He, Yi; Li, Longyang; Wu, Xuedong; Ren, Tianhui; Xue, Qunji

    2015-12-02

    To efficiently remove and recycle oil spills, we construct aligned ZnO nanorod arrays on the surface of the porous stainless steel wire mesh to fabricate a porous unmanned ship (PUS) with properties of superhydrophobicity, superoleophilicity, and low drag by imitating the structure of nonwetting leg of water strider. The superhydrophobicity of the PUS is stable, which can support 16.5 cm water column with pore size of 100 μm. Water droplet can rebound without adhesion. In the process of oil/water separation, when the PUS contacts with oil, the oil is quickly pulled toward and penetrates into the PUS automatically. The superhydrophobicity and low water adhesion force of the PUS surface endow the PUS with high oil recovery capacity (above 94%) and drag-reducing property (31% at flowing velocity of 0.38m/s). In addition, the PUS has good corrosion resistance and reusability. We further investigate the wetting behavior of water and oil, oil recovery capacity, drag-reducing property, and corrosion resistance of the PUS after oil absorbed. The PUS surface changes significantly from superhydrophobic to hydrophobic after absorbing oil. However, the oil absorbed PUS possesses better drag-reducing property and corrosion resistance due to the changes of the motion state of the water droplets.

  4. Oil mixing behavior after an oil spill: identification conflicts of different fingerprints.

    PubMed

    He, Shijie; Yu, Hongjun; Luo, Yongming; Wang, Chuanyuan; Li, Xueshuang; Li, Zhongping

    2018-04-01

    Clearing up whether spilled oil is mixed or not can strengthen the accuracy of oil spill identification. In the present study, the biomarkers in spilled oil samples were detected. The weathering modes of different types of diagnostic ratio and carbon isotope values of individual n-alkanes were also analyzed. The results showed that the diagnostic ratios of steroids, terpenes and aromatics, and weathering characteristics of carbon isotope composition (δ 13 C) of individual n-alkanes supported the idea that Dalian oil spill emerged from a single oil source. Furthermore, commonly used diagnostic ratios of n-alkanes indicated that the Dalian oil spill had undergone the oil mixing process. The different identifying outcomes indicate that some kinds of n-alkane-rich substance (such as oil dispersants) were mixed in the Dalian spilled oil and interfered with the routine diagnosis ratios of n-alkanes.

  5. Modelling oil plumes from subsurface spills.

    PubMed

    Lardner, Robin; Zodiatis, George

    2017-11-15

    An oil plume model to simulate the behavior of oil from spills located at any given depth below the sea surface is presented, following major modifications to a plume model developed earlier by Malačič (2001) and drawing on ideas in a paper by Yapa and Zheng (1997). The paper presents improvements in those models and numerical testing of the various parameters in the plume model. The plume model described in this paper is one of the numerous modules of the well-established MEDSLIK oil spill model. The deep blowout scenario of the MEDEXPOL 2013 oil spill modelling exercise, organized by REMPEC, has been applied using the improved oil plume module of the MEDSLIK model and inter-comparison with results having the oil spill source at the sea surface are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Analysis and modeling of airborne BTEX concentrations from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    PubMed

    Avens, Heather J; Unice, Ken M; Sahmel, Jennifer; Gross, Sherilyn A; Keenan, James J; Paustenbach, Dennis J

    2011-09-01

    Concerns have been raised about whether the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup workers experienced adverse health effects from exposure to airborne benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) which volatilized from surfaced oil. Thus, we analyzed the nearly 20 000 BTEX measurements of breathing zone air samples of offshore cleanup workers taken during the six months following the incident (made publicly available by British Petroleum). The measurements indicate that 99% of the measurements taken prior to capping the well were 32-, 510-, 360-, and 77-fold lower than the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) for BTEX, respectively. BTEX measurements did not decrease appreciably during the three months after the well was capped. Moreover, the magnitudes of these data were similar to measurements from ships not involved in oil slick remediation, suggesting that the BTEX measurements were primarily due to engine exhaust rather than the oil slick. To supplement the data analysis, two modeling approaches were employed to estimate airborne BTEX concentrations under a variety of conditions (e.g., oil slick thickness, wind velocity). The modeling results corroborated that BTEX concentrations from the oil were well below PELs and that the oil was not the primary contributor to the measured BTEX.

  7. Oil Spill Field Trial at Sea: Measurements of Benzene Exposure.

    PubMed

    Gjesteland, Ingrid; Hollund, Bjørg Eli; Kirkeleit, Jorunn; Daling, Per; Bråtveit, Magne

    2017-07-01

    within 24 min after release of oil, indicating short periods of exposure. The personal exposure to benzene downwind and close to the oil slick during spills of light crude oil was relatively high, with concentration levels approaching the occupational exposure limits for several participants. For bulk spill scenarios like in this study, cleanup should not be initiated the first 30-60 min to allow for evaporation, while appropriate personal protective equipment should be used in continuous spills when working downwind and close to the oil slick. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

  8. Lecithins - promising oil spill cleaner

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    A new, non-polluting method of cleaning up oil spills at sea as well as on land has been developed by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Their technique is based on the use of lecithins, a byproduct of producing edible oils from plants. Lecithin molecules are hydrophyllic at one end and lipophilic at their tail ends. When they come into contact with water, they organize themselves into bilayers whose heads all face the water and whose tails are all directed towards each other. These bilayers form particles called liposomes that, when spread on water fouled by oil spills, changemore » the properties of the oil thereby stopping the spreading and breaking it down into sticky droplets that continue to float on the surface and can be easily collected. The treatment is said to be effective in both fresh and salt water and is almost temperature and pH independent. Another beneficial effect is that the physical change generated by liposomes in the spilled oil improves the ability of oil-eating bacteria in the water to remove some of the spill by bioremediation.« less

  9. Hindcast, GIS and susceptibility modelling to assist oil spill clean-up and mitigation on the southern coast of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alves, Tiago M.; Kokinou, Eleni; Zodiatis, George; Lardner, Robin

    2016-11-01

    This study uses new oil-spill models, bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, geomorphological and geological data to assess the impact of distinct oil spill scenarios on the southern coast of Cyprus, Eastern Mediterranean. This approach results from the urgent need to predict oil spill dispersion after new oil terminals and depots were built at Vasilikos, southern coast of Cyprus. The terminals have been able to receive tankers with 500,000 deadweight tonnes from November 2014. The new geomorphological and geological data in this work show the shoreline of Cyprus to be of high susceptibility due to: (a) the presence of a narrow continental shelf capable of trapping large quantities of hydrocarbons; (b) the existence of uplifted wave-cut platforms, coastal lagoons and pools forming natural traps for oil, and (c) the presence of important tourist and Natura 2000 sites. Under particular weather and oceanographic conditions, oil spills offshore Larnaca Bay will quickly spread and reach the shoreline 46 h after the initial accident. Significantly, the models in this paper show a reduction from 84% to 19% in the volume of oil trapped on the coast if dispersants are applied, with the latter 19% being potentially kept at bay using booms and mechanical removal techniques. Based on these results, we suggest the early use of dispersants, booms and mechanical removal procedures to prevent the spreading of oil spilt in the broad area of Larnaca Bay.

  10. A tale of two recent spills--comparison of 2014 Galveston Bay and 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill residues.

    PubMed

    Yin, Fang; Hayworth, Joel S; Clement, T Prabhakar

    2015-01-01

    Managing oil spill residues washing onto sandy beaches is a common worldwide environmental problem. In this study, we have analyzed the first-arrival oil spill residues collected from two Gulf of Mexico (GOM) beach systems following two recent oil spills: the 2014 Galveston Bay (GB) oil spill, and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. This is the first study to provide field observations and chemical characterization data for the 2014 GB oil spill. Here we compare the physical and chemical characteristics of GB oil spill samples with DWH oil spill samples and present their similarities and differences. Our field observations indicate that both oil spills had similar shoreline deposition patterns; however, their physical and chemical characteristics differed considerably. We highlight these differences, discuss their implications, and interpret GB data in light of lessons learned from previously published DWH oil spill studies. These analyses are further used to assess the long-term fate of GB oil spill residues and their potential environmental impacts.

  11. Acute Health Effects Among Military Personnel Participating in the Cleanup of the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill, 2007, in Taean County, Korea

    PubMed Central

    Gwack, Jin; Lee, Ju Hyung; Kang, Young Ah; Chang, Kyu-jin; Lee, Moo Sik; Hong, Jee Young

    2012-01-01

    Objectives This study was conducted to investigate acute health effects and its related factors among military personnel participating in the cleanup of the 2007 Hebei Spirit oil spill accident in Taean county, Korea. Methods We collected data on acute symptoms during the cleanup and their predictors using a self-administered questionnaire to 2624 military personnel. Selfreported symptoms included six neurologic symptoms, five respiratory symptoms, two dermatologic symptoms, three ophthalmic symptoms, and three general symptoms. Independent variables were demographic factors (gender, age, education level, and rank), health behavioral factors (smoking history and usage of the personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves), and occupational history such as where and for how long individuals participated in cleanup. Results The duration of work days was significantly associated with 17 acute symptoms except for itchiness and red skin.Working in Taean county also increased the risk of most acute symptoms except headache and back pain. In regard to personal protective equipment, wearing masks was mainly related to the development of respiratory symptoms such as sore throat and wearing other protective equipment was related to the development of sore throat, back pain, headache, and cough. Military personnel younger than 25 years reported 4.66 times more hot flushing and 5.39 times more itchiness than those older than 25 years. Conclusion It should be emphasized that for early-stage cleanup the number of workers should be minimized, sufficient personal protective equipment with approved quality for blocking noxious gas should be supplied, and systematic health care for the workers should be provided. Health effects could be diminished by providing adequate education regarding the appropriate use of protective equipment, especially to nonprofessionals such as residents and volunteers. To make disaster response expeditious, a national and regional preparedness

  12. Bivariate Left-Censored Bayesian Model for Predicting Exposure: Preliminary Analysis of Worker Exposure during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

    PubMed

    Groth, Caroline; Banerjee, Sudipto; Ramachandran, Gurumurthy; Stenzel, Mark R; Sandler, Dale P; Blair, Aaron; Engel, Lawrence S; Kwok, Richard K; Stewart, Patricia A

    2017-01-01

    In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caught fire and exploded, releasing almost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the ensuing 3 months. Thousands of oil spill workers participated in the spill response and clean-up efforts. The GuLF STUDY being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is an epidemiological study to investigate potential adverse health effects among these oil spill clean-up workers. Many volatile chemicals were released from the oil into the air, including total hydrocarbons (THC), which is a composite of the volatile components of oil including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and hexane (BTEXH). Our goal is to estimate exposure levels to these toxic chemicals for groups of oil spill workers in the study (hereafter called exposure groups, EGs) with likely comparable exposure distributions. A large number of air measurements were collected, but many EGs are characterized by datasets with a large percentage of censored measurements (below the analytic methods' limits of detection) and/or a limited number of measurements. We use THC for which there was less censoring to develop predictive linear models for specific BTEXH air exposures with higher degrees of censoring. We present a novel Bayesian hierarchical linear model that allows us to predict, for different EGs simultaneously, exposure levels of a second chemical while accounting for censoring in both THC and the chemical of interest. We illustrate the methodology by estimating exposure levels for several EGs on the Development Driller III, a rig vessel charged with drilling one of the relief wells. The model provided credible estimates in this example for geometric means, arithmetic means, variances, correlations, and regression coefficients for each group. This approach should be considered when estimating exposures in situations when multiple chemicals are correlated and have varying degrees of censoring. © The Author 2017

  13. Improving oil classification quality from oil spill fingerprint beyond six sigma approach.

    PubMed

    Juahir, Hafizan; Ismail, Azimah; Mohamed, Saiful Bahri; Toriman, Mohd Ekhwan; Kassim, Azlina Md; Zain, Sharifuddin Md; Ahmad, Wan Kamaruzaman Wan; Wah, Wong Kok; Zali, Munirah Abdul; Retnam, Ananthy; Taib, Mohd Zaki Mohd; Mokhtar, Mazlin

    2017-07-15

    This study involves the use of quality engineering in oil spill classification based on oil spill fingerprinting from GC-FID and GC-MS employing the six-sigma approach. The oil spills are recovered from various water areas of Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah (East Malaysia). The study approach used six sigma methodologies that effectively serve as the problem solving in oil classification extracted from the complex mixtures of oil spilled dataset. The analysis of six sigma link with the quality engineering improved the organizational performance to achieve its objectivity of the environmental forensics. The study reveals that oil spills are discriminated into four groups' viz. diesel, hydrocarbon fuel oil (HFO), mixture oil lubricant and fuel oil (MOLFO) and waste oil (WO) according to the similarity of the intrinsic chemical properties. Through the validation, it confirmed that four discriminant component, diesel, hydrocarbon fuel oil (HFO), mixture oil lubricant and fuel oil (MOLFO) and waste oil (WO) dominate the oil types with a total variance of 99.51% with ANOVA giving F stat >F critical at 95% confidence level and a Chi Square goodness test of 74.87. Results obtained from this study reveals that by employing six-sigma approach in a data-driven problem such as in the case of oil spill classification, good decision making can be expedited. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. [Study of automatic marine oil spills detection using imaging spectroscopy].

    PubMed

    Liu, De-Lian; Han, Liang; Zhang, Jian-Qi

    2013-11-01

    To reduce artificial auxiliary works in oil spills detection process, an automatic oil spill detection method based on adaptive matched filter is presented. Firstly, the characteristics of reflectance spectral signature of C-H bond in oil spill are analyzed. And an oil spill spectral signature extraction model is designed by using the spectral feature of C-H bond. It is then used to obtain the reference spectral signature for the following oil spill detection step. Secondly, the characteristics of reflectance spectral signature of sea water, clouds, and oil spill are compared. The bands which have large difference in reflectance spectral signatures of the sea water, clouds, and oil spill are selected. By using these bands, the sea water pixels are segmented. And the background parameters are then calculated. Finally, the classical adaptive matched filter from target detection algorithms is improved and introduced for oil spill detection. The proposed method is applied to the real airborne visible infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral image captured during the deepwater horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico for oil spill detection. The results show that the proposed method has, high efficiency, does not need artificial auxiliary work, and can be used for automatic detection of marine oil spill.

  15. An oil spill decision matrix in response to surface spills of various bitumen blends.

    PubMed

    King, Thomas L; Robinson, Brian; Cui, Fangda; Boufadel, Michel; Lee, Kenneth; Clyburne, Jason A C

    2017-07-19

    Canada's production, transport, and sale of diluted bitumen (dilbit) products are expected to increase by a million barrels per day over the next decade. The anticipated growth in oil production and transport increases the risk of oil spills in aquatic areas and places greater demands on oil spill capabilities to respond to spills, which have raised stakeholder concerns. Current oil spill models only predict the transport of bitumen blends that are used in contingency plans and oil spill response strategies, rather than changes in the oil's physical properties that are relevant to spill response. We conducted weathering studies of five oil products (two conventional oils and three bitumen blends) in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' flume tank. We also considered two initial oil slick thicknesses, 4.0 mm and 7.0 mm. We found that there is a major difference in the time evolution of oil properties (density and viscosity), raising doubts on weathering models that do not consider the thickness of oil. We also developed empirical expressions for the evolution of the density and viscosity of these oil products. The findings from the 4.0 mm results were incorporated with data from the literature to provide an update on the factors to consider during the decision making for spills of diluted bitumen products. The matrix indicated that most response options, including chemical dispersants, work much more effectively within 48 hours of the initiation of weathering. After this window of opportunity closes, natural attenuation or in situ burning is the only option remaining, but containment of oil is a limiting factor for in situ burning.

  16. How well do we understand oil spill hazard mapping?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sepp Neves, Antonio Augusto; Pinardi, Nadia

    2017-04-01

    In simple terms, we could describe the marine oil spill hazard as related to three main factors: the spill event itself, the spill trajectory and the arrival and adsorption of oil to the shore or beaching. Regarding the first factor, spill occurrence rates and magnitude distribution and their respective uncertainties have been estimated mainly relying on maritime casualty reports. Abascal et al. (2010) and Sepp Neves et al. (2015) demonstrated for the Prestige (Spain, 2002) and Jiyeh (Lebanon, 2006) spills that ensemble numerical oil spill simulations can generate reliable estimaes of the most likely oil trajectories and impacted coasts. Although paramount to estimate the spill impacts on coastal resources, the third component of the oil spill hazard (i.e. oil beaching) is still subject of discussion. Analysts have employed different methodologies to estimate the coastal component of the hazard relying, for instance, on the beaching frequency solely, the time which a given coastal segment is subject to oil concentrations above a certain preset threshold, percentages of oil beached compared to the original spilled volume and many others. Obviously, results are not comparable and sometimes not consistent with the present knowledge about the environmental impacts of oil spills. The observed inconsistency in the hazard mapping methodologies suggests that there is still a lack of understanding of the beaching component of the oil spill hazard itself. The careful statistical description of the beaching process could finally set a common ground in oil spill hazard mapping studies as observed for other hazards such as earthquakes and landslides. This paper is the last of a series of efforts to standardize oil spill hazard and risk assessments through an ISO-compliant framework (IT - OSRA, see Sepp Neves et al., (2015)). We performed two large ensemble oil spill experiments addressing uncertainties in the spill characteristics and location, and meteocean conditions for two

  17. Green technological approach to synthesis hydrophobic stable crystalline calcite particles with one-pot synthesis for oil-water separation during oil spill cleanup.

    PubMed

    Wu, Min-Nan; Maity, Jyoti Prakash; Bundschuh, Jochen; Li, Che-Feng; Lee, Chin-Rong; Hsu, Chun-Mei; Lee, Wen-Chien; Huang, Chung-Ho; Chen, Chien-Yen

    2017-10-15

    The process of separating oil and water from oil/water mixtures is an attractive strategy to answer the menace caused by industrial oil spills and oily wastewater. In addition, water coproduced during hydrocarbon exploitation, which can be an economic burden and risk for freshwater resources, can become an important freshwater source after suitable water-oil separation. For oil-water separation purposes, considerable attention has been paid to the preparation of hydrophobic-oleophilic materials with modified surface roughness. However, due to issues of thermodynamic instability, costly and complex methods as well as lack of ecofriendly compounds, most of hydrophobic surface modified particles are of limited practical application. The study presents a facile procedure, to synthesize crystalline particles of calcite, which is the most stable polymorph of CaCO 3 from industrial CaCO 3 using oleic acid as an additive in a one-pot synthesis method. The XRD results show that the synthesized particles were a well-crystallized form of calcite. The FTIR results reflect the appearance of the alkyl groups from the oleic acid in synthesized particles which promotes the production of calcite with 'rice shape' (1.64 μm) (aggregated by spherical nanoparticle of 19.56 nm) morphology with concomitant changes in its surface wettability from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The synthesized particles exhibited near to super hydrophobicity with ∼99% active ratio and a contact angle of 143.8°. The synthesized hydrophobic calcite particles had an oleophilic nature where waste diesel oil adsorption capacity of synthesized calcium carbonate (HCF) showed a very high (>99%) and fast (7 s) oil removal from oil-water mixture. The functional group of long alkyl chain including of CO bounds may play critical roles for adsorption of diesel oils. Moreover, the thermodynamically stable crystalline polymorph calcite (compared to vaterite) exhibited excellent recyclability. The isothermal study

  18. Follow-Up Genotoxic Study: Chromosome Damage Two and Six Years after Exposure to the Prestige Oil Spill

    PubMed Central

    Hildur, Kristin; Templado, Cristina; Zock, Jan-Paul; Giraldo, Jesús; Pozo-Rodríguez, Francisco; Frances, Alexandra; Monyarch, Gemma; Rodríguez-Trigo, Gema; Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Emma; Souto, Ana; Gómez, Federico P.; Antó, Josep M.; Barberà, Joan Albert; Fuster, Carme

    2015-01-01

    Background The north-west coast of Spain was heavily contaminated by the Prestige oil spill, in 2002. Individuals who participated in the clean-up tasks showed increased chromosome damage two years after exposure. Long-term clinical implications of chromosome damage are still unknown. Objective To realize a follow-up genotoxic study to detect whether the chromosome damage persisted six years after exposure to the oil. Design Follow-up study. Setting Fishermen cooperatives in coastal villages. Participants Local fishermen who were highly exposed (n = 52) and non-exposed (n = 23) to oil seven years after the spill. Measurements Chromosome damage in circulating lymphocytes. Results Chromosome damage in exposed individuals persists six years after oil exposure, with a similar incidence than those previously detected four years before. A surprising increase in chromosome damage in non-exposed individual was found six years after Prestige spill vs. those detected two years after the exposure. Limitations The sample size and the possibility of some kind of selection bias should be considered. Genotoxic results cannot be extrapolated to the approximately 300,000 individuals who participated occasionally in clean-up tasks. Conclusion The persistence of chromosome damage detected in exposed individuals six years after oil exposure seems to indicate that the cells of the bone marrow are affected. A surprising increase in chromosome damage in non-exposed individuals detected in the follow-up study suggests an indirect exposition of these individuals to some oil compounds or to other toxic agents during the last four years. More long-term studies are needed to confirm the presence of chromosome damage in exposed and non-exposed fishermen due to the association between increased chromosomal damage and increased risk of cancer. Understanding and detecting chromosome damage is important for detecting cancer in its early stages. The present work is the first follow-up cytogenetic

  19. Helping nature clean up oil spills

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Paddock, A.

    Oil spills are nothing new. In fact, for millions of years crude oil has been seeping up to the Earth`s surface, and for all that time Mother Nature has been on the job with microbes, or bacteria, to harmlessly convert the oil to water and carbon dioxide gas. Not all bacteria are bad. True, some can make us sick, however, the good ones help us bake bread, brew beer, and even clean up oil spills by a process known as biodegradation. Oil and bacteria don`t easily get together because oil and water don`t mix and bacteria prefer to stay inmore » water. After some oil tankers spills in the English Channel 25 years ago, major oil companies (Arco, BP, Exxon, and others) developed oil dispersant products-specialized chemicals that make oils and sea water mix. The simplest examples of similar wetting agents are soaps and detergents. Now, thanks to dispersants, the natural bacteria at sea can easily get to the oil and the normally slow biodegradation process goes rather quickly.« less

  20. Response to heavy, non-floating oil spilled in a Great Lakes river environment: a multiple-lines-of-evidence approach for submerged oil assessment and recovery

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dollhopf, Ralph H.; Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Kimble, Jeffrey W.; Capone, Daniel M.; Graan, Thomas P.; Zelt, Ronald B.; Johnson, Rex

    2014-01-01

    The Enbridge Line 6B pipeline release of diluted bitumen into the Kalamazoo River downstream of Marshall, MI in July 2010 is one of the largest freshwater oil spills in North American history. The unprecedented scale of impact and massive quantity of oil released required the development and implementation of new approaches for detection and recovery. At the onset of cleanup, conventional recovery techniques were employed for the initially floating oil and were successful. However, volatilization of the lighter diluent, along with mixing of the oil with sediment during flooded, turbulent river conditions caused the oil to sink and collect in natural deposition areas in the river. For more than three years after the spill, recovery of submerged oil has remained the predominant operational focus of the response. The recovery complexities for submerged oil mixed with sediment in depositional areas and long-term oil sheening along approximately 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River led to the development of a multiple-lines-of-evidence approach comprising six major components: geomorphic mapping, field assessments of submerged oil (poling), systematic tracking and mapping of oil sheen, hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling, forensic oil chemistry, and net environmental benefit analysis. The Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) considered this information in determining the appropriate course of action for each impacted segment of the river. New sources of heavy crude oils like diluted bitumen and increasing transportation of those oils require changes in the way emergency personnel respond to oil spills in the Great Lakes and other freshwater ecosystems. Strategies to recover heavy oils must consider that the oils may suspend or sink in the water column, mix with fine-grained sediment, and accumulate in depositional areas. Early understanding of the potential fate and behavior of diluted bitumen spills when combined with timely, strong conventional recovery methods can

  1. Ecological Impacts during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was the largest spill and response effort in United States history. Nearly 800 million L of oil was spilled in the Gulf of Mexico, and nearly 7 million L of chemical dispersants were applied in at the ocean surface and subsea1. The DWH spill ...

  2. Site Selection and Resource Allocation of Oil Spill Emergency Base for Offshore Oil Facilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yunbin; Liu, Jingxian; Wei, Lei; Wu, Weihuang

    2018-02-01

    Based on the analysis of the historical data about oil spill accidents in the Bohai Sea, this paper discretizes oil spilled source into a limited number of spill points. According to the probability of oil spill risk, the demand for salvage forces at each oil spill point is evaluated. Aiming at the specific location of the rescue base around the Bohai Sea, a cost-benefit analysis is conducted to determine the total cost of disasters for each rescue base. Based on the relationship between the oil spill point and the rescue site, a multi-objective optimization location model for the oil spill rescue base in the Bohai Sea region is established. And the genetic algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem, and determine the emergency rescue base optimization program and emergency resources allocation ratio.

  3. Studies on marine oil spills and their ecological damage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mei, Hong; Yin, Yanjie

    2009-09-01

    The sources of marine oil spills are mainly from accidents of marine oil tankers or freighters, marine oil-drilling platforms, marine oil pipelines, marine oilfields, terrestrial pollution, oil-bearing atmosphere, and offshore oil production equipment. It is concluded upon analysis that there are two main reasons for marine oil spills: (I) The motive for huge economic benefits of oil industry owners and oil shipping agents far surpasses their sense of ecological risks. (II) Marine ecological safety has not become the main concern of national security. Oil spills are disasters because humans spare no efforts to get economic benefits from oil. The present paper draws another conclusion that marine ecological damage caused by oil spills can be roughly divided into two categories: damage to marine resource value (direct value) and damage to marine ecosystem service value (indirect value). Marine oil spills cause damage to marine biological, fishery, seawater, tourism and mineral resources to various extents, which contributes to the lower quality and value of marine resources.

  4. Shoreline oiling conditions in Prince William Sound following the Exxon Valdez oil spill

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Neff, J.M.; Owens, E.H.; Stoker, S.W.

    1995-12-31

    Following the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 24, 1989, in Prince William Sound, Alaska, Exxon conducted comprehensive, systematic shoreline surveys in cooperation with federal and state authorities to obtain information on the distribution and magnitude of shoreline oiling and to identify natural and cultural resources requiring special protection. Similar joint surveys were performed during the springs of 1990, 1991, and 1992 on all Prince william Sound and Gulf of Alaska shorelines that were suspected of having remnants of weathered oil and that would benefit from further cleanup. In the springs of 1990, 1991, and 1992, isolated pockets of subsurfacemore » oil were found, chiefly in small scattered zones in coarse cobble/boulder sediments in the upper intertidal or supratidal zones. In 1991, about one-third of the subdivisions in Prince William Sound with surface oil also contained some subsurface oil. The areal extent of this subsurface oil declined by nearly 70% between 1991 and 1992, from about 37,000 m{sup 2} to about 12,000 m{sup 2}. Moreover, where subsurface oil remained in 1992, it was present in lesser amounts. Rates of oil removal were greatest on coastal sections treated early in the spring and summer of 1989. Where shoreline treatment was delayed, the subsequent rate of removal of oil from the shore by natural processes was slower. 27 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs.« less

  5. Whole cell bioreporter application for rapid detection and evaluation of crude oil spill in seawater caused by Dalian oil tank explosion.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Dayi; Ding, Aizhong; Cui, Shuangchao; Hu, Cheng; Thornton, Steven F; Dou, Junfeng; Sun, Yujiao; Huang, Wei E

    2013-03-01

    Accidents involving the release of crude oil to seawater pose serious threat to human and animal health, fisheries and marine ecosystems. A whole cell bioreporter detection method, which has unique advantages for the rapid evaluation on toxicity and bioavailability, is a useful tool to provide environmental risk assessments at crude oil-contaminated sites. Acinetobacter baylyi ADPWH_alk and ADPWH_recA are chromosomally-based alkane and genotoxicity bioreporters which can be activated to express bioluminescence in the presence of alkanes and genotoxic compounds. In this study, we applied Acinetobacter ADPWH_alk and ADPWH_recA bioreporters to examine six seawater and six sediment samples around the Dalian Bay four weeks after an oil tank explosion in Dalian, China in 2010, and compared the results with samples from the same sites one year after. The results of bioreporter detection suggest that seawater and sediments from five sites (DB, NT, JSB, XHP and FJZ) four weeks after the oil-spill were contaminated by the crude oil with various extents of genotoxicity. Among these six sites, DB and NT had high oil contents and genotoxicity, and JSB had high oil content but low genotoxicity in comparison with an uncontaminated site LSF, which is located at other side of the peninsula. These three sites (DB, NT and JSB) with detectable genotoxicity are within 30 km away from the oil spill point. The far-away two sites XHP (38.1 km) and FJZ (31.1 km) were lightly contaminated with oil but no genotoxicity suggesting that they are around the contamination boundary. Bioreporter detection also indicates that all six sites were clean one year after the oil-spill as the alkane and genotoxicity were below detection limit. This study demonstrates that bioreporter detection can be used as a rapid method to estimate the scale of a crude oil spill accident and to evaluate bioavailability and genotoxicity of contaminated seawater and sediments, which are crucial to risk assessment and

  6. Estimation of oil spill risk from Alaska North Slope, Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and Arctic Canada oil spill data sets

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-04-01

    The study gathered (1)data on oil spills of 100 barrels of greater in volume that occurred in the Alaskan or Canadian study areas and which were associated with oil industry, (2)documentation for spills of 500 bbl or greater, (3) data on crude oil pr...

  7. Design of a Low-cost Oil Spill Tracking Buoy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Y.; Hu, X.; Yu, F.; Dong, S.; Chen, G.

    2017-12-01

    As the rapid development of oil exploitation and transportation, oil spill accidents, such as Prestige oil spill, Gulf of Mexico oil spill accident and so on, happened frequently in recent years which would result in long-term damage to the environment and human life. It would be helpful for rescue operation if we can locate the oil slick diffusion area in real time. Equipped with GNSS system, current tracking buoys(CTB), such as Lagrangian drifting buoy, Surface Velocity Program (SVP) drifter, iSLDMB (Iridium self locating datum marker buoy) and Argosphere buoy, have been used as oil tracking buoy in oil slick observation and as validation tools for oil spill simulation. However, surface wind could affect the movement of oil slick, which couldn't be reflected by CTB, thus the oil spill tracking performance is limited. Here, we proposed an novel oil spill tracking buoy (OSTB) which has a low cost of less than $140 and is equipped with Beidou positioning module and sails to track oil slick. Based on hydrodynamic equilibrium model and ocean dynamic analysis, the wind sails and water sails are designed to be adjustable according to different marine conditions to improve tracking efficiency. Quick release device is designed to assure easy deployment from air or ship. Sea experiment was carried out in Jiaozhou Bay, Northern China. OSTB, SVP, iSLDMB, Argosphere buoy and a piece of oil-simulated rubber sheet were deployed at the same time. Meanwhile, oil spill simulation model GNOME (general NOAA operational modeling environment) was configured with the wind and current field, which were collected by an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) mounted with acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) and wind speed and direction sensors. Experimental results show that the OSTB has better relevance with rubber sheet and GNOME simulation results, which validate the oil tracking ability of OSTB. With low cost and easy deployment, OSTB provides an effective way for oil spill numerical

  8. Oil spill dispersants: boon or bane?

    PubMed

    Prince, Roger C

    2015-06-02

    Dispersants provide a reliable large-scale response to catastrophic oil spills that can be used when the preferable option of recapturing the oil cannot be achieved. By allowing even mild wave action to disperse floating oil into tiny droplets (<70 μm) in the water column, seabirds, reptiles, and mammals are protected from lethal oiling at the surface, and microbial biodegradation is dramatically increased. Recent work has clarified how dramatic this increase is likely to be: beached oil has an environmental residence of years, whereas dispersed oil has a half-life of weeks. Oil spill response operations endorse the concept of net environmental benefit, that any environmental costs imposed by a response technique must be outweighed by the likely benefits. This critical review discusses the potential environmental debits and credits from dispersant use and concludes that, in most cases, the potential environmental costs of adding these chemicals to a polluted area are likely outweighed by the much shorter residence time, and hence integrated environmental impact, of the spilled oil in the environment.

  9. Investigating Montara platform oil spill accident by implementing RST-OIL approach.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Satriano, Valeria; Ciancia, Emanuele; Coviello, Irina; Di Polito, Carmine; Lacava, Teodosio; Pergola, Nicola; Tramutoli, Valerio

    2016-04-01

    Oil Spills represent one of the most harmful events to marine ecosystems and their timely detection is crucial for their mitigation and management. The potential of satellite data for their detection and monitoring has been largely investigated. Traditional satellite techniques usually identify oil spill presence applying a fixed threshold scheme only after the occurrence of an event, which make them not well suited for their prompt identification. The Robust Satellite Technique (RST) approach, in its oil spill detection version (RST-OIL), being based on the comparison of the latest satellite acquisition with its historical value, previously identified, allows the automatic and near real-time detection of events. Such a technique has been already successfully applied on data from different sources (AVHRR-Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer and MODIS-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) showing excellent performance in detecting oil spills both during day- and night-time conditions, with an high level of sensitivity (detection also of low intensity events) and reliability (no false alarm on scene). In this paper, RST-OIL has been implemented on MODIS thermal infrared data for the analysis of the Montara Platform (Timor Sea - Australia) oil spill disaster occurred in August 2009. Preliminary achievements are presented and discussed in this paper.

  10. Multiwall carbon nanotube reinforced teflon fibrils for oil spill clean up and its effective recycling as textile dye sorbent.

    PubMed

    Padmajan Sasikala, Suchithra; Mahesh, K V; Prabhakaran, Prem; Peer Mohammed, A; Ananthakumar, S

    2018-04-01

    Surface functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforced teflon fibrils (MWCNT@Teflon) were successfully tested as an - oil - absorbent that can be used as a potential oil recovery material at the time of oil spill accidents in water. We found that oleic acid functionalization of MWCNTs was important for their adhesion onto teflon fibrils and at the same time prevented the MWCNT leaching into oil/water interface. The fibrils had displayed superior mechanical and thermal stability and provided a new insight to oil spill clean-up applications with easy recovery of absorbed oil by simple squeezing. Recycling of exhausted MWCNT@Teflon fibrils after oil recovery applications was conducted by pyrolysis under inert atmosphere in presence of magnetic clay. The magnetic clay absorbed the pyrolysis products, resulting in a heterostructured magnetic clay carbon composite (MCC) which was found super paramagnetic and chemically stable in all pH. The MCC was found capable of adsorbing textile dye from water ultra-fast with in a maximum contact time of 2 min and magnetically separable after adsorption experiments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Practical aspects of chemometrics for oil spill fingerprinting.

    PubMed

    Christensen, Jan H; Tomasi, Giorgio

    2007-10-26

    Tiered approaches for oil spill fingerprinting have evolved rapidly since the 1990s. Chemometrics provides a large number of tools for pattern recognition, calibration and classification that can increase the speed and the objectivity of the analysis and allow for more extensive use of the available data in this field. However, although the chemometric literature is extensive, it does not focus on practical issues that are relevant to oil spill fingerprinting. The aim of this review is to provide a framework for the use of chemometric approaches in tiered oil spill fingerprinting and to provide clear-cut practical details and experiences that can be used by the forensic chemist. The framework is based on methods for initial screening, which include classification of samples into oil type, detection of non matches and of weathering state, and detailed oil spill fingerprinting, in which a more rigorous matching of an oil spill sample to suspected source oils is obtained. This review is intended as a tutorial, and is based on two examples of initial screening using respectively gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and fluorescence spectroscopy; and two of detailed oil spill fingerprinting where gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data are analyzed according to two approaches: The first relying on sections of processed chromatograms and the second on diagnostic ratios.

  12. Is the way an oil spill response is reported in the media important for the final perception of the clean-up?

    PubMed

    Chilvers, B L; Finlayson, G; Ashwell, D; Low, S I; Morgan, K J; Pearson, H E

    2016-03-15

    This research investigates the media coverage during the C/V Rena grounding in New Zealand (NZ), in 2011, to analyze if information reported in printed media is important for the final perception of the overall oil spill response. We took all articles available from NZ's largest circulated newspaper and the regional newspaper closest to the incident and analyzed the themes within each article; the article's tone (positive, neutral or negative); the time of the report relative to incident events and any differences between the regional and national papers. This analysis indicates that oil spills are reported and perceived as inherently negative incidents. However, along with coordinating an effective spill response, fast, factual and frequent media releases and increased effect in media liaison in areas of response with high public intrinsic value such as oiled wildlife response can significantly influence tone of media coverage and likely overall public perception. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Experimental recovery of sea otter carcasses at Kodiak Island, Alaska, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    DeGange, Anthony R.; Doroff, Angela M.; Monson, Daniel H.

    1994-01-01

    April and early May oil spread to the Kodiak Archipelago. With the oil came wildlife rescue, beach cleanup, and other spill-response activities including searches for dead birds and mammals. We took this opportunity to assess experimentally the recovery of sea otter carcasses in the Kodiak Island area. Specifically, we were interested in the proportion of the total number of dead sea otters the recovered carcasses represented.

  14. MODELING METHODOLOGIES FOR OIL SPILLS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Oil spilled into aquatic environments is subject to a number of fates, including natural dispersion, emulsification and weathering. An oil slick moves due to the inherent spreading of the oil, currents, winds and waves. All of these processes influence the impacts of the oil on...

  15. Extent and frequency of vessel oil spills in US marine protected areas.

    PubMed

    Dalton, Tracey; Jin, Di

    2010-11-01

    Little is known about how marine protected areas (MPAs) may be vulnerable to vessel oil spills in the United States. This study investigated individual size, frequency, and total amount of vessel oil spilled in US MPAs, and how characteristics of MPAs and individual spill events influenced spills. Vessel oil spills in US waters (2002-06) and MPA boundaries were mapped. Total number and volume of oil spills inside and outside MPAs were computed. Results show that the presence of a MPA does not seem to prevent vessel oil spills or reduce the amount of oil spilled, and that a variety of MPA attributes (e.g., scale of protection, fishing restrictions, and others) and spill event characteristics (e.g., vessel type, year of spill, and others) affect oil spills inside and outside MPAs. These results can be used to develop MPA rules and marine transportation policies that reduce the vulnerability of sensitive resources to oil spills. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Application of solidifiers for oil spill containment: A review.

    PubMed

    Motta, Fernanda L; Stoyanov, Stanislav R; Soares, João B P

    2018-03-01

    The need for new and/or improvement of existing oil spill remediation measures has increased substantially amidst growing public concern with the increased transportation of unconventional crudes, such as diluted bitumen products. Solidifiers may be a very good spill response measure to contain and mitigate the effects of oil discharge incidents, as these interact with the oil to limit hydrocarbon release into air and water, prevent it from adhering onto sediment and debris, and could allow for oil recovery and reuse. Solidifiers change the physical state of the spilled oil from liquid to a coherent mass by chemical interactions between the spilled oil and the solidifier. Currently, the use of solidifiers is limited to small spills near shorelines. To extend their use to large-scale spill containment operations, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of solidifier action and to establish consistent criteria for evaluation of their effectiveness. The research effort to date has been focused mainly on gelators and cross-linking agents, with particularly impressive advancements in the areas of phase-selective polymeric and small-molecule gelators. Substantial research efforts are needed to improve solidifier performance and integrate solidifiers as part of spill response procedures, particularly for acute oil spills involving unconventional petroleum products. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Ecological impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH) was the largest environmental disaster and response effort in United States history, with nearly 800 million liters of crude oil spilled. Vast areas of the Gulf of Mexico were contaminated with oil, including deep ocean communities and over 1...

  18. Methods of Oil Detection in Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    EPA Science Inventory

    Detecting oil in the northern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill presented unique challenges due to the spatial and temporal extent of the spill and the subsequent dilution of oil in the environment. Over time, physical, chemical, and biological processes a...

  19. Estimating Potential Effects of Hypothetical Oil Spills on Polar Bears

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Amstrup, Steven C.; Durner, George M.; McDonald, T.L.; Johnson, W.R.

    2006-01-01

    Much is known about the transport and fate of oil spilled into the sea and its toxicity to exposed wildlife. Previously, however, there has been no way to quantify the probability that wildlife dispersed over the seascape would be exposed to spilled oil. Polar bears, the apical predator of the arctic, are widely dispersed near the continental shelves of the Arctic Ocean, an area also undergoing considerable hydrocarbon exploration and development. We used 15,308 satellite locations from 194 radiocollared polar bears to estimate the probability that polar bears could be exposed to hypothetical oil spills. We used a true 2 dimensional Gausian kernel density estimator, to estimate the number of bears likely to occur in each 1.00 km2 cell of a grid superimposed over near shore areas surrounding 2 oil production facilities: the existing Northstar oil production facility, and the proposed offshore site for the Liberty production facility. We estimated the standard errors of bear numbers per cell with bootstrapping. Simulated oil spill footprints for September and October, the times during which we hypothesized effects of an oil-spill would be worst, were estimated using real wind and current data collected between 1980 and 1996. We used ARC/Info software to calculate overlap (numbers of bears oiled) between simulated oil-spill footprints and polar bear grid-cell values. Numbers of bears potentially oiled by a hypothetical 5912 barrel spill (the largest spill thought probable from a pipeline breach) ranged from 0 to 27 polar bears for September open water conditions, and from 0 to 74 polar bears in October mixed ice conditions. Median numbers oiled by the 5912 barrel hypothetical spill from the Liberty simulation in September and October were 1 and 3 bears, equivalent values for the Northstar simulation were 3 and 11 bears. In October, 75% of trajectories from the 5912 barrel simulated spill at Liberty oiled 9 or fewer bears while 75% of the trajectories affected 20 or

  20. 33 CFR 137.55 - Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens. 137.55 Section 137.55 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE POLLUTION FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPENSATION OIL SPILL...

  1. 33 CFR 137.55 - Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens. 137.55 Section 137.55 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE POLLUTION FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPENSATION OIL SPILL...

  2. 33 CFR 137.55 - Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens. 137.55 Section 137.55 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE POLLUTION FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPENSATION OIL SPILL...

  3. 33 CFR 137.55 - Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens. 137.55 Section 137.55 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE POLLUTION FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPENSATION OIL SPILL...

  4. 33 CFR 137.55 - Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Searches for recorded environmental cleanup liens. 137.55 Section 137.55 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE POLLUTION FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPENSATION OIL SPILL...

  5. Combustion: an oil spill mitigation tool

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    1979-11-01

    The technical feasibility of using combustion as an oil spill mitigation tool was studied. Part I of the two-part report is a practical guide oriented toward the needs of potential users, while Part II is the research or resource document from which the practical guidance was drawn. The study included theoretical evaluations of combustion of petroleum pool fires under the effects of weathering and an oil classification system related to combustion potential. The theoretical analysis of combustion is balanced by practical experience of oil burning and case history information. Decision elements are provided which can be used as a guidemore » for technical evaluations of a particular oil spill situation. The rationale for assessing technical feasibility is given in the context of other alternatives available for response to an oil spill. A series of research and technology development concepts are included for future research. The ethics of using oil burning are discussed as issues, concerns, and tradeoffs. A detailed annotated bibliography is appended along with a capsule review of a decade of oil burning studies and other support information.« less

  6. A Review of Oil Spill Remote Sensing.

    PubMed

    Fingas, Merv; Brown, Carl E

    2017-12-30

    The technical aspects of oil spill remote sensing are examined and the practical uses and drawbacks of each technology are given with a focus on unfolding technology. The use of visible techniques is ubiquitous, but limited to certain observational conditions and simple applications. Infrared cameras offer some potential as oil spill sensors but have several limitations. Both techniques, although limited in capability, are widely used because of their increasing economy. The laser fluorosensor uniquely detects oil on substrates that include shoreline, water, soil, plants, ice, and snow. New commercial units have come out in the last few years. Radar detects calm areas on water and thus oil on water, because oil will reduce capillary waves on a water surface given moderate winds. Radar provides a unique option for wide area surveillance, all day or night and rainy/cloudy weather. Satellite-carried radars with their frequent overpass and high spatial resolution make these day-night and all-weather sensors essential for delineating both large spills and monitoring ship and platform oil discharges. Most strategic oil spill mapping is now being carried out using radar. Slick thickness measurements have been sought for many years. The operative technique at this time is the passive microwave. New techniques for calibration and verification have made these instruments more reliable.

  7. Fingerprint and weathering characteristics of stranded oils after the Hebei Spirit oil spill.

    PubMed

    Yim, Un Hyuk; Ha, Sung Yong; An, Joon Geon; Won, Jong Ho; Han, Gi Myung; Hong, Sang Hee; Kim, Moonkoo; Jung, Jee-Hyun; Shim, Won Joon

    2011-12-15

    After the Hebei Spirit oil spill in December 2007, mixtures of three types of Middle East crude oil were stranded along 375 km of coastline in Western Korea. Stranded oils were monitored for their identity and weathering status in 19 stations in three provinces. The results obtained using a weathering model indicated that evaporation would be a dominant weathering process immediately after the spill and the sequential changes of chemical composition in the field verified this prediction positively. In the early stages of weathering, the half-life of spilled oil was calculated to be 2.6 months. Tiered fingerprinting approaches identified background contamination and confirmed the identity of the stranded oils with the spill source. Double ratios using alkylated phenanthrenes and dibenzothiophenes in samples after the spill clearly reveal the impact of weathering on oil. However, to derive defensible fingerprinting for source identification and allocation, recalcitrant biomarkers are extremely useful. Weathering status of the stranded oils was evaluated using composition profiles of saturated hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and various weathering indices. Most samples collected 8 months after the spill were categorized in either the advanced or extreme weathering states. Gradual increase in toxic components in the residual oil through weathering emphasizes the need for adaptive ecotoxicological approaches. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. A Sugar-Based Gelator for Marine Oil-Spill Recovery.

    PubMed

    Vibhute, Amol M; Muvvala, Venkatanarayana; Sureshan, Kana M

    2016-06-27

    Marine oil spills constitute an environmental disaster with severe adverse effects on the economy and ecosystem. Phase-selective organogelators (PSOGs), molecules that can congeal oil selectively from oil-water mixtures, have been proposed to be useful for oil-spill recovery. However, a major drawback lies in the mode of application of the PSOG to an oil spill spread over a large area. The proposed method of using carrier solvents is impractical for various reasons. Direct application of the PSOG as a solid, although it would be ideal, is unknown, presumably owing to poor dispersion of the solid through the oil. We have designed five cheap and easy-to-make glucose-derived PSOGs that disperse in the oil phase uniformly when applied as a fine powder. These gelators were shown to selectively congeal many oils, including crude oil, from oil-water mixtures to form stable gels, which is an essential property for efficient oil-spill recovery. We have demonstrated that these PSOGs can be applied aerially as a solid powder onto a mixture of crude oil and sea water and the congealed oil can then be scooped out. Our innovative mode of application and low cost of the PSOG offers a practical solution to oil-spill recovery. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Simulating Surface Oil Transport During the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Experiments with the BioCast System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-01-25

    Virtual Special Issue Gulf of Mexico Modelling – Lessons from the spill Simulating surface oil transport during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill ...ocean surface materials. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico provided a test case for the Bio-Optical Forecasting (BioCast) system...addition of explicit sources and sinks of surface oil concentrations provides a framework for increasingly complex oil spill modeling efforts that extend

  10. New problems and opportunities of oil spill monitoring systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barenboim, G. M.; Borisov, V. M.; Golosov, V. N.; Saveca, A. Yu.

    2015-04-01

    Emergency oil and oil products spills represent a great danger to the environment, including ecosystems, and to the population. New problems of such dangerous spills and methods of early detection are discussed in this paper. It is proposed to conduct assessment of biological hazards of such spills on the basis of data on the distribution of individual oil hydrocarbons within the column of the water body and computer predictions of their toxicity. Oil radioactivity, which is associated with uranium and thorium, is seen as the important aspect of the oil spill danger, especially in watercourses. The need for an automated monitoring system for the early detection of oil spills in water bodies is analysed. The proposed system consists of three subsystems. The first remote sensing subsystem is based on powerful fluorescent lidars; experimental results on lidar registration of oil pollution of water are reported. The second subsystem uses a network of automatic monitoring stations with contact detectors. The third subsystem is the combined sensor system based on remote and contact technologies.

  11. A high-level synthesis of oil spill response equipment and countermeasures.

    PubMed

    Ventikos, Nikolaos P; Vergetis, Emmanouil; Psaraftis, Harilaos N; Triantafyllou, George

    2004-02-27

    This paper presents an operational synthesis of major oil spill response methods (mechanical, chemical, etc.) and the corresponding oil response equipment for sea context (booms, skimmers, etc.). We focus on important features of oil spill response, in order to formulate a decision-based database, capable of supporting the development of a complete oil spill response operation. Moreover, we classify these findings and introduce simple formatting and standards to supply predictive tools for oil spill models. The actual goal of this paper is to come up with a decision-driven process, which can provide for a realistic choice of oil spill response equipment in the design of the primary oil response phase. This is intended to lead to a prompt, logical, and well-prepared oil spill response operation satisfying time and cost criteria and protecting the marine environment.

  12. Heavily Oiled Salt Marsh following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Ecological Comparisons of Shoreline Cleanup Treatments and Recovery

    PubMed Central

    Zengel, Scott; Bernik, Brittany M.; Rutherford, Nicolle; Nixon, Zachary; Michel, Jacqueline

    2015-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected hundreds of kilometers of coastal wetland shorelines, including salt marshes with persistent heavy oiling that required intensive shoreline “cleanup” treatment. Oiled marsh treatment involves a delicate balance among: removing oil, speeding the degradation of remaining oil, protecting wildlife, fostering habitat recovery, and not causing further ecological damage with treatment. To examine the effectiveness and ecological effects of treatment during the emergency response, oiling characteristics and ecological parameters were compared over two years among heavily oiled test plots subject to: manual treatment, mechanical treatment, natural recovery (no treatment, oiled control), as well as adjacent reference conditions. An additional experiment compared areas with and without vegetation planting following treatment. Negative effects of persistent heavy oiling on marsh vegetation, intertidal invertebrates, and shoreline erosion were observed. In areas without treatment, oiling conditions and negative effects for most marsh parameters did not considerably improve over two years. Both manual and mechanical treatment were effective at improving oiling conditions and vegetation characteristics, beginning the recovery process, though recovery was not complete by two years. Mechanical treatment had additional negative effects of mixing oil into the marsh soils and further accelerating erosion. Manual treatment appeared to strike the right balance between improving oiling and habitat conditions while not causing additional detrimental effects. However, even with these improvements, marsh periwinkle snails showed minimal signs of recovery through two years, suggesting that some ecosystem components may lag vegetation recovery. Planting following treatment quickened vegetation recovery and reduced shoreline erosion. Faced with comparable marsh oiling in the future, we would recommend manual treatment followed by planting. We

  13. Earth Observation Services (Oil Spill Mapping)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1992-01-01

    An EOCAP project led Research Planning, Inc. to the development of advanced techniques for "environmental sensitivity" oil spill mapping. The new method incorporates satellite remote sensing and GIS technologies and was utilized to assess the damage potential of the Gulf war oil spill. EOCAP provides government co-funding to encourage private investment in, and to broaden the, use of, NASA-developed technology for analyzing information about Earth and ocean resources.

  14. Classification of Floating Chris Chemicals for the Development of a Spill Response Manual

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-01-01

    Spill collection of the spent floating media in a static body of water was accomplished using existing oil spill cleanup equipment. The effectiveness...carbon depends on the size of particle required and type of carbon purchased. Regeneration of the spent carbon is difficult and may not lower costs...enhance the dispersion of a spill. Care must be taken to limit or prevent any caustic or hazardous spill material from personnel contact. Aeration

  15. Advancing Partnerships Towards an Integrated Approach to Oil Spill Response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Green, D. S.; Stough, T.; Gallegos, S. C.; Leifer, I.; Murray, J. J.; Streett, D.

    2015-12-01

    Oil spills can cause enormous ecological and economic devastation, necessitating application of the best science and technology available, and remote sensing is playing a growing critical role in the detection and monitoring of oil spills, as well as facilitating validation of remote sensing oil spill products. The FOSTERRS (Federal Oil Science Team for Emergency Response Remote Sensing) interagency working group seeks to ensure that during an oil spill, remote sensing assets (satellite/aircraft/instruments) and analysis techniques are quickly, effectively, appropriately, and seamlessly available to oil spills responders. Yet significant challenges remain for addressing oils spanning a vast range of chemical properties that may be spilled from the Tropics to the Arctic, with algorithms and scientific understanding needing advances to keep up with technology. Thus, FOSTERRS promotes enabling scientific discovery to ensure robust utilization of available technology as well as identifying technologies moving up the TRL (Technology Readiness Level). A recent FOSTERRS facilitated support activity involved deployment of the AVIRIS NG (Airborne Visual Infrared Imaging Spectrometer- Next Generation) during the Santa Barbara Oil Spill to validate the potential of airborne hyperspectral imaging to real-time map beach tar coverage including surface validation data. Many developing airborne technologies have potential to transition to space-based platforms providing global readiness.

  16. Electrobioremediation of oil spills.

    PubMed

    Daghio, Matteo; Aulenta, Federico; Vaiopoulou, Eleni; Franzetti, Andrea; Arends, Jan B A; Sherry, Angela; Suárez-Suárez, Ana; Head, Ian M; Bestetti, Giuseppina; Rabaey, Korneel

    2017-05-01

    Annually, thousands of oil spills occur across the globe. As a result, petroleum substances and petrochemical compounds are widespread contaminants causing concern due to their toxicity and recalcitrance. Many remediation strategies have been developed using both physicochemical and biological approaches. Biological strategies are most benign, aiming to enhance microbial metabolic activities by supplying limiting inorganic nutrients, electron acceptors or donors, thus stimulating oxidation or reduction of contaminants. A key issue is controlling the supply of electron donors/acceptors. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have emerged, in which an electrical current serves as either electron donor or acceptor for oil spill bioremediation. BES are highly controllable and can possibly also serve as biosensors for real time monitoring of the degradation process. Despite being promising, multiple aspects need to be considered to make BES suitable for field applications including system design, electrode materials, operational parameters, mode of action and radius of influence. The microbiological processes, involved in bioelectrochemical contaminant degradation, are currently not fully understood, particularly in relation to electron transfer mechanisms. Especially in sulfate rich environments, the sulfur cycle appears pivotal during hydrocarbon oxidation. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the research on bioelectrochemical remediation of oil spills and of the key parameters involved in the process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A Review of Oil Spill Remote Sensing

    PubMed Central

    Brown, Carl E.

    2017-01-01

    The technical aspects of oil spill remote sensing are examined and the practical uses and drawbacks of each technology are given with a focus on unfolding technology. The use of visible techniques is ubiquitous, but limited to certain observational conditions and simple applications. Infrared cameras offer some potential as oil spill sensors but have several limitations. Both techniques, although limited in capability, are widely used because of their increasing economy. The laser fluorosensor uniquely detects oil on substrates that include shoreline, water, soil, plants, ice, and snow. New commercial units have come out in the last few years. Radar detects calm areas on water and thus oil on water, because oil will reduce capillary waves on a water surface given moderate winds. Radar provides a unique option for wide area surveillance, all day or night and rainy/cloudy weather. Satellite-carried radars with their frequent overpass and high spatial resolution make these day–night and all-weather sensors essential for delineating both large spills and monitoring ship and platform oil discharges. Most strategic oil spill mapping is now being carried out using radar. Slick thickness measurements have been sought for many years. The operative technique at this time is the passive microwave. New techniques for calibration and verification have made these instruments more reliable. PMID:29301212

  18. 78 FR 54669 - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-05

    ...] Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. ACTION... meeting of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee. DATES: October 3, 2013, at 9:30 a.m... INFORMATION: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee was created by Paragraph V.A.4 of the...

  19. Deepwater BP Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Update | NOAA

    Science.gov Websites

    Publications Press Releases Story Archive Home Deepwater BP Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Update Deepwater BP Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Update share Posted on July 7, 2011 | Assessment and Early Restoration Restoration Area Title: Deepwater BP Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage

  20. Detection of oil spills using 13.3 GHz radar scatterometer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Krishen, K.

    1972-01-01

    The results of an analysis of 13.3-GHz single polarized scatterometer data collected during NASA/MSC Mission 135, flown on March 16, 1970 are reported. Data were gathered over a crude oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico off the Mississippi Delta. With the aid of RC-8 camera photographs, the scattering cross section was correlated with the extent of the oil spill. The scattering cross section at higher incidence angles decreased by 5 db to 10 db in the presence of the oil spill. This was attributed to oil's damping of small gravity and capillary waves. The composite scattering theory and the scatterometer acquired data were used to obtain an expression of radar scattering over ocean surfaces with oil spills. The study demonstrates that the presence and extent of oil spills can be detected using high frequency radar systems.

  1. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill: the trauma signature of an ecological disaster.

    PubMed

    Shultz, James M; Walsh, Lauren; Garfin, Dana Rose; Wilson, Fiona E; Neria, Yuval

    2015-01-01

    The 2010 Deepwater Horizon “British Petroleum (BP)” oil spill was a mega-disaster characterized as the petroleum industry’s largest-volume marine oil spill in history. Following a “wellhead blowout” that destroyed the drilling platform, 4.9 million barrels of petroleum flowed into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days and the spill expanded to cover 68,000 square miles of sea surface. However, despite the expansive scope of the event, systematic surveys of affected coastal populations found only modest effects on mental health and substance abuse. An established trauma signature (TSIG) methodology was used to examine the psychological consequences in relation to exposure to the unique constellation of hazards associated with the spill. A hazard profile, a matrix of psychological stressors, and a “trauma signature” summary for the affected Gulf Coast population--in terms of exposure to hazard, loss, and change--were created specifically for this human-generated ecological disaster. Psychological risk characteristics of this event included: human causation featuring corporate culpability, large spill volume, protracted duration, coastal contamination from petroleum products, severe ecological damage, disruption of Gulf Coast industries and tourism, and extensive media coverage. The multiple impact effect was notable due to prior exposure of the region to Hurricane Katrina. These stressors were counterbalanced by the relative absence of other prominent risks for distress and psychopathology. Coastal residents did not experience significant onshore spill-related mortality or severe injury, shortages of survival needs, disruption of vital services (health care, schools, utilities, communications, and transportation), loss of homes, population displacement, destruction of the built environment, or loss of social supports. Initial acute economic losses were partially offset by large-sum BP payments for cleanup and recovery of the coastal economy. Not only did Gulf

  2. The effects of spilled oil on coastal ecosystems: Lessons from the Exxon Valdez spill: Chapter 11

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bodkin, James L.; Esler, Daniel N.; Rice, Stanley D.; Matkin, Craig O.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Maslo, Brooke; Lockwood, Julie L.

    2014-01-01

    Oil spilled from ships or other sources into the marine environment often occurs in close proximity to coastlines, and oil frequently accumulates in coastal habitats. As a consequence, a rich, albeit occasionally controversial, body of literature describes a broad range of effects of spilled oil across several habitats, communities, and species in coastal environments. This statement is not to imply that spilled oil has less of an effect in pelagic marine ecosystems, but rather that marine spills occurring offshore may be less likely to be detected, and associated effects are more difficult to monitor, evaluate, and quantify (Peterson et al., 2012). As a result, we have a much greater awareness of coastal pollution, which speaks to our need to improve our capacities in understanding the ecology of the open oceans. Conservation of coastal ecosystems and assessment of risks associated with oil spills can be facilitated through a better understanding of processes leading to direct and indirect responses of species and systems to oil exposure.It is also important to recognize that oil spilled from ships represents only ~9% of the nearly 700 000 barrels of petroleum that enter waters of North America annually from anthropogenic sources (NRC, 2003). The immediate effects of large spills can be defined as acute, due to the obvious and dramatic effects that are observed. In contrast, the remaining 625 000 barrels that are released each year can be thought of as chronic non-point pollution, resulting from oil entering the coastal ocean as runoff in a more consistent but much less conspicuous rate. In this chapter, we primarily address the effects of large oil spills that occur near coastlines and consider their potential for both acute and chronic effects on coastal communities. As described below, in some instances, the effects from chronic exposure may meet or exceed the more evident acute effects from large spills. Consequently, although quantifying chronic effects

  3. Immediate ecotoxicological effects of short-lived oil spills on marine biota

    PubMed Central

    Brussaard, Corina P. D.; Peperzak, Louis; Beggah, Siham; Wick, Lukas Y.; Wuerz, Birgit; Weber, Jan; Samuel Arey, J.; van der Burg, Bart; Jonas, Arjen; Huisman, Johannes; van der Meer, Jan Roelof

    2016-01-01

    Marine environments are frequently exposed to oil spills as a result of transportation, oil drilling or fuel usage. Whereas large oil spills and their effects have been widely documented, more common and recurrent small spills typically escape attention. To fill this important gap in the assessment of oil-spill effects, we performed two independent supervised full sea releases of 5 m3 of crude oil, complemented by on-board mesocosm studies and sampling of accidentally encountered slicks. Using rapid on-board biological assays, we detect high bioavailability and toxicity of dissolved and dispersed oil within 24 h after the spills, occurring fairly deep (8 m) below the slicks. Selective decline of marine plankton is observed, equally relevant for early stages of larger spills. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to common thinking, even small spills have immediate adverse biological effects and their recurrent nature is likely to affect marine ecosystem functioning. PMID:27041738

  4. Immediate ecotoxicological effects of short-lived oil spills on marine biota.

    PubMed

    Brussaard, Corina P D; Peperzak, Louis; Beggah, Siham; Wick, Lukas Y; Wuerz, Birgit; Weber, Jan; Samuel Arey, J; van der Burg, Bart; Jonas, Arjen; Huisman, Johannes; van der Meer, Jan Roelof

    2016-04-04

    Marine environments are frequently exposed to oil spills as a result of transportation, oil drilling or fuel usage. Whereas large oil spills and their effects have been widely documented, more common and recurrent small spills typically escape attention. To fill this important gap in the assessment of oil-spill effects, we performed two independent supervised full sea releases of 5 m(3) of crude oil, complemented by on-board mesocosm studies and sampling of accidentally encountered slicks. Using rapid on-board biological assays, we detect high bioavailability and toxicity of dissolved and dispersed oil within 24 h after the spills, occurring fairly deep (8 m) below the slicks. Selective decline of marine plankton is observed, equally relevant for early stages of larger spills. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to common thinking, even small spills have immediate adverse biological effects and their recurrent nature is likely to affect marine ecosystem functioning.

  5. Synergistic use of an oil drift model and remote sensing observations for oil spill monitoring.

    PubMed

    De Padova, Diana; Mossa, Michele; Adamo, Maria; De Carolis, Giacomo; Pasquariello, Guido

    2017-02-01

    In case of oil spills due to disasters, one of the environmental concerns is the oil trajectories and spatial distribution. To meet these new challenges, spill response plans need to be upgraded. An important component of such a plan would be models able to simulate the behaviour of oil in terms of trajectories and spatial distribution, if accidentally released, in deep water. All these models need to be calibrated with independent observations. The aim of the present paper is to demonstrate that significant support to oil slick monitoring can be obtained by the synergistic use of oil drift models and remote sensing observations. Based on transport properties and weathering processes, oil drift models can indeed predict the fate of spilled oil under the action of water current velocity and wind in terms of oil position, concentration and thickness distribution. The oil spill event that occurred on 31 May 2003 in the Baltic Sea offshore the Swedish and Danish coasts is considered a case study with the aim of producing three-dimensional models of sea circulation and oil contaminant transport. The High-Resolution Limited Area Model (HIRLAM) is used for atmospheric forcing. The results of the numerical modelling of current speed and water surface elevation data are validated by measurements carried out in Kalmarsund, Simrishamn and Kungsholmsfort stations over a period of 18 days and 17 h. The oil spill model uses the current field obtained from a circulation model. Near-infrared (NIR) satellite images were compared with numerical simulations. The simulation was able to predict both the oil spill trajectories of the observed slick and thickness distribution. Therefore, this work shows how oil drift modelling and remotely sensed data can provide the right synergy to reproduce the timing and transport of the oil and to get reliable estimates of thicknesses of spilled oil to prepare an emergency plan and to assess the magnitude of risk involved in case of oil spills due

  6. Mutual Interest: Engaging Vietnam on Oil Spill Prevention and Response

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-11-01

    on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling builds trust and improves their response capability. The Commission concluded that the...Surface recovery skimmers were 26 National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and...Sea. Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1979. National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. Report to

  7. Mid-Term Probabilistic Forecast of Oil Spill Trajectories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castanedo, S.; Abascal, A. J.; Cardenas, M.; Medina, R.; Guanche, Y.; Mendez, F. J.; Camus, P.

    2012-12-01

    There is increasing concern about the threat posed by oil spills to the coastal environment. This is reflected in the promulgation of various national and international standards among which are those that require companies whose activities involves oil spill risk, to have oil pollution emergency plans or similar arrangements for responding promptly and effectively to oil pollution incidents. Operational oceanography systems (OOS) that provide decision makers with oil spill trajectory forecasting, have demonstrated their usefulness in recent accidents (Castanedo et al., 2006). In recent years, many national and regional OOS have been setup focusing on short-term oil spill forecast (up to 5 days). However, recent accidental marine oil spills (Prestige in Spain, Deep Horizon in Gulf of Mexico) have revealed the importance of having larger prediction horizons (up to 15 days) in regional-scale areas. In this work, we have developed a methodology to provide probabilistic oil spill forecast based on numerical modelling and statistical methods. The main components of this approach are: (1) Use of high resolution long-term (1948-2009) historical hourly data bases of wind, wind-induced currents and astronomical tide currents obtained using state-of-the-art numerical models; (2) classification of representative wind field patterns (n=100) using clustering techniques based on PCA and K-means algorithms (Camus et al., 2011); (3) determination of the cluster occurrence probability and the stochastic matrix (matrix of transition of probability or Markov matrix), p_ij, (probability of moving from a cluster "i" to a cluster "j" in one time step); (4) Initial state for mid-term simulations is obtained from available wind forecast using nearest-neighbors analog method; (5) 15-days Stochastic Markov Chain simulations (m=1000) are launched; (6) Corresponding oil spill trajectories are carried out by TESEO Lagrangian transport model (Abascal et al., 2009); (7) probability maps are

  8. Environmental implications of oil spills from shipping accidents.

    PubMed

    Rogowska, Justyna; Namieśnik, Jacek

    2010-01-01

    Since ancient times, ships have sunk during storms, either as a result of collisions with other vessels or running onto rocks. However, the ever-increasing importance of crude oil in the twentieth century and the corresponding growth in the world's tanker fleet have drawn attention to the negative implications of sea transport. Disasters involving tankers like the Torrey Canyon or the Amoco Cadiz have shown how dramatic the consequences of such an accident may be. The effects of oil spills at sea depend on numerous factors, such as the physicochemical parameters of the oil, the characteristics of the environment affected, and the physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring there, such as evaporation, dissolution, dispersion, emulsification, photo-oxidation, biodegradation, and sedimentation. The combination of these processes reduces the concentrations of hydrocarbons in sediments and water and alters the chemical composition of spilled oils. In every case, oil spills pose a danger to fauna and flora and cause damage to sea and shores ecosystems. Many of the petroleum-related chemicals that are spilled are toxic, otherwise carcinogenic or can be bioaccumulated in the tissues of marine organisms. Such chemicals may then be biomagnified up the marine food chain from phytoplankton to fish, then to seals and other carnivorous sea mammals. Moreover, oil products can be accumulated and immobilized in bottom deposits for long periods of time. Oil spills are particularly dangerous when they occur in small inland seas that have intense sea traffic, e.g., the Baltic Sea.

  9. RESIDUAL MUTAGENICITY OF THE ALASKAN OIL SPILL ORGANICS

    EPA Science Inventory

    RESIDUAL MUTAGENICITY OF THE ALASKAN OIL SPILL ORGANICS. L.D.

    The Exxon Valdez, on March 24, 1989, spilled approximately eleven million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. Approximately 300 miles of
    contaminated beach are potential...

  10. Pollution risk assessment of oil spill accidents in Garorim Bay of Korea.

    PubMed

    Lee, Moonjin; Jung, Jung-Yeul

    2015-11-15

    This study presents a model to assess the oil spill risk in Garorim Bay in Korea, where large-scale oil spill accidents frequently occur. The oil spill risk assessment is carried out by using two factors: 1) The impact probability of the oil spill, and 2) the first impact time of the oil that has been spilt. The risk assessment is conducted for environmentally sensitive areas, such as the coastline and aquaculture farms in the Garorim Bay area. Finally, Garorim Bay is divided into six subareas, and the risks of each subarea are compared with one another to identify the subarea that is most vulnerable to an oil spill accident. These results represent an objective and comprehensive oil spill risk level for a specific region. The prediction of the oil spill spread is based on real-time sea conditions and can be improved by integrating our results, especially when sea conditions are rapidly changing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Logistics of Oil Spill Dispersant Application. Volume I. Logistics-Related Properties of Oil Spill Dispersants.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1982-11-01

    The use of chemicals for oil spill dispersal, while not presently widespread in the U.S., would have implications for the U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Environmental Protection program. This report explores the logistics of oil disperant application by t...

  12. Proceedings of the Workshop on Government Oil Spill Modeling

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bishop, J. M. (Compiler)

    1980-01-01

    Oil spill model users and modelers were brought together for the purpose of fostering joint communication and increasing understanding of mutual problems. The workshop concentrated on defining user needs, presentations on ongoing modeling programs, and discussions of supporting research for these modeling efforts. Specific user recommendations include the development of an oil spill model user library which identifies and describes available models. The development of models for the long-term fate and effect of spilled oil was examined.

  13. Ecological Impacts During the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was the largest environmental disaster and response effort in U.S. history, with nearly 800 million liters of crude oil spilled. Vast areas of the Gulf of Mexico were contaminated with oil, including deep-ocean communities and over 1,600 kilo...

  14. Oil Spill! Student Guide and Teacher Guide. OEAGLS Investigation 17.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fortner, Rosanne W.; Ihle, Stephanie

    Presented in this unit are three activities concerning the causes and effects of oil spills and methods used to clean up these spills in the oceans and Great Lakes. Students construct and interpret a graph showing oil pollution sources. The students create and try to clean up a small-scale oil spill in a pan, and they compare the water quality of…

  15. Impacts, recovery rates, and treatment options for spilled oil in marshes.

    PubMed

    Michel, Jacqueline; Rutherford, Nicolle

    2014-05-15

    In a review of the literature on impacts of spilled oil on marshes, 32 oil spills and field experiments were identified with sufficient data to generate recovery curves and identify influencing factors controlling the rate of recovery. For many spills, recovery occurred within 1-2 growing seasons, even in the absence of any treatment. Recovery was longest for spills with the following conditions: Cold climate; sheltered settings; thick oil on the marsh surface; light refined products with heavy loading; oils that formed persistent thick residues; and intensive treatment. Recovery was shortest for spills with the following conditions: Warm climate; light to heavy oiling of the vegetation only; medium crude oils; and less-intensive treatment. Recommendations are made for treatment based on the following oiling conditions: Free-floating oil on the water in the marsh; thicker oil (>0.5 cm) on marsh surface; thinner oil (<0.5 cm) on marsh surface; heavy oil loading on vegetation; and light to moderate oil loading on vegetation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. EPA OIL FIELD SOLUTION

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Technical product bulletin: aka HYDRO-CLEAN, GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANER, AWAN PRA, this surface washing agent for oil spill cleanups is sprayed full strength on oiled rocky surfaces at shorelines, mangroves, and seagrasses. Allow at least 30 minute soak.

  17. State of the Art Satellite and Airborne Marine Oil Spill Remote Sensing: Application to the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-01-01

    numerical oil spill model validation showing the need for improvedmodel param- eterizations of basic oil spill processes (Cheng et al., 2010). 3.1.2...2004). Modelling the bidirectional reflectance distribution function ( BRDF ) of seawater polluted by an oil film. Optics Express, 12, 1671–1676. Pilon...display a currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE 2012 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2012 to 00-00-2012 4. TITLE AND

  18. Rational application of chemicals in response to oil spills may reduce environmental damage.

    PubMed

    Tamis, Jacqueline E; Jongbloed, Ruud H; Karman, Chris C; Koops, Wierd; Murk, Albertinka J

    2012-04-01

    Oil spills, for example those due to tanker collisions and groundings or platform accidents, can have huge adverse impacts on marine systems. The impact of an oil spill at sea depends on a number of factors, such as spill volume, type of oil spilled, weather conditions, and proximity to environmentally, economically, or socially sensitive areas. Oil spilled at sea threatens marine organisms, whole ecosystems, and economic resources in the immediate vicinity, such as fisheries, aquaculture, recreation, and tourism. Adequate response to any oil spill to minimize damage is therefore of great importance. The common response to an oil spill is to remove all visible oil from the water surface, either mechanically or by using chemicals to disperse the oil into the water column to biodegrade. This is not always the most suitable response to an oil spill, as the chemical application itself may also have adverse effects, or no response may be needed. In this article we discuss advantages and disadvantages of using chemical treatments to reduce the impact of an oil spill in relation to the conditions of the spill. The main characteristics of chemical treatment agents are discussed and presented within the context of a basic decision support scheme. Copyright © 2011 SETAC.

  19. New techniques on oil spill modelling applied in the Eastern Mediterranean sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zodiatis, George; Kokinou, Eleni; Alves, Tiago; Lardner, Robin

    2016-04-01

    Small or large oil spills resulting from accidents on oil and gas platforms or due to the maritime traffic comprise a major environmental threat for all marine and coastal systems, and they are responsible for huge economic losses concerning the human infrastructures and the tourism. This work aims at presenting the integration of oil-spill model, bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, geomorphological and geological data to assess the impact of oil spills in maritime regions such as bays, as well as in the open sea, carried out in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea within the frame of NEREIDs, MEDESS-4MS and RAOP-Med EU projects. The MEDSLIK oil spill predictions are successfully combined with bathymetric analyses, the shoreline susceptibility and hazard mapping to predict the oil slick trajectories and the extend of the coastal areas affected. Based on MEDSLIK results, oil spill spreading and dispersion scenarios are produced both for non-mitigated and mitigated oil spills. MEDSLIK model considers three response combating methods of floating oil spills: a) mechanical recovery using skimmers or similar mechanisms; b) destruction by fire, c) use of dispersants or other bio-chemical means and deployment of booms. Shoreline susceptibility map can be compiled for the study areas based on the Environmental Susceptibility Index. The ESI classification considers a range of values between 1 and 9, with level 1 (ESI 1) representing areas of low susceptibility, impermeable to oil spilt during accidents, such as linear shorelines with rocky cliffs. In contrast, ESI 9 shores are highly vulnerable, and often coincide with natural reserves and special protected areas. Additionally, hazard maps of the maritime and coastal areas, possibly exposed to the danger on an oil spill, evaluate and categorize the hazard in levels from low to very high. This is important because a) Prior to an oil spill accident, hazard and shoreline susceptibility maps are made available to design

  20. Uncertainty quantification and reliability assessment in operational oil spill forecast modeling system.

    PubMed

    Hou, Xianlong; Hodges, Ben R; Feng, Dongyu; Liu, Qixiao

    2017-03-15

    As oil transport increasing in the Texas bays, greater risks of ship collisions will become a challenge, yielding oil spill accidents as a consequence. To minimize the ecological damage and optimize rapid response, emergency managers need to be informed with how fast and where oil will spread as soon as possible after a spill. The state-of-the-art operational oil spill forecast modeling system improves the oil spill response into a new stage. However uncertainty due to predicted data inputs often elicits compromise on the reliability of the forecast result, leading to misdirection in contingency planning. Thus understanding the forecast uncertainty and reliability become significant. In this paper, Monte Carlo simulation is implemented to provide parameters to generate forecast probability maps. The oil spill forecast uncertainty is thus quantified by comparing the forecast probability map and the associated hindcast simulation. A HyosPy-based simple statistic model is developed to assess the reliability of an oil spill forecast in term of belief degree. The technologies developed in this study create a prototype for uncertainty and reliability analysis in numerical oil spill forecast modeling system, providing emergency managers to improve the capability of real time operational oil spill response and impact assessment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. ENVIRONMENTAL 1 CRUDE OIL CLEANER

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Technical product bulletin: this surface washing agent is used in oil spill cleanups on solid surfaces including beaches, rocks, machines, buildings, and tools. The oil and cleaner form a loose emulsion that can be rinsed away.

  2. Ecological impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill: implications for immunotoxicity.

    PubMed

    Barron, Mace G

    2012-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was the largest environmental disaster and response effort in U.S. history, with nearly 800 million liters of crude oil spilled. Vast areas of the Gulf of Mexico were contaminated with oil, including deep-ocean communities and over 1,600 kilometers of shoreline. Multiple species of pelagic, tidal, and estuarine organisms; sea turtles; marine mammals; and birds were affected, and over 20 million hectares of the Gulf of Mexico were closed to fishing. Several large-scale field efforts were performed, including assessments of shoreline and wildlife oiling and of coastal waters and sediments. The assessment of injuries, damages, and restoration options for the DWH spill is ongoing. Although petroleum and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon component of oils are known to affect the immune systems of aquatic organisms and wildlife, immunotoxicity is not typically assessed during oil spills and has not been a focus of the DHW assessment. The effects of oil spill contaminants on immune responses are variable and often exposure dependent, but immunotoxic effects seem likely from the DHW spill based on the reported effects of a variety of oils on both aquatic and wildlife species.

  3. Satellite observations and modeling of oil spill trajectories in the Bohai Sea.

    PubMed

    Xu, Qing; Li, Xiaofeng; Wei, Yongliang; Tang, Zeyan; Cheng, Yongcun; Pichel, William G

    2013-06-15

    On June 4 and 17, 2011, separate oil spill accidents occurred at two oil platforms in the Bohai Sea, China. The oil spills were subsequently observed on different types of satellite images including SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar), Chinese HJ-1-B CCD and NASA MODIS. To illustrate the fate of the oil spills, we performed two numerical simulations to simulate the trajectories of the oil spills with the GNOME (General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment) model. For the first time, we drive the GNOME with currents obtained from an operational ocean model (NCOM, Navy Coastal Ocean Model) and surface winds from operational scatterometer measurements (ASCAT, the Advanced Scatterometer). Both data sets are freely and openly available. The initial oil spill location inputs to the model are based on the detected oil spill locations from the SAR images acquired on June 11 and 14. Three oil slicks are tracked simultaneously and our results show good agreement between model simulations and subsequent satellite observations in the semi-enclosed shallow sea. Moreover, GNOME simulation shows that the number of 'splots', which denotes the extent of spilled oil, is a vital factor for GNOME running stability when the number is less than 500. Therefore, oil spill area information obtained from satellite sensors, especially SAR, is an important factor for setting up the initial model conditions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. An advance forecasting system for ship originated oil spills in the Mediterranean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zodiatis, G.; Lardner, R.; De Dominicis, M.; Coppini, G.; Pinardi, N.

    2012-04-01

    One of the permanent risks from an oil spill incident in the Mediterranean is associated with the heavy traffic in maritime transport, as well nowadays with the coastal and offshore installations related to the oil and gas industry. Such dense activity imposes on the coastal countries the need for preparing an operational response to major oil spill incidents. In the recent past, several policies related to oil spill response have been adopted internationally. At the regional level the Barcelona convention, recognizing pollution from oil spills as one of the major threats to the marine environment of the Mediterranean, initiated the preparedness for responding to major oil spill incidents, through various national and sub-regional contingency plans. At the European level the Member States was obliged to implement the EU Directive 2005/35, aimed at identifying the polluter and bringing them to prosecution. The response to an oil spill incident employs various measures and equipment. However, the success of such response depends greatly on the prediction of the movement and weathering of the oil spills. Such predictions may obtained through the operational application of advanced numerical oil spill models integrated with met-ocean forecasting data. A well established operational system for oil spill predictions in the Mediterranean is the MEDSLIK three dimensional model that predicts the transport, diffusion and spreading of oil spill and incorporates the fate processes of evaporation, emulsification, viscosity changes, dispersion into the water column and coastal impact and adhesion. MEDSLIK is integrated with the MyOCEAN regional and several downscaled ocean forecasting systems in the Mediterranean, contributing to the development of the GMES marine services. Moreover, MEDSLIK has been coupled with EMSA-CSN and ESA ASAR imageries, for short forward and backward predictions, to assist the response agencies in the implementation of the EU Directive 2005/35. From

  5. MODELING DISPERSANT INTERACTIONS WITH OIL SPILLS

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA is developing a model called the EPA Research Object-Oriented Oil Spill Model (ERO3S) and associated databases to simulate the impacts of dispersants on oil slicks. Because there are features of oil slicks that align naturally with major concepts of object-oriented programmi...

  6. GREEN TECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS-OIL RECOVERY (GTS-OR)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Technical product bulletin: this surface washing agent used in oil spill cleanups may clean oil from beaches, rocks, riprap, pilings, and seawalls. May be used in freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments.

  7. Tracking buoys research for oil spilling with the wireless charging equipment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Di; Zhao, Ping

    2018-03-01

    This paper describes thewirelesscharging equipment for achieving oil spill tracking buoys detection in satellite images acquired after tanker accidents or ship oil spill accidents. This information could allow the evolution of residues dumped at sea to be tracked. The validity of this process is demonstrated using several experiment acquired over several regions (Dalian and Tianjin coasts in China), in which a tanker accident has occurred and as a consequence oil spillage has taken place. Thus, this purpose of paper is developed for the active surveillance and rapid response to marine oil spills tracking buoys with wirelesscharging equipmentis important and essential to environment protection. It may appears of leak places for the Wire Charging Equipment for marine oil spills tracking buoys monitoring needs, and achieved instant alarm technology and equipment, guarantees leak occurred timely obtained alarm information. In order toproviding oil spill accidents emergency quickly reaction time and prepared. The maximum degree reduce oil leak and accidents caused influences are ensured.

  8. Detection of oil spills using a 13.3-GHz radar scatterometer.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Krishen, K.

    1973-01-01

    This paper describes the results of an analysis of 13.3-GHz single-polarized scatterometer data collected during NASA/MSC mission 135, flown on March 16, 1970. Data were gathered over a crude oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico (test site 128) off the Mississippi delta. With the aid of RC-8 camera photographs the scattering cross section was correlated with the extent of the oil spill. The scattering cross section at higher incidence angles (25 to 50 deg) decreased by 5-10 db in the presence of the oil spill. This was attributed to the damping by oil of small gravity and capillary waves. The composite scattering theory and the scatterometer-acquired data were used to obtain an expression of radar scattering over ocean surfaces with oil spills. The study demonstrates that the presence and extent of oil spills can be detected with high-frequency radar systems.

  9. Autonomous Graphene Vessel for Suctioning and Storing Liquid Body of Spilled Oil.

    PubMed

    Kim, Taewoo; Lee, Jeong Seok; Lee, Geonhui; Seo, Dong Kyun; Baek, Youngbin; Yoon, Jeyong; Oh, Seung M; Kang, Tae June; Lee, Hong H; Kim, Yong Hyup

    2016-02-29

    Despite remarkable strides in science and technology, the strategy for spilled oil collection has remained almost the same since the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. The graphene vessel devised here can bring about an important yet basic change in the strategy for spilled oil collection. When it is placed on the oil-covered seawater, the graphene vessel selectively separates the oil, then collects and stores the collected oil in the vessel all by itself without any external power inputs. Capillarity and gravity work together to fill this proto-type graphene vessel with the spilled oil at a rate that is higher than 20,000 liters per square meter per hour (LMH) with oil purity better than 99.9%, and allow the vessel to withstand a water head of 0.5 m. The vessel also has a superb chemical stability and recyclability. An expanded oil contact area, considerably greater than the thickness of the oil layer, forms at the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) foam interface upon contact with the spilled oil. This expanded contact area does not change much even when the oil layer thins out. As a result, the high oil collection rate is maintained throughout the recovery of spilled oil.

  10. Autonomous Graphene Vessel for Suctioning and Storing Liquid Body of Spilled Oil

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Taewoo; Lee, Jeong Seok; Lee, Geonhui; Seo, Dong Kyun; Baek, Youngbin; Yoon, Jeyong; Oh, Seung M.; Kang, Tae June; Lee, Hong H.; Kim, Yong Hyup

    2016-01-01

    Despite remarkable strides in science and technology, the strategy for spilled oil collection has remained almost the same since the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. The graphene vessel devised here can bring about an important yet basic change in the strategy for spilled oil collection. When it is placed on the oil-covered seawater, the graphene vessel selectively separates the oil, then collects and stores the collected oil in the vessel all by itself without any external power inputs. Capillarity and gravity work together to fill this proto-type graphene vessel with the spilled oil at a rate that is higher than 20,000 liters per square meter per hour (LMH) with oil purity better than 99.9%, and allow the vessel to withstand a water head of 0.5 m. The vessel also has a superb chemical stability and recyclability. An expanded oil contact area, considerably greater than the thickness of the oil layer, forms at the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) foam interface upon contact with the spilled oil. This expanded contact area does not change much even when the oil layer thins out. As a result, the high oil collection rate is maintained throughout the recovery of spilled oil. PMID:26923622

  11. Assessing Oil Spill Impacts to Cold-Water Corals of the Deep Gulf of Mexico

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeLeo, D. M.; Lengyel, S. D.; Cordes, E. E.

    2016-02-01

    The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster and subsequent cleanup efforts resulted in the release of an unprecedented amount of oil and chemical dispersants in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Over the years, numerous detrimental effects have been documented including impacts to cold-water coral ecosystems. Assessing and quantifying these effects is crucial to understanding the long-term consequences to affected coral populations as well as their resilience. We conducted live exposure experiments to investigate the toxicity of oil and dispersants on two deep-sea corals, Callogorgia delta and Paramuricea type B3. For both species, the treatments containing dispersants had a more pronounced effect than oil treatments alone. In addition, RNA from unexposed and DWH spill-impacted Paramuricea biscaya was extracted and sequenced using Illumina technology. A de novo reference transcriptome was produced and used to explore stress-induced variations in gene expression. Current findings show overexpression of genes coding for Cytochrome p450 (CYP1A1), Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factors (TRAFs), Peroxidasin and additional genes involved in innate immunity and apoptotic pathways. CYP1A1 is involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and has been previously used as a diagnostic tool for aquatic pollution. TRAFs are responsible for regulating pathways involved in immune and inflammatory responses and were likewise overexpressed in thermally stressed shallow-water corals. Ribosomal proteins were also significantly underexpressed. These genes among others found in our expression data serve as useful biomarker candidates for assessing and monitoring future spill impacts as resource extraction continues in the deep waters of the GoM. Our results also provide insights into the responses of deep-sea corals to toxin exposure, implications of applying dispersants to oil spills and a novel reference assembly for a relatively under-studied group of cold-water corals.

  12. Monitoring of Olympic National Park Beaches to determine fate and effects of spilled bunker C fuel oil

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Strand, J.A.; Cullinan, V.I.; Crecelius, E.A.

    1990-10-01

    On December 23, 1988, the barge Nestucca was accidentally struck by its tow, a Souse Brothers Towing Company tug, releasing approximately 230,000 gallons of Bunker C fuel oil and fouling beaches from Grays Harbor north to Vancouver Island. Affected beaches in Washington included a 40-mile-long strip that has been recently added to Olympic National Park. The purpose of the monitoring program documented in this report was to determine the fate of spilled Bunker C fuel oil on selected Washington coastal beaches. We sought to determine (1) how much oil remained in intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats following clean-up and weathering,more » (2) to what extent intertidal and/or shallow subtidal biotic assemblages have been contaminated, and (3) how rapidly the oil has left the ecosystem. 45 refs., 18 figs., 8 tabs.« less

  13. Oil spill problems and sustainable response strategies through new technologies.

    PubMed

    Ivshina, Irena B; Kuyukina, Maria S; Krivoruchko, Anastasiya V; Elkin, Andrey A; Makarov, Sergey O; Cunningham, Colin J; Peshkur, Tatyana A; Atlas, Ronald M; Philp, James C

    2015-07-01

    Crude oil and petroleum products are widespread water and soil pollutants resulting from marine and terrestrial spillages. International statistics of oil spill sizes for all incidents indicate that the majority of oil spills are small (less than 7 tonnes). The major accidents that happen in the oil industry contribute only a small fraction of the total oil which enters the environment. However, the nature of accidental releases is that they highly pollute small areas and have the potential to devastate the biota locally. There are several routes by which oil can get back to humans from accidental spills, e.g. through accumulation in fish and shellfish, through consumption of contaminated groundwater. Although advances have been made in the prevention of accidents, this does not apply in all countries, and by the random nature of oil spill events, total prevention is not feasible. Therefore, considerable world-wide effort has gone into strategies for minimising accidental spills and the design of new remedial technologies. This paper summarizes new knowledge as well as research and technology gaps essential for developing appropriate decision-making tools in actual spill scenarios. Since oil exploration is being driven into deeper waters and more remote, fragile environments, the risk of future accidents becomes much higher. The innovative safety and accident prevention approaches summarized in this paper are currently important for a range of stakeholders, including the oil industry, the scientific community and the public. Ultimately an integrated approach to prevention and remediation that accelerates an early warning protocol in the event of a spill would get the most appropriate technology selected and implemented as early as possible - the first few hours after a spill are crucial to the outcome of the remedial effort. A particular focus is made on bioremediation as environmentally harmless, cost-effective and relatively inexpensive technology. Greater

  14. Disutility analysis of oil spills: graphs and trends.

    PubMed

    Ventikos, Nikolaos P; Sotiropoulos, Foivos S

    2014-04-15

    This paper reports the results of an analysis of oil spill cost data assembled from a worldwide pollution database that mainly includes data from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. The purpose of the study is to analyze the conditions of marine pollution accidents and the factors that impact the costs of oil spills worldwide. The accidents are classified into categories based on their characteristics, and the cases are compared using charts to show how the costs are affected under all conditions. This study can be used as a helpful reference for developing a detailed statistical model that is capable of reliably and realistically estimating the total costs of oil spills. To illustrate the differences identified by this statistical analysis, the results are compared with the results of previous studies, and the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Ecological impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: implications for immunotoxicity

    EPA Science Inventory

    Summary of major Federal and multi-stake holder research efforts in response to the DWH spill, including laboratory oil dispersant testing, estimation of oil release rates and oil fate calculations, subsea monitoring, and post-spill assessments. Impacts from shoreline oiling, wil...

  16. The threats from oil spills: now, then, and in the future.

    PubMed

    Jernelöv, Arne

    2010-01-01

    The ongoing oil spill from the blown-out well by the name of Macondo, drilled by the ill-fated rig Deepwater Horizon, has many features in common with another blowout in the Mexican Gulf that happened three decades ago. Then the oil gushed out from the Ixtoc I well drilled by the Sedco 135-F semi-submersible rig. In the years between these catastrophes, the source and nature of oil spills have undergone large changes. Huge spills from tankers that ran aground or collided used to be what caught the headlines and caused large ecological damage. The number and size of such accidental spills have decreased significantly. Instead, spills from ageing, ill-maintained or sabotaged pipelines have increased, and places like Arctic Russia, the Niger Delta, and the northwestern Amazon have become sites of reoccurring oil pollution. As for blowouts, there is no clear trend with regard to the number of incidences or amounts of spilled oil, but deepwater blowouts are much harder to cap and thus tend to go on longer and result in the release of larger quantities of oil. Also, oil exploration and extraction is moving into ever-deeper water and into stormier and icier seas, increasing potential risks. The risk for reoccurring spills like the two huge Mexican Gulf ones is eminent and must be reduced.

  17. DISPERSANT EFFECTIVENESS ON OIL SPILLS - EMPIRICAL CORRELATIONS

    EPA Science Inventory

    When a dispersant is applied to an oil slick, its effectiveness in dispersing the spilled oil depends on various factors such as oil properties, wave mixing energy, temperature of both oil and water, and salinity of the water. Estuaries represent water with varying salinities. In...

  18. Massachusetts wants a tougher federal oil spill control plan

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    Massachusetts wants a tougher federal oil spill control plan and has petitioned the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The present oil spill contingency plan is inadequate, according to M. Dukakis (Gov. Mass.). The Massachusetts plan, which CEQ officials view favorably, would extend responsibility to the 200 mi fishing limit, provide for protection of birds, and set up an oil strike force on 24 hr alert.

  19. 76 FR 37141 - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Notice... Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee. DATES: July 26, 2011, at 10 a.m. ADDRESSES: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Office, 441 West 5th Avenue, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska. FOR FURTHER...

  20. 75 FR 14622 - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Notice... Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee. DATES: April 19, 2010, at 10 a.m. ADDRESSES: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Office, 441 West 5th Avenue, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska. FOR FURTHER...

  1. 76 FR 15332 - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Notice... Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee. DATES: April 13, 2011, at 10 a.m. ADDRESSES: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Office, 441 West 5th Avenue, Suite 500, Anchorage, Alaska. FOR FURTHER...

  2. Novel pathways for injury from offshore oil spills: direct, sublethal and indirect effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on pelagic Sargassum communities.

    PubMed

    Powers, Sean P; Hernandez, Frank J; Condon, Robert H; Drymon, J Marcus; Free, Christopher M

    2013-01-01

    The pelagic brown alga Sargassum forms an oasis of biodiversity and productivity in an otherwise featureless ocean surface. The vast pool of oil resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill came into contact with a large portion of the Gulf of Mexico's floating Sargassum mats. Aerial surveys performed during and after the oil spill show compelling evidence of loss and subsequent recovery of Sargassum. Expanding on the trends observed in the aerial surveys, we conducted a series of mesocosm experiments to test the effect of oil and dispersants on the vertical position and weight of the Sargassum complex (Sargassum natans and S. fluitans), as well as on the dissolved oxygen concentrations surrounding the algae. Dispersant and dispersed-oil had significant effects on the vertical position of both species of Sargassum over a period of 72 hours. Similarly, dissolved oxygen concentrations were lowest in dispersant and dispersed-oil treatments, respectively. Cumulatively, our findings suggest three pathways for oil-spill related injury: (1) Sargassum accumulated oil on the surface exposing animals to high concentrations of contaminants; (2) application of dispersant sank Sargassum, thus removing the habitat and potentially transporting oil and dispersant vertically; and (3) low oxygen surrounded the habitat potentially stressing animals that reside in the alga. These pathways represent direct, sublethal, and indirect effects of oil and dispersant release that minimize the ecosystem services provided by floating Sargassum - the latter two effects are rarely considered in assessing impacts of oil spills or response procedures.

  3. Oil Spill Detection: Past and Future Trends

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Topouzelis, Konstantinos; Singha, Suman

    2016-08-01

    In the last 15 years, the detection of oil spills by satellite means has been moved from experimental to operational. Actually, what is really changed is the satellite image availability. From the late 1990's, in the age of "no data" we have moved forward 15 years to the age of "Sentinels" with an abundance of data. Either large accident related to offshore oil exploration and production activity or illegal discharges from tankers, oil on the sea surface is or can be now regularly monitored, over European Waters. National and transnational organizations (i.e. European Maritime Safety Agency's 'CleanSeaNet' Service) are routinely using SAR imagery to detect oil due to it's all weather, day and night imaging capability. However, all these years the scientific methodology on the detection remains relatively constant. From manual analysis to fully automatic detection methodologies, no significant contribution has been published in the last years and certainly none has dramatically changed the rules of the detection. On the contrary, although the overall accuracy of the methodology is questioned, the four main classification steps (dark area detection, features extraction, statistic database creation, and classification) are continuously improving. In recent years, researchers came up with the use of polarimetric SAR data for oil spill detection and characterizations, although utilization of Pol-SAR data for this purpose still remains questionable due to lack of verified dataset and low spatial coverage of Pol-SAR data. The present paper is trying to point out the drawbacks of the oil spill detection in the last years and focus on the bottlenecks of the oil spill detection methodologies. Also, solutions on the basis of data availability, management and analysis are proposed. Moreover, an ideal detection system is discussed regarding satellite image and in situ observations using different scales and sensors.

  4. Alternative interpretations of oil spill data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Piatt, John F.

    1997-01-01

    In his article "Oil, Seabirds, and Science" (BioScience 46: 587-597), John Wiens attempted to review Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) damage assessment studies and the politics of EVOS science in one stroke. In my opinion, neither purpose was particularly well served.

  5. Calibration of a simple oilspill trajectory model using the Argo Merchant spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wyant, Timothy

    1978-01-01

    An oil spill risk analysis was conducted to determine the relative envionmental hazards of developing oil in different regions of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf lease area. The study analyzed the probability of spill occurrence, likely paths of the spills, and locations in space and time of such objects as recreational and biological resources likely to be vulnerable. These results combined to yield estimates of the overall oilspill risk associated with development of the proposed lease area. This risk is compared to the existing oilspill risk from existing leases in the area. The analysis implicityly includes estimates of weathering rates and slick dispersion and an indication of the possible mitigating effects of cleanups. (Woodard-USGS)

  6. Sedimentation Of Oil-MIneral Aggregates For Remediation Of Vegetable Oil Spills

    EPA Science Inventory

    A response alternative for floating vegetable oil spills based on sedimentation of negatively buoyant oil-mineral aggregrates followed by anaerobic biodegradation in the sediments is under investigation. Sedimentation of floating canola oil by interaction with montmorillonite wa...

  7. Health complaints among subjects involved in oil cleanup operations during oil spillage from a Greek tanker "Tasman Spirit".

    PubMed

    Meo, Sultan Ayoub; Al-Drees, Abdul Majeed; Rasheed, Shahzad; Meo, Imran Mu; Al-Saadi, Muslim M; Ghani, Hamza A; Alkandari, Jasem Ramadan

    2009-01-01

    Oil spillage in the sea water is a disaster for marine life and humans in the vicinity. The study aimed at investigating health complaints among subjects involved in oil cleanup operations during a spillage from a Greek oil tanker "Tasman Spirit". The project was conducted under the supervision of the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study concerned the respiratory and general health complaints in 50 apparently healthy, non-smoking male workers exposed to crude oil during oil cleanup operations. The exposed group was matched with a similar number of male, non-smoking controls. The health complaints were evaluated based on a comprehensive interview. The subjects involved in oil cleanup operations had significantly higher rates of health complaints including cough (38%), runny nose (36%), eye irritation/redness (32%), sore throat (28%), headache (28%), nausea (24%) and general illness (18%), compared to their matched controls. Air pollution due to crude oil spillage into sea water may cause respiratory and general health complaints in workers involved in oil cleanup operations.

  8. The Federal Oil Spill Team for Emergency Response Remote Sensing (FOSTERRS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stough, T.; Jones, C. E.; Leifer, I.; Lindsay, F. E.; Murray, J. J.; Ramirez, E. M.; Salemi, A.; Streett, D.

    2014-12-01

    Oil spills can cause enormous ecological and economic devastation, necessitating application of the best science and technology available, for which remote sensing plays a critical role in detection and monitoring of oil spills. The FOSTERRS interagency working group seeks to ensure that during an oil spill, remote sensing assets (satellite/aircraft) and analysis techniques are quickly, effectively and seamlessly available to oil spills responders. FOSTERRS enables cooperation between agencies with core environmental remote sensing assets and capabilities and academic and industry experts to act as an oil spill remote sensing information clearinghouse. The US government and its collaborators have a broad variety of aircraft and satellite sensors, imagery interrogation techniques and other technology that can provide indispensable remote sensing information to agencies, emergency responders and the public during an oil spill. Specifically, FOSTERRS will work to ensure that (1) suitable aircraft and satellite imagery and radar observations are quickly made available in a manner that can be integrated into oil spill detection and mitigation efforts, (2) existing imagery interrogation techniques are in the hands of those who will provide the 24 x 7 operational support and (3) efforts are made to develop new technology where the existing techniques do not provide oil spills responders with important information they need. The FOSTERRS mission goal places it in an ideal place for identification of critical technological needs, and identifying bottlenecks in technology acceptance. The core FOSTERRS team incorporates representation for operations and science for agencies with relevant instrumental and platform assets (NASA, NOAA, USGS, NRL). FOSTERRS membership will open to a wide range of end-user agencies and planned observer status from industry and academic experts, and eventually international partners. Through these collaborations, FOSTERRS facilitates interagency

  9. [Detection of oil spills on water by differential polarization FTIR spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Yuan, Yue-ming; Xiong, Wei; Fang, Yong-hua; Lan, Tian-ge; Li, Da-cheng

    2010-08-01

    Detection of oil spills on water, by traditional thermal remote sensing, is based on the radiance contrast between the large area of clean water and the polluted area of water. And the categories of oil spills can not be identified by analysing the thermal infrared image. In order to find out the extent of pollution and identify the oil contaminants, an approach to the passive detection of oil spills on water by differential polarization FTIR spectrometry is proposed. This approach can detect the contaminants by obtaining and analysing the subtracted spectrum of horizontal and vertical polarization intensity spectrum. In the present article, the radiance model of differential polarization FTIR spectrometry is analysed, and an experiment about detection of No. O diesel and SF96 film on water by this method is presented. The results of this experiment indicate that this method can detect the oil contaminants on water without radiance contrast with clean water, and it also can identify oil spills by analysing the spectral characteristic of differential polarization FTIR spectrum. So it well makes up for the shortage of traditional thermal remote sensing on detecting oil spills on water.

  10. Novel Pathways for Injury from Offshore Oil Spills: Direct, Sublethal and Indirect Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Pelagic Sargassum Communities

    PubMed Central

    Powers, Sean P.; Hernandez, Frank J.; Condon, Robert H.; Drymon, J. Marcus; Free, Christopher M.

    2013-01-01

    The pelagic brown alga Sargassum forms an oasis of biodiversity and productivity in an otherwise featureless ocean surface. The vast pool of oil resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill came into contact with a large portion of the Gulf of Mexico’s floating Sargassum mats. Aerial surveys performed during and after the oil spill show compelling evidence of loss and subsequent recovery of Sargassum. Expanding on the trends observed in the aerial surveys, we conducted a series of mesocosm experiments to test the effect of oil and dispersants on the vertical position and weight of the Sargassum complex (Sargassum natans and S. fluitans), as well as on the dissolved oxygen concentrations surrounding the algae. Dispersant and dispersed-oil had significant effects on the vertical position of both species of Sargassum over a period of 72 hours. Similarly, dissolved oxygen concentrations were lowest in dispersant and dispersed-oil treatments, respectively. Cumulatively, our findings suggest three pathways for oil-spill related injury: (1) Sargassum accumulated oil on the surface exposing animals to high concentrations of contaminants; (2) application of dispersant sank Sargassum, thus removing the habitat and potentially transporting oil and dispersant vertically; and (3) low oxygen surrounded the habitat potentially stressing animals that reside in the alga. These pathways represent direct, sublethal, and indirect effects of oil and dispersant release that minimize the ecosystem services provided by floating Sargassum – the latter two effects are rarely considered in assessing impacts of oil spills or response procedures. PMID:24086378

  11. In Situ Burning of Oil Spills

    PubMed Central

    Evans, David D.; Mulholland, George W.; Baum, Howard R.; Walton, William D.; McGrattan, Kevin B.

    2001-01-01

    For more than a decade NIST conducted research to understand, measure and predict the important features of burning oil on water. Results of that research have been included in nationally recognized guidelines for approval of intentional burning. NIST measurements and predictions have played a major role in establishing in situ burning as a primary oil spill response method. Data are given for pool fire burning rates, smoke yield, smoke particulate size distribution, smoke aging, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content of the smoke for crude and fuel oil fires with effective diameters up to 17.2 m. New user-friendly software, ALOFT, was developed to quantify the large-scale features and trajectory of wind blown smoke plumes in the atmosphere and estimate the ground level smoke particulate concentrations. Predictions using the model were tested successfully against data from large-scale tests. ALOFT software is being used by oil spill response teams to help assess the potential impact of intentional burning. PMID:27500022

  12. Non-woven Textile Materials from Waste Fibers for Cleanup of Waters Polluted with Petroleum and Oil Products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neznakomova, Margarita; Boteva, Silvena; Tzankov, Luben; Elhag, Mohamed

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of using non-woven materials (NWM) from waste fibers for oil spill cleanup and their subsequent recovery. Manufacture of textile and readymade products generates a significant amount of solid waste. A major part of it is deposited in landfills or disposed of uncontrollably. This slowly degradable waste causes environmental problems. In the present study are used two types of NWM obtained by methods where waste fibers are utilized. Thus, real textile products are produced (blankets) with which spills are covered and removed by adsorption. These products are produced by two methods: the strengthening of the covering from recovered fibers is made by entanglement when needles of special design pass through layers (needle-punching) or by stitching with thread (technology Maliwatt). Regardless of the random nature of the fiber mixture, the investigated products are good adsorbents of petroleum products. The nature of their structure (a significant void volume and developed surface) leads to a rapid recovery of the spilled petroleum products without sinking of the fiber layer for the sampled times. The used NWM can be burned under special conditions.

  13. Can a GIS toolbox assess the environmental risk of oil spills? Implementation for oil facilities in harbors.

    PubMed

    Valdor, Paloma F; Gómez, Aina G; Velarde, Víctor; Puente, Araceli

    2016-04-01

    Oil spills are one of the most widespread problems in port areas (loading/unloading of bulk liquid, fuel supply). Specific environmental risk analysis procedures for diffuse oil sources that are based on the evolution of oil in the marine environment are needed. Diffuse sources such as oil spills usually present a lack of information, which makes the use of numerical models an arduous and occasionally impossible task. For that reason, a tool that can assess the risk of oil spills in near-shore areas by using Geographical Information System (GIS) is presented. The SPILL Tool provides immediate results by automating the process without miscalculation errors. The tool was developed using the Python and ArcGIS scripting library to build a non-ambiguous geoprocessing workflow. The SPILL Tool was implemented for oil facilities at Tarragona Harbor (NE Spain) and validated showing a satisfactory correspondence (around 0.60 RSR error index) with the results obtained using a 2D calibrated oil transport numerical model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Biodegradation of dispersed oil in seawater is not inhibited by a commercial oil spill dispersant.

    PubMed

    Brakstad, Odd G; Ribicic, Deni; Winkler, Anika; Netzer, Roman

    2018-04-01

    Chemical dispersants are well-established as oil spill response tools. Several studies have emphasized their positive effects on oil biodegradation, but recent studies have claimed that dispersants may actually inhibit the oil biodegradation process. In this study, biodegradation of oil dispersions in natural seawater at low temperature (5°C) was compared, using oil without dispersant, and oil premixed with different concentrations of Slickgone NS, a widely used oil spill dispersant in Europe. Saturates (nC10-nC36 alkanes), naphthalenes and 2- to 5-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were biotransformed at comparable rates in all dispersions, both with and without dispersant. Microbial communities differed primarily between samples with or without oil, and they were not significantly affected by increasing dispersant concentrations. Our data therefore showed that a common oil spill dispersant did not inhibit biodegradation of oil at dispersant concentrations relevant for response operations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Uncertainty in predictions of oil spill trajectories in a coastal zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sebastião, P.; Guedes Soares, C.

    2006-12-01

    A method is introduced to determine the uncertainties in the predictions of oil spill trajectories using a classic oil spill model. The method considers the output of the oil spill model as a function of random variables, which are the input parameters, and calculates the standard deviation of the output results which provides a measure of the uncertainty of the model as a result of the uncertainties of the input parameters. In addition to a single trajectory that is calculated by the oil spill model using the mean values of the parameters, a band of trajectories can be defined when various simulations are done taking into account the uncertainties of the input parameters. This band of trajectories defines envelopes of the trajectories that are likely to be followed by the spill given the uncertainties of the input. The method was applied to an oil spill that occurred in 1989 near Sines in the southwestern coast of Portugal. This model represented well the distinction between a wind driven part that remained offshore, and a tide driven part that went ashore. For both parts, the method defined two trajectory envelopes, one calculated exclusively with the wind fields, and the other using wind and tidal currents. In both cases reasonable approximation to the observed results was obtained. The envelope of likely trajectories that is obtained with the uncertainty modelling proved to give a better interpretation of the trajectories that were simulated by the oil spill model.

  16. Minimizing risks from spilled oil to ecosystem services using influence diagrams: the Deepwater Horizon spill response.

    PubMed

    Carriger, John F; Barron, Mace G

    2011-09-15

    Decision science tools can be used in evaluating response options and making inferences on risks to ecosystem services (ES) from ecological disasters. Influence diagrams (IDs) are probabilistic networks that explicitly represent the decisions related to a problem and their influence on desired or undesired outcomes. To examine how IDs might be useful in probabilistic risk management for spill response efforts, an ID was constructed to display the potential interactions between exposure events and the trade-offs between costs and ES impacts from spilled oil and response decisions in the DWH spill event. Quantitative knowledge was not formally incorporated but an ID platform for doing this was examined. Probabilities were assigned for conditional relationships in the ID and scenarios examining the impact of different response actions on components of spilled oil were investigated in hypothetical scenarios. Given the structure of the ID, potential knowledge gaps included understanding of the movement of oil, the ecological risk of different spill-related stressors to key receptors (e.g., endangered species, fisheries), and the need for stakeholder valuation of the ES benefits that could be impacted by a spill. Framing the Deepwater Horizon problem domain in an ID conceptualized important variables and relationships that could be optimally accounted for in preparing and managing responses in future spills. These features of the developed IDs may assist in better investigating the uncertainty, costs, and the trade-offs if large-scale, deep ocean spills were to occur again.

  17. Mitigating oil spills in the water column

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Barry, Edward; Libera, Joseph A.; Mane, Anil U.

    The scale and scope of uncontrolled oil spills can be devastating. Diverse marine environments and fragile ecologies are some of the most susceptible to the many ill effects, while the economic costs can be crippling. A notoriously difficult challenge with no known technological solution is the successful removal of oil dispersed in the water column. Here, we address this problem through cheap and reusable oil sorbents based on the chemical modification of polymer foams. Interfacial chemistry was optimized and subsequently tested in a simulated marine environment at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility, Ohmsett. Wemore » find favorable performance for surface oil mitigation and, for the first time, demonstrate the advanced sorbent's efficiency and efficacy at pilot scale in extraction of crude oil and refined petroleum products dispersed in the water column. As a result, this is a potentially disruptive technology, opening a new field of environmental science focused on sub-surface pollutant sequestration.« less

  18. Mitigating oil spills in the water column

    DOE PAGES

    Barry, Edward; Libera, Joseph A.; Mane, Anil U.; ...

    2017-10-05

    The scale and scope of uncontrolled oil spills can be devastating. Diverse marine environments and fragile ecologies are some of the most susceptible to the many ill effects, while the economic costs can be crippling. A notoriously difficult challenge with no known technological solution is the successful removal of oil dispersed in the water column. Here, we address this problem through cheap and reusable oil sorbents based on the chemical modification of polymer foams. Interfacial chemistry was optimized and subsequently tested in a simulated marine environment at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility, Ohmsett. Wemore » find favorable performance for surface oil mitigation and, for the first time, demonstrate the advanced sorbent's efficiency and efficacy at pilot scale in extraction of crude oil and refined petroleum products dispersed in the water column. As a result, this is a potentially disruptive technology, opening a new field of environmental science focused on sub-surface pollutant sequestration.« less

  19. Brine Spills Associated with Unconventional Oil Development in North Dakota.

    PubMed

    Lauer, Nancy E; Harkness, Jennifer S; Vengosh, Avner

    2016-05-17

    The rapid rise of unconventional oil production during the past decade in the Bakken region of North Dakota raises concerns related to water contamination associated with the accidental release of oil and gas wastewater to the environment. Here, we characterize the major and trace element chemistry and isotopic ratios ((87)Sr/(86)Sr, δ(18)O, δ(2)H) of surface waters (n = 29) in areas impacted by oil and gas wastewater spills in the Bakken region of North Dakota. We establish geochemical and isotopic tracers that can identify Bakken brine spills in the environment. In addition to elevated concentrations of dissolved salts (Na, Cl, Br), spill waters also consisted of elevated concentrations of other contaminants (Se, V, Pb, NH4) compared to background waters, and soil and sediment in spill sites had elevated total radium activities ((228)Ra + (226)Ra) relative to background, indicating accumulation of Ra in impacted soil and sediment. We observed that inorganic contamination associated with brine spills in North Dakota is remarkably persistent, with elevated levels of contaminants observed in spills sites up to 4 years following the spill events.

  20. Oil Spill AISA+ Hyperspectral Data Detection Based on Different Sea Surface Glint Suppression Methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, J.; Ren, G.; Ma, Y.; Dong, L.; Wan, J.

    2018-04-01

    The marine oil spill is a sudden event, and the airborne hyperspectral means to detect the oil spill is an important part of the rapid response. Sun glint, the specular reflection of sun light from water surface to sensor, is inevitable due to the limitation of observation geometry, which makes so much bright glint in image that it is difficult to extract oil spill feature information from the remote sensing data. This paper takes AISA+ airborne hyperspectral oil spill image as data source, using multi-scale wavelet transform, enhanced Lee filter, enhanced Frost filter and mean filter method for sea surface glint suppression of images. And then the classical SVM method is used for the oil spill information detection, and oil spill information distribution map obtained by human-computer interactive interpretation is used to verify the accuracy of oil spill detection. The results show that the above methods can effectively suppress the sea surface glints and improve the accuracy of oil spill detection. The enhanced Lee filter method has the highest detection accuracy of 88.28 %, which is 12.2 % higher than that of the original image.

  1. Effects of Stress Related to the Gulf Oil Spill on Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

    PubMed

    Osofsky, Joy D; Osofsky, Howard J; Weems, Carl F; Hansel, Tonya C; King, Lucy S

    2016-01-01

    To examine the interactive effects of stress related to the Gulf oil spill on mental health of children and adolescents on the Gulf Coast who were also affected by previous hurricanes. A prospective design, with n = 1,577 youth (aged 3-18 years), evaluated pre-oil spill and again post-oil spill for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, previous hurricane exposure, and amount of oil spill stress. Stressors related to the spill were common and were associated with PTSD symptoms. Moreover, there was an interactive effect such that those with high preexisting PTSD symptoms, high previous hurricane exposure, and high oil spill stress had the most elevated post-oil spill PTSD symptoms. This study provides initial evidence linking stress related to the Gulf oil spill to youth mental health symptoms. The effects of the oil spill on youth mental health were most evident among those with cumulative risk. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. CHARACTERISTICS OF SPILLED OILS, FUELS, AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS: 3A. SIMULATION OF OIL SPILLS AND DISPERSANTS UNDER CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY

    EPA Science Inventory

    At the request of the US EPA Oil Program Center, ERD is developing an oil spill model that focuses on fate and transport of oil components under various response scenarios. This model includes various simulation options, including the use of chemical dispersing agents on oil sli...

  3. Zipf's Law Application To Oil Spill Detection In The Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Platonov, A.; Redondo, J. M.

    One of the results of the CLEAN SEAS European Union project using SAR imaging of European Coastal Waters was the statistical analysis and detection of thousands of oil spills and slicks in the three compared sections, Baltic Sea, North Sea and N.W. Mediterranean. The results of another European Project, OIL WATCH together with the past 30 years of recorded mayor tanker accidental oil spills have been used in a predictive scheme that subject to spatial and temporal normalization of these two different scale processes clearly shows that the annual probability of the occurence of an oil spill follows Zipf's law. Local deviations from the law may be also explained in terms of multifractal analysis.

  4. Dealing with pollution from conflict: Analysis of discourses around the 2006 Lebanon oil spill.

    PubMed

    Takshe, Aseel A; Huby, Meg; Frantzi, Sofia; Lovett, Jon C

    2010-01-01

    In July 2006 a war between Lebanon and Israel resulted in severe environmental damage in Lebanon from Israeli bombing raids. An attack on the Lebanese Jiyyeh Power Plant released 15,000 tons of heavy fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea. Remarkably, a clean-up operation was effected despite a continued state of war and lack of capacity in the Lebanese government. Civil society environmentalists played a key role in dealing with the pollution and complying with pollution-control legislation. In this study we use Q-methodology to analyse discourses on the effectiveness of pollution legislation during times of conflict using the Jiyyeh oil spill as an example. We interviewed 35 people from eight different stakeholder groups involved in environmental issues. Five distinct discourses were generated covering compensation schemes, need for new legislation, role of stakeholders during wartime and strengthening government ministries. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Perceived resilience: Examining impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill one-year post-spill.

    PubMed

    Shenesey, Jessica W; Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Jennifer

    2015-05-01

    Scant research has focused on resilient responding to disasters such as oil spills a year or more after the event. One year after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, this study assessed perceived resilience, relations between resiliency and psychological symptoms, and the degree to which self-reported resiliency was associated with reduced psychological symptoms after accounting for differences in economic impact sustained by Gulf Coast residents. Participants were 812 adults (64% women, mean age 50) of 2 Alabama coastal communities. Participants were administered a telephone survey 1-year post-spill assessing self-perceptions of impact factors (e.g., economic and social), resilience, coping, and depressive and PTSD symptoms. Most participants perceived themselves as resilient (n = 739). As expected, lower perceived resilience was associated with greater ongoing depressive and PTSD symptoms. Spill-related economic impact predicted greater depressive and PTSD symptoms; however, perceived resilience predicted significant variance in psychological symptoms after taking into account spill-related economic impact. Improving individuals' sense of resiliency may help mitigate psychosocial and mental health effects over time. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Ecological Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Bogota, Columbia)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH) was the largest environmental disaster and response effort in US History, with nearly 800 million liters spilled. Vast areas of the Gulf of Mexico were contaminated with oil, including deep ocean communities, protected species, over 1600 km o...

  7. Modelling the long-term evolution of worst-case Arctic oil spills.

    PubMed

    Blanken, Hauke; Tremblay, Louis Bruno; Gaskin, Susan; Slavin, Alexander

    2017-03-15

    We present worst-case assessments of contamination in sea ice and surface waters resulting from hypothetical well blowout oil spills at ten sites in the Arctic Ocean basin. Spill extents are estimated by considering Eulerian passive tracers in the surface ocean of the MITgcm (a hydrostatic, coupled ice-ocean model). Oil in sea ice, and contamination resulting from melting of oiled ice, is tracked using an offline Lagrangian scheme. Spills are initialized on November 1st 1980-2010 and tracked for one year. An average spill was transported 1100km and potentially affected 1.1 million km 2 . The direction and magnitude of simulated oil trajectories are consistent with known large-scale current and sea ice circulation patterns, and trajectories frequently cross international boundaries. The simulated trajectories of oil in sea ice match observed ice drift trajectories well. During the winter oil transport by drifting sea ice is more significant than transport with surface currents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Large Oil Spill Classification Using SAR Images Based on Spatial Histogram

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schvartzman, I.; Havivi, S.; Maman, S.; Rotman, S. R.; Blumberg, D. G.

    2016-06-01

    Among the different types of marine pollution, oil spill is a major threat to the sea ecosystems. Remote sensing is used in oil spill response. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an active microwave sensor that operates under all weather conditions and provides information about the surface roughness and covers large areas at a high spatial resolution. SAR is widely used to identify and track pollutants in the sea, which may be due to a secondary effect of a large natural disaster or by a man-made one . The detection of oil spill in SAR imagery relies on the decrease of the backscattering from the sea surface, due to the increased viscosity, resulting in a dark formation that contrasts with the brightness of the surrounding area. Most of the use of SAR images for oil spill detection is done by visual interpretation. Trained interpreters scan the image, and mark areas of low backscatter and where shape is a-symmetrical. It is very difficult to apply this method for a wide area. In contrast to visual interpretation, automatic detection algorithms were suggested and are mainly based on scanning dark formations, extracting features, and applying big data analysis. We propose a new algorithm that applies a nonlinear spatial filter that detects dark formations and is not susceptible to noises, such as internal or speckle. The advantages of this algorithm are both in run time and the results retrieved. The algorithm was tested in genesimulations as well as on COSMO-SkyMed images, detecting the Deep Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (occurred on 20/4/2010). The simulation results show that even in a noisy environment, oil spill is detected. Applying the algorithm to the Deep Horizon oil spill, the algorithm classified the oil spill better than focusing on dark formation algorithm. Furthermore, the results were validated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data.

  9. Submersible optical sensors exposed to chemically dispersed crude oil: wave tank simulations for improved oil spill monitoring.

    PubMed

    Conmy, Robyn N; Coble, Paula G; Farr, James; Wood, A Michelle; Lee, Kenneth; Pegau, W Scott; Walsh, Ian D; Koch, Corey R; Abercrombie, Mary I; Miles, M Scott; Lewis, Marlon R; Ryan, Scott A; Robinson, Brian J; King, Thomas L; Kelble, Christopher R; Lacoste, Jordanna

    2014-01-01

    In situ fluorometers were deployed during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Gulf of Mexico oil spill to track the subsea oil plume. Uncertainties regarding instrument specifications and capabilities necessitated performance testing of sensors exposed to simulated, dispersed oil plumes. Dynamic ranges of the Chelsea Technologies Group AQUAtracka, Turner Designs Cyclops, Satlantic SUNA and WET Labs, Inc. ECO, exposed to fresh and artificially weathered crude oil, were determined. Sensors were standardized against known oil volumes and total petroleum hydrocarbons and benzene-toluene-ethylbenzene-xylene measurements-both collected during spills, providing oil estimates during wave tank dilution experiments. All sensors estimated oil concentrations down to 300 ppb oil, refuting previous reports. Sensor performance results assist interpretation of DWH oil spill data and formulating future protocols.

  10. Combating oil spill problem using plastic waste

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Saleem, Junaid, E-mail: junaidupm@gmail.com; Ning, Chao; Barford, John

    Highlights: • Up-cycling one type of pollution i.e. plastic waste and successfully using it to combat the other type of pollution i.e. oil spill. • Synthesized oil sorbent that has extremely high oil uptake of 90 g/g after prolonged dripping of 1 h. • Synthesized porous oil sorbent film which not only facilitates in oil sorption but also increases the affinity between sorbent and oil by means of adhesion. - Abstract: Thermoplastic polymers (such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE)) constitute 5–15% of municipal solid waste produced across the world. A huge quantity of plasticmore » waste is disposed of each year and is mostly either discarded in landfills or incinerated. On the other hand, the usage of synthetic polymers as oil sorbents, in particular, polyolefins, including polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE) are the most commonly used oil sorbent materials mainly due to their low cost. However, they possess relatively low oil absorption capacities. In this work, we provide an innovative way to produce a value-added product such as oil-sorbent film with high practical oil uptake values in terms of g/g from waste HDPE bottles for rapid oil spill remedy.« less

  11. Post-oil-spill fires at Ugbomro (Niger Delta): a new vista in soil-pollution studies.

    PubMed

    Osuji, Leo C; Ukale, Eseoghene E

    2005-10-01

    Reconnaissance of the post-oil-spill, fire-scourged site at Ugbomro, in the Niger Delta, was contingent upon the loud public outcry and galvanizing hue that ensued the widespread conflagration. Sampling was carried out by the grid technique, and fire-scourged soils and their unaffected controls were analyzed. Contrary to the 'celebrated' opinion of some that the fires improvised bush fallowing for cropping, the site had witnessed severe impoverishment as evidenced by the hitherto neglected insidious impact of such infernos on soil macronutrients. Alterations in physico-chemical properties (pH, conductivity, etc.) provided adequate bases for this conclusion, and offered broad explanations for the paucity of macronutrients in affected soils. For instance, a pH range of 3.1-3.8 hindered N2 fixation and other metabolic activities that enhance mineralization. Elaeis guineensis in a density of 3 stands/m2 at the control site was the only tree-form not charred beyond recognition.Against future fires, it is important to strengthen contingencies for more-expedient clean-up responses to oil spills to severe possibilities of in situ conflagrations. Nutrient supplementations, revegetation, and site surveillance should disengage the 'unsighted fingers' of sabotage. A careful husbandry of these measures might re-establish nutrient stability, and forestall future re-occurrence of such effacing incidents.

  12. 30 CFR 254.46 - Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? 254.46..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL-SPILL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS FOR FACILITIES LOCATED SEAWARD OF THE... oil spill occurs? (a) You must immediately notify the National Response Center (1-800-424-8802) if you...

  13. Advanced Oil Spill Detection Algorithms For Satellite Based Maritime Environment Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Radius, Andrea; Azevedo, Rui; Sapage, Tania; Carmo, Paulo

    2013-12-01

    During the last years, the increasing pollution occurrence and the alarming deterioration of the environmental health conditions of the sea, lead to the need of global monitoring capabilities, namely for marine environment management in terms of oil spill detection and indication of the suspected polluter. The sensitivity of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to the different phenomena on the sea, especially for oil spill and vessel detection, makes it a key instrument for global pollution monitoring. The SAR performances in maritime pollution monitoring are being operationally explored by a set of service providers on behalf of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), which has launched in 2007 the CleanSeaNet (CSN) project - a pan-European satellite based oil monitoring service. EDISOFT, which is from the beginning a service provider for CSN, is continuously investing in R&D activities that will ultimately lead to better algorithms and better performance on oil spill detection from SAR imagery. This strategy is being pursued through EDISOFT participation in the FP7 EC Sea-U project and in the Automatic Oil Spill Detection (AOSD) ESA project. The Sea-U project has the aim to improve the current state of oil spill detection algorithms, through the informative content maximization obtained with data fusion, the exploitation of different type of data/ sensors and the development of advanced image processing, segmentation and classification techniques. The AOSD project is closely related to the operational segment, because it is focused on the automation of the oil spill detection processing chain, integrating auxiliary data, like wind information, together with image and geometry analysis techniques. The synergy between these different objectives (R&D versus operational) allowed EDISOFT to develop oil spill detection software, that combines the operational automatic aspect, obtained through dedicated integration of the processing chain in the existing open source NEST

  14. Oil spills, 1971-75, Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Danenberger, Elmer P.

    1976-01-01

    Oil spillage connected with federally supervised drilling and production activities has been a matter of wide public concern. In its supervision of mineral-resource development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), the U.S. Geological Survey is responsible for the day-to-day inspection and monitoring of OCS oil and gas operations. During these activities, the U.S. Geological Survey records and investigates hydrocarbon discharges resulting from such operations. Beginning in 1971, all spills have been recorded, and a computer file has been maintained on all spills of 1 barrel or more. The total Gulf of Mexico OCS oil spillage recorded during January 1, 1971-December 31, 1975, amounted to 51,421 barrels. Production during that period amounted to 35,219 barrels per barrel spilled. In all, 5,857 spills were recorded, but 85.5 percent of the total spill volume was contributed by just 5 incidents. The environmental effect of these incidents apparently was minimal and of short duration. No spills of more than 50 barrels resulted from drilling operations during the period. The only spillage resulting from blowouts was caused by nondrilling incidents, including completion, production, and workover. The amount of oil discharged from spills of less than 50 barrels decreased by more than half between 1971 and 1975. The improvement reflects changes in the operating philosophy of the offshore industry, tightening of U.S. Geological Survey operating orders, and substantial increases in the inspection force. Most production-platform spills involve failures in the sump system, the separator system, or other hydrocarbon-handling equipment; improved sump-system designs and better high-low-level controls have reduced both the number and the volume of spills. Pipeline and pump spills also declined significantly, although the decline appears less attributable to revisions in OCS operating requirements. No operator consistently contributed a disproportionate amount of spillage. Most of

  15. A Tale of Two Recent Spills—Comparison of 2014 Galveston Bay and 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Residues

    PubMed Central

    Yin, Fang; Hayworth, Joel S.; Clement, T. Prabhakar

    2015-01-01

    Managing oil spill residues washing onto sandy beaches is a common worldwide environmental problem. In this study, we have analyzed the first-arrival oil spill residues collected from two Gulf of Mexico (GOM) beach systems following two recent oil spills: the 2014 Galveston Bay (GB) oil spill, and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. This is the first study to provide field observations and chemical characterization data for the 2014 GB oil spill. Here we compare the physical and chemical characteristics of GB oil spill samples with DWH oil spill samples and present their similarities and differences. Our field observations indicate that both oil spills had similar shoreline deposition patterns; however, their physical and chemical characteristics differed considerably. We highlight these differences, discuss their implications, and interpret GB data in light of lessons learned from previously published DWH oil spill studies. These analyses are further used to assess the long-term fate of GB oil spill residues and their potential environmental impacts. PMID:25714100

  16. An evaluation of oil spill responses for offshore oil production projects in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: Implications for seabird conservation.

    PubMed

    Fraser, Gail S; Racine, Vincent

    2016-06-15

    Seabirds are vulnerable to oil pollution, particularly in cold-water regions. We investigated the response of small spills (<7.95m(3)) at offshore production platforms in Newfoundland, a region recognized for seabird diversity and abundance. In three environmental assessments for oil production operations Environment Canada requested monitoring and mitigation of small spills potentially impacting seabird populations; suggestions supported by two independent reviews. An industry spill response plan states that operators would collect systematic observations on spills and deploy countermeasures where possible. Operators' spill reports were obtained under an Access to Information request. There were 220 daytime spills with sheens (out of 381 spills; 1997-2010). Of these, six reported time to oil dispersion and eleven the presence or absence of seabirds. Industry self-reporting has not permitted an evaluation of the impact of chronic oil spills on seabirds. We recommend that independent observers be placed on platforms to systematically collect data on spills and seabirds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. 30 CFR 254.46 - Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? 254.46... INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL-SPILL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS FOR FACILITIES LOCATED SEAWARD OF THE COAST LINE Related Requirements for Outer Continental Shelf Facilities § 254.46 Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? (a) You...

  18. 30 CFR 254.46 - Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? 254.46... INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL-SPILL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS FOR FACILITIES LOCATED SEAWARD OF THE COAST LINE Related Requirements for Outer Continental Shelf Facilities § 254.46 Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? (a) You...

  19. 30 CFR 254.46 - Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? 254.46... INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL-SPILL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS FOR FACILITIES LOCATED SEAWARD OF THE COAST LINE Related Requirements for Outer Continental Shelf Facilities § 254.46 Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? (a) You...

  20. 75 FR 37712 - Temporary Suspension of Certain Oil Spill Response Time Requirements To Support Deepwater Horizon...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-30

    .... (Memorandum from Rear Admiral J.A. Watson, FOSC BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, to National Incident Command... Temporary Suspension of Certain Oil Spill Response Time Requirements To Support Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill... Protection Agency (EPA) temporary interim rule will suspend oil spill response time requirements, and certain...

  1. Risk of large oil spills: a statistical analysis in the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon.

    PubMed

    Eckle, Petrissa; Burgherr, Peter; Michaux, Edouard

    2012-12-04

    The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that followed the explosion of the exploration platform Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010 was the largest accidental oil spill so far. In this paper we evaluate the risk of such very severe oil spills based on global historical data from our Energy-Related Severe Accident Database (ENSAD) and investigate if an accident of this size could have been "expected". We also compare the risk of oil spills from such accidents in exploration and production to accidental spills from other activities in the oil chain (tanker ship transport, pipelines, storage/refinery) and analyze the two components of risk, frequency and severity (quantity of oil spilled) separately. This detailed analysis reveals the differences in the structure of the risk between different spill sources, differences in trends over time and it allows in particular assessing the risk of very severe events such as the Deepwater Horizon spill. Such top down risk assessment can serve as an important input to decision making by complementing bottom up engineering risk assessment and can be combined with impact assessment in environmental risk analysis.

  2. The management in response to marine oil spill from ships in China: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Xiong, Shangao; Long, Hualou; Tang, Guoping; Wan, Jun; Li, Hongyuan

    2015-07-15

    Historical trends about marine ship-source oil spill incidents from 1990 to 2010 in China were analyzed, and it provided an overview of the status quo of China's management in response to marine oil spill from ships. The Chinese government has issued a series of laws on marine environmental protection since 1982, and promulgated many regulations to prevent and tackle ship-source oil spill. At present, the oil spill emergency response system established in China has five levels: the national level, sea level, provincial level, port level, and ship level. China has demonstrated its ability to control and remove small-scale oil spill from ships in port area and near-shore coastal waters, and also paid attention to related research and development projects. Although China has made significant progress in managing shipping oil spill, challenges still exist, including strengthening oil spill emergency cooperation, enhancing China's response capability, and improving relevant research and development projects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Forensic fingerprinting and source identification of the 2009 Sarnia (Ontario) oil spill.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhendi; Yang, C; Yang, Z; Sun, J; Hollebone, B; Brown, C; Landriault, M

    2011-11-01

    This paper presents a case study in which integrated forensic oil fingerprinting and data interpretation techniques were used to characterize the chemical compositions and determine the source of the 2009 Sarnia (Ontario) oil spill incident. The diagnostic fingerprinting techniques include determination of hydrocarbon groups and semi-quantitative product-type screening via gas chromatography (GC), analysis of oil-characteristic biomarkers and the extended suite of parent and alkylated PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) homologous series via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), determination and comparison of a variety of diagnostic ratios of "source-specific marker" compounds, and determination of the weathering degree of the spilled oil, and whether the spilled oil hydrocarbons have been mixed with any other "background" chemicals (biogenic and/or pyrogenic hydrocarbons). The detailed chemical fingerprinting data and results reveal the following: (1) all four samples are mixtures of diesel and lubricating oil with varying percentages of diesel to lube oil. Both samples 1460 and 1462 are majority diesel-range oil mixed with a smaller portion of lube oil. Sample 1461 contains slightly less diesel-range oil. Sample 1463 is majority lubricating-range oil. (2) The diesel in the four diesel/lube oil mixture samples was most likely the same diesel and from the same source. (3) The spill sample 1460 and the suspected-source sample 1462 have nearly identical concentrations and distribution patterns of target analytes including TPHs, n-alkane, PAHs and biomarker compounds; and have nearly identical diagnostic ratios of target compounds as well. Furthermore, a perfect "positive match" correlation line (with all normalized ratio data points falling into the straight correlation line) is clearly demonstrated. It is concluded that the spill oil water sample 1460 (#1, from the water around the vessel enclosed by a boom) matches with the suspected source sample 1462

  4. 75 FR 54354 - BOEMRE Information Collection Activity: 1010-0106, Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-07

    ..., Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Offshore Facilities. Forms: MMS-1016, MMS-1017, MMS-1018, MMS... 1996 (Pub. L. 104-324), provides at section 1016 that oil spill financial responsibility (OSFR) for... President. Section 1016 of OPA supersedes the offshore facility oil spill financial responsibility...

  5. 77 FR 33479 - Information Collection Activities: Oil-Spill Response Requirements for Facilities Located Seaward...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-06

    ...-0010; OMB Control Number 1014-0007] Information Collection Activities: Oil-Spill Response Requirements... regulations under Part 254, ``Oil-Spill Response Requirements for Facilities Located Seaward of the Coast Line... 254, Oil-Spill Response Requirements for Facilities Located Seaward of the Coast Line. OMB Control...

  6. GOM Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A Time Series Analysis of Variations in Spilled Hydrocarbons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Palomo, C. M.; Yan, B.

    2013-12-01

    An estimated amount of 210 million gallons of crude oil was released into the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) from April 20th to July 15th 2010 during the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. The spill caused a tremendous financial, ecological, environmental and health impact and continues to affect the GOM today. Variations in hydrocarbons including alkanes, hopanes and poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be analyzed to better understand the oil spill and assist in oil source identification. Twenty-one sediment samples*, two tar ball samples and one surface water oil sample were obtained from distinct locations in the GOM and within varying time frames from May to December 2010. Each sample was extracted through the ASE 200 solvent extractor, concentrated down under nitrogen gas, purified through an alumina column, concentrated down again with nitrogen gas and analyzed via GC X GC-TOF MS. Forty-one different hydrocarbons were quantified in each sample. Various hydrocarbon 'fingerprints,' such as parental :alkylate PAH ratios, high molecular weight PAHs: low molecular weight alkane ratios, and carbon preference index were calculated. The initial objective of this project was to identify the relative hydrocarbon contributions of petrogenic sources and combustion sources. Based on the calculated ratios, it is evident that the sediment core taken in October of 2010 was greatly affected by combustion sources. Following the first month of the spill, oil in the gulf was burned in attempts to contain the spill. Combustion related sources have quicker sedimentation rates, and hydrocarbons from a combustion source essentially move into deeper depths quicker than those from a petrogenic source, as was observed in analyses of the October 2010 sediment. *Of the twenty-one sediment samples prepared, nine were quantified for this project.

  7. THE OHIO RIVER OIL SPILL: A CASE STUDY

    EPA Science Inventory

    The spill of diesel oil fuel from an Ashland Oil storage tank in January 1988 on the Monongahela River raised a number of technical, legislative, and administrative issues. These include as assessing long- and short-term environmental damage, evaluating regulations regarding oil ...

  8. Gulf of Mexico Air Quality: CALIPSO Support for Gulf of Mexico Air Quality Relating to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nguyen, Myngoc T.; Lapointe, Stephen; Jennings, Brittney; Zoumplis, Angela

    2011-01-01

    On April 20, 2010, an oil platform belonging to BP exploded and leaked a huge volume of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. In an effort to control the spread of the oil, BP applied dispersants such as Corexit and conducted in-situ burnings of the oil. This catastrophe created a complex chain of events that affected not only the fragile water and land ecosystems, but the humans who breathe the air every day. Thousands of people were exposed to fumes associated with oil vapors from the spill, burning of the oil, and the toxic mixture of dispersants. While aiding in clean-up efforts, local fishermen were directly exposure to fumes when working on the Gulf. A notable amount of Gulf Coast residents were also exposed to the oil fumes as seasonal southeasterly winds blew vapors toward land. The Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) found in oil vapors include: benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene, naphthalene, hydrogen sulfide and particulate matter (PM). Increases in water temperature and sunlight due to the summer season allow for these VOCs and PM to evaporate into the air more rapidly. Aside from the VOCs found in oil vapors, the dispersant being used to break up the oil is highly toxic and is thought to be even more toxic than the oil itself (EPA website, 2010). To protect human health, the environment, and to make informed policy decisions relevant to the spill, the EPA Region 6 has continuously monitored the affected areas carefully for levels of pollutants in the outdoor air that are associated with petroleum products and the burning of oil along the coast. In an effort to prevent, prepare for, and respond to future oil spills that occur in and around inland waters of the United States, the EPA has been working with local, state, and federal response partners. Air quality measurements were collected by the EPA at five active monitoring systems stationed along the coast.

  9. Petroleum hydrocarbon contaminations in the intertidal seawater after the Hebei Spirit oil spill--effect of tidal cycle on the TPH concentrations and the chromatographic characterization of seawater extracts.

    PubMed

    Kim, Moonkoo; Hong, Sang Hee; Won, Jongho; Yim, Un Hyuk; Jung, Jee-Hyun; Ha, Sung Yong; An, Joon Geon; Joo, Changkyu; Kim, Eunsic; Han, Gi Myung; Baek, Seongho; Choi, Hyun-Woo; Shim, Won Joon

    2013-02-01

    In December 2007, the oil tanker Hebei Spirit released approximately 12,547,000 L of crude oil off the west coast of Korea, impacting more than 375 km of coastline. The seawater TPH concentrations immediately after the spill ranged from 1.5 to 7310 μg L⁻¹, with an average of 732 μg L⁻¹. The concentrations appeared to decrease drastically to 2.0-224 μg L⁻¹ in one month after the spill. The TPH concentrations in seawater fluctuated with time thereafter because of the remobilization of oil by continuing shoreline cleanup activities and subsequent wave/tidal actions. Seawater TPH concentrations were much higher during high tide than during low tide due to the resuspension of stranded oil. The variation of TPH levels in seawater also matched the spring-neap tidal cycle in the study areas for the first three weeks of the study. Comparisons of the gas chromatograms of the seawater with the water accommodated fraction and the cargo oil indicated that seawater samples were contaminated mainly by the dispersed droplets of spilled oil. One year of monitoring revealed that the oil content in seawater had clearly decreased at most sites, although some regional fluctuations of oil contamination were noted until June 2008. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Utilizing Google Earth to Teach Students about Global Oil Spill Disasters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guertin, Laura; Neville, Sara

    2011-01-01

    The United States is currently experiencing its worst man-made environmental disaster, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is severe in its impact, but it is only one of several global oil spill disasters in history. Students can utilize the technology of Google Earth to explore the spatial and temporal distribution of…

  11. Oil spill contamination probability in the southeastern Levantine basin.

    PubMed

    Goldman, Ron; Biton, Eli; Brokovich, Eran; Kark, Salit; Levin, Noam

    2015-02-15

    Recent gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean Sea led to multiple operations with substantial economic interest, and with them there is a risk of oil spills and their potential environmental impacts. To examine the potential spatial distribution of this threat, we created seasonal maps of the probability of oil spill pollution reaching an area in the Israeli coastal and exclusive economic zones, given knowledge of its initial sources. We performed simulations of virtual oil spills using realistic atmospheric and oceanic conditions. The resulting maps show dominance of the alongshore northerly current, which causes the high probability areas to be stretched parallel to the coast, increasing contamination probability downstream of source points. The seasonal westerly wind forcing determines how wide the high probability areas are, and may also restrict these to a small coastal region near source points. Seasonal variability in probability distribution, oil state, and pollution time is also discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Environmental sensitivity mapping and risk assessment for oil spill along the Chennai Coast in India.

    PubMed

    Kankara, R S; Arockiaraj, S; Prabhu, K

    2016-05-15

    Integration of oil spill modeling with coastal resource information could be useful for protecting the coastal environment from oil spills. A scenario-based risk assessment and sensitivity indexing were performed for the Chennai coast by integrating a coastal resource information system and an oil spill trajectory model. The fate analysis of spilled oil showed that 55% of oil out of a total volume of 100m(3) remained in the water column, affecting 800m of the shoreline. The seasonal scenarios show major impact during the southwest (SW) and northeast (NE) monsoons and more fatal effects on marine pelagic organisms during SW monsoon. The Oil Spill Risk Assessment Modeler tool was constructed in a geographic information systems (GIS) platform to analyze the risks, sensitivity mapping, and priority indexing of resources that are likely to be affected by oil spills along the Chennai coast. The results of sensitivity mapping and the risk assessment results can help organizations take measures to combat oil spills in a timely manner. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Modelling the transport of oil after a proposed oil spill accident in Barents Sea and its environmental impact on Alke species

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, J.; Yuan, F.; Mikkelsen, J. D.; Ohm, C.; Stange, E.; Holand, M.

    2017-08-01

    Accidental oil spills can have significant effect on the coastal and marine environment. As the oil extraction and exploration activities increase in the Barents Sea, it is of increasingly importance to investigate the potential oil spill incidents associated with these activities. In this study, the transport and fate of oil after a proposed oil spill incident in Barents Sea was modelled by oil spill contingency and response model OSCAR. The possibility that the spilled oil reach the open sea and the strand area was calculated respectively. The influence area of the incident was calculated by combining the results from 200 simulations. The possibility that the spilled oil reach Alke species, a vulnerable species and on the National Red List of birds in Barents Sea, was analyzed by combining oil spill modelling results and the Alke species distribution data. The results showed that oil is dominated with a probability of 70-100% in the open sea to reach an area in a radius of 20km from the release location after 14 days of release. The probability reduces with the increasing distances from the release location. It is higher possibility that the spilled oil will reach the Alke species in the strand area than in the open sea in the summer. The total influence area of the release is 11 429 km2 for the surface water and 1528 km2 for the coastal area.

  14. 30 CFR 254.46 - Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? 254.46... Outer Continental Shelf Facilities § 254.46 Whom do I notify if an oil spill occurs? (a) You must immediately notify the National Response Center (1-800-424-8802) if you observe: (1) An oil spill from your...

  15. Marine Environmental Emergencies in the North Pacific Ocean: Lessons Learned from Recent Oil Spills.

    PubMed

    Yim, Un Hyuk; Short, Jeffrey

    2017-07-01

    Increasing marine vessel traffic, and oil and gas exploration and development throughout the North Pacific basin brings increasing risks of oil spills. Recognizing the serious challenges presented to response authorities, this Special Issue was organized by the North Pacific Marine Science Organization to provide an introduction to the current state of scientific understanding regarding the environmental effects of oil spills. Because interactions of spilled oils with biota and their habitats are complex, the most serious environmental damages from these spills are not necessarily those of greatest immediate concern by the public. Our overarching goal for this Special Issue is to provide an efficient introduction to the most important ways that oil spills can harm biota, habitats, and ecosystems through invited, targeted mini-reviews augmented by original research articles. We provide a brief background on the challenges posed by large oil spills to response authorities, summarize findings from the articles published in this Special Issue, and highlight some key research needs.

  16. Combining molecular fingerprints with multidimensional scaling analyses to identify the source of spilled oil from highly similar suspected oils.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Peiyu; Chen, Changshu; Ye, Jianjun; Shen, Wenjie; Xiong, Xiaofei; Hu, Ping; Fang, Hongda; Huang, Chuguang; Sun, Yongge

    2015-04-15

    Oil fingerprints have been a powerful tool widely used for determining the source of spilled oil. In most cases, this tool works well. However, it is usually difficult to identify the source if the oil spill accident occurs during offshore petroleum exploration due to the highly similar physiochemical characteristics of suspected oils from the same drilling platform. In this report, a case study from the waters of the South China Sea is presented, and multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS) is introduced to demonstrate how oil fingerprints can be combined with mathematical methods to identify the source of spilled oil from highly similar suspected sources. The results suggest that the MDS calculation based on oil fingerprints and subsequently integrated with specific biomarkers in spilled oils is the most effective method with a great potential for determining the source in terms of highly similar suspected oils. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Oil-spill risk analysis: Outer continental shelf lease sale 144, Beaufort Sea. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, C.M.; Johnson, W.R.; Marshall, C.F.

    1995-08-01

    The Federal Government has proposed to offer Outer Continental Shelf lands in the Beaufort Sea for oil and gas leasing. Because oil spills may occur from activities associated with offshore oil production, the Minerals Management Service conducts a formal risk assessment. In evaluating the significance of accidental oil spills, it is important to remember that the occurrence of such spills is fundamentally probabilistic. This report summarizes results of an oil-spill risk analysis conducted for OCS Lease Sale 144, Beaufort Sea. The objective of this analysis was to estimate relative risks associated with oil and gas production for the proposed leasemore » sale.« less

  18. The Logistics of Oil Spill Dispersant Application. Volume I. Logistics-Related Properties of Oil Spill Dispersants.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-11-01

    time of application. Such designs were probably influenced by the ready availabilit " 51 of fire-fighting hoses on ships and tugs; the water stream not...8217 I I1 ---- i . . .. . IIII . . . I I PREFACE The use of chemicals for the dispersal of oil spilled on water has been the subject of discussion (and of...20 Oil Type, Weathering and Emulsification.. 20 Slick Thickness .......................... 28 Water Temperature

  19. Regime Shift in Sandy Beach Microbial Communities following Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Remediation Efforts

    PubMed Central

    Engel, Annette Summers; Gupta, Axita A.

    2014-01-01

    Sandy beaches support a wide variety of underappreciated biodiversity that is critical to coastal ecosystems. Prior to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the diversity and function of supratidal beach sediment microbial communities along Gulf of Mexico coastlines were not well understood. As such, it was unclear if microbial community compositional changes would occur following exposure to beached oil, if indigenous communities could biodegrade oil, or how cleanup efforts, such as sand washing and sediment redistribution, would impact microbial ecosystem resiliency. Transects perpendicular to the shoreline were sampled from public beaches on Grand Isle, Louisiana, and Dauphin Island, Alabama, over one year. Prior to oil coming onshore, elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal contamination were detected (e.g., Enterobacteriales and Campylobacterales). Over time, significant shifts within major phyla were identified (e.g., Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria) and fecal indicator groups were replaced by taxa affiliated with open-ocean and marine systems (e.g., Oceanospirillales, Rhodospirillales, and Rhodobacterales). These new bacterial groups included putative hydrocarbon degraders, similar to those identified near the oil plume offshore. Shifts in the microbial community composition strongly correlated to more poorly sorted sediment and grain size distributional changes. Natural oceanographic processes could not account for the disrupted sediment, especially from the backshore well above the maximum high-tide levels recorded at these sites. Sand washing and tilling occurred on both open beaches from August through at least December 2010, which were mechanisms that could replace fecal indicator groups with open-ocean groups. Consequently, remediation efforts meant to return beaches to pre-spill compositions caused a regime shift that may have added potential ecosystem function, like hydrocarbon degradation, to the sediment. Future research will

  20. A method for quantitative mapping of thick oil spills using imaging spectroscopy

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Clark, Roger N.; Swayze, Gregg A.; Leifer, Ira; Livo, K. Eric; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Hoefen, Todd; Lundeen, Sarah; Eastwood, Michael; Green, Robert O.; Pearson, Neil; Sarture, Charles; McCubbin, Ian; Roberts, Dar; Bradley, Eliza; Steele, Denis; Ryan, Thomas; Dominguez, Roseanne; ,

    2010-01-01

    In response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a method of near-infrared imaging spectroscopic analysis was developed to map the locations of thick oil floating on water. Specifically, this method can be used to derive, in each image pixel, the oil-to-water ratio in oil emulsions, the sub-pixel areal fraction, and its thicknesses and volume within the limits of light penetration into the oil (up to a few millimeters). The method uses the shape of near-infrared (NIR) absorption features and the variations in the spectral continuum due to organic compounds found in oil to identify different oil chemistries, including its weathering state and thickness. The method is insensitive to complicating conditions such as moderate aerosol scattering and reflectance level changes from other conditions, including moderate sun glint. Data for this analysis were collected by the NASA Airborne Visual Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) instrument, which was flown over the oil spill on May 17, 2010. Because of the large extent of the spill, AVIRIS flight lines could cover only a portion of the spill on this relatively calm, nearly cloud-free day. Derived lower limits for oil volumes within the top few millimeters of the ocean surface directly probed with the near-infrared light detected in the AVIRIS scenes were 19,000 (conservative assumptions) to 34,000 (aggressive assumptions) barrels of oil. AVIRIS covered about 30 percent of the core spill area, which consisted of emulsion plumes and oil sheens. Areas of oil sheen but lacking oil emulsion plumes outside of the core spill were not evaluated for oil volume in this study. If the core spill areas not covered by flight lines contained similar amounts of oil and oil-water emulsions, then extrapolation to the entire core spill area defined by a MODIS (Terra) image collected on the same day indicates a minimum of 66,000 to 120,000 barrels of oil was floating on the surface. These estimates are preliminary and

  1. Assessing pollution-related effects of oil spills from ships in the Chinese Bohai Sea.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xin; Guo, Mingxian; Wang, Yebao; Yu, Xiang; Guo, Jie; Tang, Cheng; Hu, Xiaoke; Wang, Chuanyuan; Li, Baoquan

    2016-09-15

    An analysis of the effects of potential oil spills will provide data in support of decisions related to improving the response to oil spills and its emergency management. We selected the Chinese Bohai Sea, especially the Bohai Strait, as our investigation region to provide an assessment of the effects of pollution from ship-related oil spills on adjacent coastal zones. Ship-related accidents are one of the major factors causing potential oil spills in this area. A three dimensional oil transport and transformation model was developed using the Estuary, Coastal, and Ocean Model. This proposed model was run 90 times and each run lasted for 15days to simulate the spread and weathering processes of oil for each of four potential spill sites, which represented potential sites of ship collisions along heavy traffic lanes in the Bohai Sea. Ten neighboring coastal areas were also considered as target zones that potentially could receive pollutants once oil spilled in the study areas. The statistical simulations showed that spills in winter were much worse than those in summer; they resulted in very negative effects on several specific target zones coded Z7, Z8, Z9, and Z10 in this paper. In addition, sites S3 (near the Penglai city) and S4 (near the Yantai city) were the two most at-risk sites with a significantly high probability of pollution if spills occurred nearby during winter. The results thus provided practical guidelines for local oil spill prevention, as well as an emergency preparedness and response program. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Hematological indices of injury to lightly oiled birds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fallon, Jesse A.; Smith, Eric P.; Schoch, Nina; Paruk, James D.; Adams, Evan A.; Evers, David C.; Jodice, Patrick G. R.; Perkins, Christopher; Schulte, Shiloh A.; Hopkins, William A.

    2018-01-01

    Avian mortality events are common following large‐scale oil spills. However, the sublethal effects of oil on birds exposed to light external oiling are not clearly understood. We found that American oystercatchers (area of potential impact n = 42, reference n = 21), black skimmers (area of potential impact n = 121, reference n = 88), brown pelicans (area of potential impact n = 91, reference n = 48), and great egrets (area of potential impact n = 57, reference n = 47) captured between 20 June 2010 and 23 February 2011 following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill experienced oxidative injury to erythrocytes, had decreased volume of circulating erythrocytes, and showed evidence of a regenerative hematological response in the form of increased reticulocytes compared with reference populations. Erythrocytic inclusions consistent with Heinz bodies were present almost exclusively in birds from sites impacted with oil, a finding pathognomonic for oxidative injury to erythrocytes. Average packed cell volumes were 4 to 19% lower and average reticulocyte counts were 27 to 40% higher in birds with visible external oil than birds from reference sites. These findings provide evidence that small amounts of external oil exposure are associated with hemolytic anemia. Furthermore, we found that some birds captured from the area impacted by the spill but with no visible oiling also had erythrocytic inclusion bodies, increased reticulocytes, and reduced packed cell volumes when compared with birds from reference sites. Thus, birds suffered hematologic injury despite no visible oil at the time of capture. Together, these findings suggest that adverse effects of oil spills on birds may be more widespread than estimates based on avian mortality or severe visible oiling.

  3. Potential impacts of offshore oil spills on polar bears in the Chukchi Sea.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Ryan R; Perham, Craig; French-McCay, Deborah P; Balouskus, Richard

    2018-04-01

    Sea ice decline is anticipated to increase human access to the Arctic Ocean allowing for offshore oil and gas development in once inaccessible areas. Given the potential negative consequences of an oil spill on marine wildlife populations in the Arctic, it is important to understand the magnitude of impact a large spill could have on wildlife to inform response planning efforts. In this study we simulated oil spills that released 25,000 barrels of oil for 30 days in autumn originating from two sites in the Chukchi Sea (one in Russia and one in the U.S.) and tracked the distribution of oil for 76 days. We then determined the potential impact such a spill might have on polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and their habitat by overlapping spills with maps of polar bear habitat and movement trajectories. Only a small proportion (1-10%) of high-value polar bear sea ice habitat was directly affected by oil sufficient to impact bears. However, 27-38% of polar bears in the region were potentially exposed to oil. Oil consistently had the highest probability of reaching Wrangel and Herald islands, important areas of denning and summer terrestrial habitat. Oil did not reach polar bears until approximately 3 weeks after the spills. Our study found the potential for significant impacts to polar bears under a worst case discharge scenario, but suggests that there is a window of time where effective containment efforts could minimize exposure to bears. Our study provides a framework for wildlife managers and planners to assess the level of response that would be required to treat exposed wildlife and where spill response equipment might be best stationed. While the size of spill we simulated has a low probability of occurring, it provides an upper limit for planners to consider when crafting response plans. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. The Integration of Remote-Sensing Detection Techniques into the Operational Decision-Making of Marine Oil Spills

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garron, J.; Trainor, S.

    2017-12-01

    Remotely-sensed data collected from satellites, airplanes and unmanned aerial systems can be used in marine oil spills to identify the overall footprint, estimate fate and transport, and to identify resources at risk. Mandates for the use of best available technology exists for addressing marine oil spills under the jurisdiction of the USCG (33 CFR 155.1050), though clear pathways to familiarization of these technologies during a marine oil spill, or more importantly, between marine oil spills, does not. Similarly, remote-sensing scientists continue to experiment with highly tuned oil detection, fate and transport techniques that can benefit decision-making during a marine oil spill response, but the process of translating these prototypical tools to operational information remains undefined, leading most researchers to describe the "potential" of these new tools in an operational setting rather than their actual use, and decision-makers relying on traditional field observational methods. Arctic marine oil spills are no different in their mandates and the remote-sensing research undertaken, but are unique via the dark, cold, remote, infrastructure-free environment in which they can occur. These conditions increase the reliance of decision-makers in an Arctic oil spill on remotely-sensed data and tools for their manipulation. In the absence of another large-scale oil spill in the US, and limited literature on the subject, this study was undertaken to understand how remotely-sensed data and tools are being used in the Incident Command System of a marine oil spill now, with an emphasis on Arctic implementation. Interviews, oil spill scenario/drill observations and marine oil spill after action reports were collected and analyzed to determine the current state of remote-sensing data use for decision-making during a marine oil spill, and to define a set of recommendations for the process of integrating new remote-sensing tools and information in future oil spill

  5. The Tasman Spirit oil spill: implications for regulatory change in Pakistan.

    PubMed

    Mian, Saima; Bennett, Suzan

    2009-07-01

    An oil spill in July 2003 from the tanker Tasman Spirit attracted considerable public and media attention in Pakistan. This paper focuses on the experience of a developing country such as Pakistan in dealing with a major oil spill and its impact on bringing about change in the national regulatory framework. A major outcome has been the ratification of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992, which came into force in March 2006 in Pakistan. The convention provides a compensation mechanism for victims incurring oil pollution damages from maritime casualties involving oil laden ships. Several additional changes are still required to improve the country's ability to cope with marine oil spills. These include the development of a comprehensive domestic regulatory framework, implementation of an effective contingency plan, and capacity building of all relevant agencies.

  6. Oil Spill Map for Indian Sea Region based on Bhuvan- Geographic Information System using Satellite Images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vijaya kumar, L. J.; Kishore, J. K.; Kesava Rao, P.; Annadurai, M.; Dutt, C. B. S.; Hanumantha Rao, K.; Sasamal, S. K.; Arulraj, M.; Prasad, A. V. V.; Kumari, E. V. S. Sita; Satyanarayana, S. N.; Shenoy, H. P.

    2014-11-01

    Oil spills in the ocean are a serious marine disaster that needs regular monitoring for environmental risk assessment and mitigation. Recent use of Polarimetric SAR imagery in near real time oil spill detection systems is associated with attempts towards automatic and unambiguous oil spill detection based on decomposition methods. Such systems integrate remote sensing technology, geo information, communication system, hardware and software systems to provide key information for analysis and decision making. Geographic information systems (GIS) like BHUVAN can significantly contribute to oil spill management based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. India has long coast line from Gujarat to Bengal and hundreds of ports. The increase in shipping also increases the risk of oil spills in our maritime zone. The availability of RISAT-1 SAR images enhances the scope to monitor oil spills and develop GIS on Bhuvan which can be accessed by all the users, such as ships, coast guard, environmentalists etc., The GIS enables realization of oil spill maps based on integration of the geographical, remote sensing, oil & gas production/infrastructure data and slick signatures detected by SAR. SAR and GIS technologies can significantly improve the realization of oil spill footprint distribution maps. Preliminary assessment shows that the Bhuvan promises to be an ideal solution to understand spatial, temporal occurrence of oil spills in the marine atlas of India. The oil spill maps on Bhuvan based GIS facility will help the ONGC and Coast Guard organization.

  7. Neural networks for oil spill detection using TerraSAR-X data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Avezzano, Ruggero G.; Velotto, Domenico; Soccorsi, Matteo; Del Frate, Fabio; Lehner, Susanne

    2011-11-01

    The increased amount of available Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images involves a growing workload on the operators at analysis centers. In addition, even if the operators go through extensive training to learn manual oil spill detection, they can provide different and subjective responses. Hence, the upgrade and improvements of algorithms for automatic detection that can help in screening the images and prioritizing the alarms are of great benefit. In this paper we present the potentialities of TerraSAR-X (TS-X) data and Neural Network algorithms for oil spills detection. The radar on board satellite TS-X provides X-band images with a resolution of up to 1m. Such resolution can be very effective in the monitoring of coastal areas to prevent sea oil pollution. The network input is a vector containing the values of a set of features characterizing an oil spill candidate. The network output gives the probability for the candidate to be a real oil spill. Candidates with a probability less than 50% are classified as look-alikes. The overall classification performances have been evaluated on a data set of 50 TS-X images containing more than 150 examples of certified oil spills and well-known look-alikes (e.g. low wind areas, wind shadows, biogenic films). The preliminary classification results are satisfactory with an overall detection accuracy above 80%.

  8. Nano-based systems for oil spills control and cleanup.

    PubMed

    Avila, Antonio F; Munhoz, Viviane C; de Oliveira, Aline M; Santos, Mayara C G; Lacerda, Glenda R B S; Gonçalves, Camila P

    2014-05-15

    This paper reports the development of superhydrophobic nanocomposite systems which are also oleophilic. As hydrophobicity is based on low energy surface and surface roughness, the electrospinning technique was selected as the manufacturing technique. N,N' dimethylformamide (DMF) was employed as the polystyrene (PS) solvent. The "Tea-bag" (T-B) nanocomposite system is based on exfoliated graphite surrounded by PS superhydrophobic membranes. The T-B systems were tested regarding its adsorption and absorption rates. To test these properties, it was employed three different water/oil emulsions, i.e., new and used motor oil, which have physical properties (viscosity and specific gravity) similar to heavy crude oil extracted in Brazil, and vacuum pump oil (which does not form oil/water emulsion). It was observed that oil adsorption rate is dependent on oil surface tension, while the absorption rate is mainly dependent on membrane/exfoliated graphite surface area. Experimental data show that oil absorption rates ranged between 2.5g/g and 40g/g, while the adsorption rate oscillated from 0.32g/g/min to 0.80g/g/min. Furthermore, T-B systems were tested as containment barriers and sorbent materials with good results including its recyclability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Monitoring of pipeline oil spill fire events using Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ogungbuyi, M. G.; Eckardt, F. D.; Martinez, P.

    2016-12-01

    Nigeria, the largest producer of crude oil in Africa occupies sixth position in the world. Despite such huge oil revenue potentials, its pipeline network system is consistently susceptible to leaks causing oil spills. We investigate ground based spill events which are caused by operational error, equipment failure and most importantly by deliberate attacks along the major pipeline transport system. Sometimes, these spills are accompanied with fire explosion caused by accidental discharge, natural or illegal refineries in the creeds, etc. MODIS satellites fires data corresponding to the times and spill events (i.e. ground based data) of the Area of Interest (AOI) show significant correlation. The open source Quantum Geographical Information System (QGIS) was used to validate the dataset and the spatiotemporal analyses of the oil spill fires were expressed. We demonstrate that through QGIS and Google Earth (using the time sliders), we can identify and monitor oil spills when they are attended with fire events along the pipeline transport system accordingly. This is shown through the spatiotemporal images of the fires. Evidence of such fire cases resulting from bunt vegetation as different from industrial and domestic fire is also presented. Detecting oil spill fires in the study location may not require an enormous terabyte of image processing: we can however rely on a near-real-time (NRT) MODIS data that is readily available twice daily to detect oil spill fire as early warning signal for those hotspots areas where cases of oil seepage is significant in Nigeria.

  10. 75 FR 9426 - Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory Committee; Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard [Docket No. USCG-2008-0333] Delaware River and Bay Oil... Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory Committee (DRBOSAC) will meet in Philadelphia, PA to discuss various issues to improve oil spill prevention and response strategies for the Delaware River and Bay...

  11. Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) for the Upstream (Oil Exploration and Production) Sector

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The SPCC rule requires facilities to develop, maintain, and implement an oil spill prevention plan, called an SPCC Plan. These plans help facilities prevent oil spill, as well as control a spill should one occur.

  12. Experimental L-Band Airborne SAR for Oil Spill Response at Sea and in Coastal Waters

    PubMed Central

    Jones, Cathleen E.; Holt, Benjamin

    2018-01-01

    Satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is frequently used during oil spill response efforts to identify oil slick extent, but suffers from the major disadvantages of potential long latency between when a spill occurs and when a satellite can image the site and an inability to continuously track the spill as it develops. We show using data acquired with the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle SAR (UAVSAR) instrument how a low noise, high resolution, L-band SAR could be used for oil spill response, with specific examples of tracking slick extent, position and weathering; determining zones of relatively thicker or more emulsified oil within a slick; and identifying oil slicks in coastal areas where look-alikes such as calm waters or biogenic slicks can confound the identification of mineral oil spills. From these key points, the essential features of an airborne SAR system for operational oil spill response are described, and further research needed to determine SAR’s capabilities and limitations in quantifying slick thickness is discussed. PMID:29470391

  13. Development of a statistical oil spill model for risk assessment.

    PubMed

    Guo, Weijun

    2017-11-01

    To gain a better understanding of the impacts from potential risk sources, we developed an oil spill model using probabilistic method, which simulates numerous oil spill trajectories under varying environmental conditions. The statistical results were quantified from hypothetical oil spills under multiple scenarios, including area affected probability, mean oil slick thickness, and duration of water surface exposed to floating oil. The three sub-indices together with marine area vulnerability are merged to compute the composite index, characterizing the spatial distribution of risk degree. Integral of the index can be used to identify the overall risk from an emission source. The developed model has been successfully applied in comparison to and selection of an appropriate oil port construction location adjacent to a marine protected area for Phoca largha in China. The results highlight the importance of selection of candidates before project construction, since that risk estimation from two adjacent potential sources may turn out to be significantly different regarding hydrodynamic conditions and eco-environmental sensitivity. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Sea Oil Spill Detection Using Self-Similarity Parameter of Polarimetric SAR Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tong, S.; Chen, Q.; Liu, X.

    2018-04-01

    The ocean oil spills cause serious damage to the marine ecosystem. Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an important mean for oil spill detections on sea surface. The major challenge is how to distinguish oil slicks from look-alikes effectively. In this paper, a new parameter called self-similarity parameter, which is sensitive to the scattering mechanism of oil slicks, is introduced to identify oil slicks and reduce false alarm caused by look-alikes. Self-similarity parameter is small in oil slicks region and it is large in sea region or look-alikes region. So, this parameter can be used to detect oil slicks from look-alikes and water. In addition, evaluations and comparisons were conducted with one Radarsat-2 image and two SIR-C images. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the self-similarity parameter for oil spill detection.

  15. Development of waterborne oil spill sensor based on printed ITO nanocrystals.

    PubMed

    Koo, Jieun; Jung, Jung-Yeul; Lee, Sangtae; Lee, Moonjin; Chang, Jiho

    2015-09-15

    Oil spill accidents occasionally occur in coastal and ocean environments, and cause critical environmental damage, spoiling the marine habitats and ecosystems. To mitigate the damages, the species and amount of spilled oil should be monitored. In this study, we developed a waterborne oil spill sensor using a printed ITO layer. ITO is a compatible material for salty environments such as oceans because ITO is strong against corrosion. The fabricated sensor was tested using three oils, gasoline, lubricant and diesel, and different oil thicknesses of 0, 5, 10, and 15mm. The results showed that the resistance of the sensor clearly increased with the oil thickness and its electrical resistance. For sustainable sensing applications in marine environments, XRD patterns confirmed that the crystal structure of the ITO sensor did not change and FE-SEM images showed that the surface was clearly maintained after tests. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Harlequin Duck population injury and recovery dynamics following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

    PubMed

    Iverson, Samuel A; Esler, Daniel

    2010-10-01

    The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill caused significant injury to wildlife populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) were particularly vulnerable to the spill and have been studied extensively since, leading to one of the most thorough considerations of the consequences of a major oil spill ever undertaken. We compiled demographic and survey data collected since the spill to evaluate the timing and extent of mortality using a population model. During the immediate aftermath of the spill, we estimated a 25% decrease in Harlequin Duck numbers in oiled areas. Survival rates remained depressed in oiled areas 6-9 years after the spill and did not equal those from unoiled areas until at least 11-14 years later. Despite a high degree of site fidelity to wintering sites, immigration was important for recovery dynamics, as the relatively large number of birds from habitats outside the spill zone provided a pool of individuals to facilitate numerical increases. On the basis of these model inputs and assumptions about fecundity rates for the species, we projected a timeline to recovery of 24 years under the most-likely combination of variables, with a range of 16 to 32 years for the best-case and worst-case scenarios, respectively. Our results corroborate assertions from other studies that the effects of spilled oil on wildlife can be expressed over much longer time frames than previously assumed and that the cumulative mortality associated with chronic exposure to residual oil may actually exceed acute mortality, which has been the primary concern following most oil spills.

  17. Impact of oil spill from ship on air quality around coastal regions of Korea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shon, Zang-Ho; Song, Sang-Keun

    2010-05-01

    Regional air quality around coastal regions, where regular maritime traffic emissions from cargo, other commercial, fishing and military vessels are significantly active, can be affected by their direct emission of primary air pollutants (NOx, SO2, particulate matter (PM), etc.). For instance, harbor traffic exerted an important impact on NO2, SO2, O3, and PM levels. In addition, regional air quality around coastal regions is also affected by oil spill caused by ship accident in the coast. On 7 Dec., 2007, a barge carrying a crane hit the oil tanker MT Hebei Sprit off the west coast of the Republic of Korea, Yellow Sea (approximately 10 km off the coast), at 0700 local time, causing the spill of total estimated 12,547 tons of Iranian heavy (IH) and Kuwait Export (KE) crude oils. Since then, oil began coming on shore late in the night on 7 Dec. More than 150 km of coastline had been identified as being impacted by 17 Dec. Much of the affected area is part of the Taean-gun National Park and the nearest coastal city to spilled area is Taean. On 8 Dec., the flow of oil from the tanker was stopped when the holes were patched. The accident is the worst oil spill in Korea and the spill area is about one-third of the size of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The short- and long-term effects of oil spill on marine environment have been numerously studied, not on atmospheric environment. In this study, the air quality impact near spilled area by the evaporation of hydrocarbons from the oil spill is studied in detail. The evaporation rates of the volatile fractions of the crude oils released by oil spill were estimated based on their mole fractions of crude oils and mass transfer coefficients. Based on a molecular diffusion process, the flux of spilled oil component (Fivap, mol m-2 s-1) can be expressed as follows: Fivap = Kivap(Civap - C∞vap) (1) where Civap is concentration (mol m-3) of a component i of crude oil vapor in the air at the oil-air interface; C∞vap is the

  18. DISPERSANT EFFECTIVENESS ON OIL SPILLS - IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

    EPA Science Inventory

    When a dispersant is applied to an oil slick, its effectiveness in dispersing the spilled oil depends on various factors such as oil properties, wave mixing energy, temperature of both oil and water, and salinity of the water. Estuaries represent water with varying salinities. In...

  19. [Applications of habitat equivalency analysis in ecological damage assessment of oil spill incident].

    PubMed

    Yang, Yin; Han, Da-xiong; Wang, Hai-yan

    2011-08-01

    Habitat equivalency analysis (HEA) is one of the methods commonly used by U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in natural resources damage assessment, but rarely applied in China. Based on the theory of HEA and the assessment practices of domestic oil spill incidents, a modification on the HEA was made in this paper, and applied to calculate the habitat value in oil spill incidents. According to the data collected from an oil spill incident in China, the modified HEA was applied in a case study to scale the compensatory-restoration. By introducing the ecological service equivalent factor to transfer various habitats, it was achieved to value of the injured habitats in ecological damage assessment of oil spill incident.

  20. Oil Spill Hydrodynamics, from Droplets to Oil Slicks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moghimi, S.; Restrepo, J. M.; Venkataramani, S.

    2016-02-01

    A fundamental challenge in proposing a model for the fate of oil in oceans relates to the extreme spatio-temporal scales required by hazard/abatement studies. We formulate a multiscale model that takes into account droplet dynamics and its effects on submerged and surface oil. The upscaling of the microphysics, within a mass conserving model, allows us to resolve oil mass exchanges between the oil found on the turbulent ocean surface and the ocean interior. In addition to presenting the model and the mutl-scale methodology we apply this upscaling to the evolution of oil on shelves and show how nearshore oil spills demonstrate dynamics that are not easily captured by oil models based on idealized tracer dynamics. In particular we demonstrate how oil can slow down and even park itself under certain oceanic conditions. An explanation for this phenomenon is proposed as well.

  1. Harlequin duck population recovery following the 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill: Progress, process and constraints

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Esler, Daniel N.; Bowman, Timothy D.; Trust, Kimberly A.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Dean, Thomas A.; Jewett, Stephen C.; O'Clair, Charles E.

    2002-01-01

    Following the 1989 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, we studied the status of recovery of harlequin duck Histrionicus histrionicus populations during 1995 to 1998. We evaluated potential constraints on full recovery, including (1) exposure to residual oil; (2) food limitation; and (3) intrinsic demographic limitations on population growth rates. In this paper, we synthesize the findings from our work and incorporate information from other harlequin duck research and monitoring programs to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the response of this species to the 'Exxon Valdez' spill. We conclude that harlequin duck populations had not fully recovered by 1998. Furthermore, adverse effects continued as many as 9 yr after the oil spill, in contrast to the conventional paradigm that oil spill effects on bird populations are short-lived. These conclusions are based on the findings that (1) elevated cytochrome P450 (CYP1A) induction on oiled areas indicated continued exposure to oil in 1998; (2) adult female winter survival was lower on oiled than unoiled areas during 1995 to 1998; (3) fall population surveys by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicated numerical declines in oiled areas during 1995 to 1997; and (4) densities on oiled areas in 1996 and 1997 were lower than expected using models that accounted for effects of habitat attributes. Based on hypothesized links between oil contamination and demography, we suggest that harlequin duck population recovery was constrained primarily by continued oil exposure. Full population recovery will also be delayed by the time necessary for intrinsic population growth to allow return to pre-spill numbers following cessation of residual oil spill effects. Although not all wildlife species were affected by the 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill, and some others may have recovered quickly from any effects, harlequin duck life history characteristics and benthic, nearshore feeding habits make them susceptible to

  2. A review of polymer nanofibres by electrospinning and their application in oil-water separation for cleaning up marine oil spills.

    PubMed

    Sarbatly, Rosalam; Krishnaiah, Duduku; Kamin, Zykamilia

    2016-05-15

    The growths of oil and gas exploration and production activities have increased environmental problems, such as oil spillage and the resulting pollution. The study of the methods for cleaning up oil spills is a critical issue to protect the environment. Various techniques are available to contain oil spills, but they are typically time consuming, energy inefficient and create secondary pollution. The use of a sorbent, such as a nanofibre sorbent, is a technique for controlling oil spills because of its good physical and oil sorption properties. This review discusses about the application of nanofibre sorbent for oil removal from water and its current developments. With their unique physical and mechanical properties coupled with their very high surface area and small pore sizes, nanofibre sorbents are alternative materials for cleaning up oil spills. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. MICROBIAL POPULATION CHANGES DURING BIOREMEDIATION OF AN EXPERIMENTAL OIL SPILL

    EPA Science Inventory

    Three crude oil bioremediation techniques were applied in a randomized block field experiment simulating a coastal oil-spill. Four treatments (no oil control, oil alone, oil + nutrients, and oil + nutrients + an indigenous inoculum) were applied. In-situ microbial community str...

  4. 33 CFR Appendix D to Part 154 - Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Training Elements for Oil Spill... Appendix D to Part 154—Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans 1. General 1.1The portion of the plan... contracted oil spill removal organizations and the procedures to notify the activate such organizations. 2.2...

  5. 33 CFR Appendix D to Part 154 - Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Training Elements for Oil Spill... Appendix D to Part 154—Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans 1. General 1.1The portion of the plan... contracted oil spill removal organizations and the procedures to notify the activate such organizations. 2.2...

  6. 33 CFR Appendix D to Part 154 - Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Training Elements for Oil Spill... Appendix D to Part 154—Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans 1. General 1.1The portion of the plan... contracted oil spill removal organizations and the procedures to notify the activate such organizations. 2.2...

  7. 33 CFR Appendix D to Part 154 - Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Training Elements for Oil Spill... Appendix D to Part 154—Training Elements for Oil Spill Response Plans 1. General 1.1The portion of the plan... contracted oil spill removal organizations and the procedures to notify the activate such organizations. 2.2...

  8. Assessment of injury to river otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Terrestrial mammal study number 3. Exxon Valdez oil spill state/federal natural resource damage assessment final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Faro, J.B.; Bowyer, R.T.; Testa, J.W.

    1994-03-01

    River otters (Lutra canadensis) were killed by direct effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, but the magnitude of that loss is unknown due to lack of pre-spill data. A time lag in spill effects is reflected by the reduction in species richness and diversity in the summer diets of otters in oiled areas between 1989 and 1990. Otters from oiled areas had higher haptoglobin levels in both 1990 and 1991. Male otters captured in oiled areas in 1990 had significantly lower body mass than otters from nonoiled areas. Otters from oiled areas had home ranges that were twice asmore » large as those from a non-spill area. Differences in rates of fecal deposition between oiled and nonoiled latrine sites in 1989 suggest otters used heavily oiled areas less often. Otters avoided shorelines with shallow slopes on the oiled area, whereas they strongly preferred these slopes on nonoiled sites, suggesting that otters lost habitat as a result of the spill.« less

  9. Operational Oceanograhy System for Oil Spill Risk Management at Santander Bay (Spain)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castanedo Bárcena, S.; Nuñez, P.; Perez-Diaz, B.; Abascal, A.; Cardenas, M.; Medina, R.

    2016-02-01

    Estuaries and bays are sheltered areas that usually host a wide range of industry and interests (e.g. aquaculture, fishing, recreation, habitat protection). Oil spill risk assessment in these environments is fundamental given the reduced response time associated to this very local scale. This work presents a system comprising two modules: (1) an Operational Oceanography System (OOS) based on nesting high resolution models which provides short-term (within 48 hours) oil spill trajectory forecasting and (2) an oil spill risk assessment system (OSRAS) that estimates risk as the combination of hazard and vulnerability. Hazard is defined as the probability of the coast to be polluted by an oil spill and is calculated on the basis of a library of pre-run cases. The OOS is made up by: (1) Daily boundary conditions (sea level, ocean currents, salinity and temperature) and meteorological forcing are obtained from the European network MYOCEAN and from the Spanish met office, AEMET, respectively; (2) COAWST modelling system is the engine of the OOS (at this stage of the project only ROMS is on); (3) an oil spill transport and fate model, TESEO (4) a web service that manages the operational system and allows the user to run hypothetical as well as real oil spill trajectories using the daily forecast of wind and high resolution ocean variables carried out by COAWST. Regarding the OSRAS system, the main contributions of this work are: (1) the use of extensive meteorological and oceanographic database provided by state-of-the-art ocean and atmospheric models, (2) the use of clustering techniques to establish representative met-ocean scenarios (i.e. combination of sea state, meteorological conditions, tide and river flow), (3) dynamic downscaling of the met-ocean scenarios with COAWST modelling system and (4) management of hundreds of runs performed with the state-of-the-art oil spill transport model TESEO.

  10. Tourism and its hypersensitivity to oil spills.

    PubMed

    Cirer-Costa, Joan Carles

    2015-02-15

    The sinking of the Don Pedro merchant ship in 2007 near the island of Ibiza is a good example of the extreme sensitivity of the tourism sector to oil spills. Despite the limited scale of the spill (only some 20 tonnes), its minimal ecological impact, and the rapid deployment of personnel and equipment to contain it, the accident nonetheless caused significant economic damage to the island's tourism sector. This particular case demonstrates the importance of the beach as a factor of production in the holiday tourism sector, and the capacity of even small amounts of oil to render it unusable and cause heavy losses to holiday firms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. 75 FR 29397 - National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-26

    ... National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling By the authority vested in... Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (the ``Commission''). Sec. 2. Membership. (a) The... impact of, oil spills associated with offshore drilling, taking into consideration the environmental...

  12. Social conflict and the formation of emergent groups in a technological disaster: The Exxon Valdez oil spill and the response of residents in the area of Homer, Alaska

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Button, G.V.

    1993-01-01

    To date there has been a paucity of research on the formation of emergent groups in the wake of technological disasters. A majority of researchers have contended that whereas natural disasters engender social cohesion and stimulate the formation of emergent groups, technological disasters have the tendency to constrain such formation because of the social conflict which follows in the wake of a technological disaster. This thesis challenges that assumption and examines both the nature of the social conflict and the formation of emergent groups that occurred in the aftermath of this country's largest environmental disaster: the Exxon Valdez oil spill.more » An anthropological perspective is employed. The investigator examines the formation of such groups in the area of Homer, Alaska. The differential response to the disaster and the ensuing social conflict is examined by a combination of participant-observation methods, formal and informal, in-depth interviews, and archival records. This investigation reveals that although there was considerable social conflict, there was also sufficient social cohesion to promote the formation of emergent group responses to the oil spill and the cleanup that followed. Moreover, it finds that the resultant conflict and the formation of such groups was attributable in part to a widely reported sense of a loss of control' and considerable uncertainty about many of the facts' surrounding the spill. This included uncertainty about who was ultimately in control of the cleanup and which clean-up technologies and remediation efforts were most urgent and useful. This thesis concludes that, contrary to the expectations of most social scientists, emergent groups can form in the wake of a technological disaster. Moreover, given the sense of urgency and the common perception of disaster victims that authorities are both unable and unwilling to respond to disasters, the formation of such groups is inevitable.« less

  13. Shoreline oiling effects and recovery of salt marsh macroinvertebrates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    PubMed Central

    Fleeger, John W.; Bourgoin, Stefan M.; Mendelssohn, Irving A.; Lin, Qianxin; Hou, Aixin

    2017-01-01

    Salt marshes in northern Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA were oiled, sometimes heavily, in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Previous studies indicate that fiddler crabs (in the genus Uca) and the salt marsh periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) were negatively impacted in the short term by the spill. Here, we detail longer-term effects and recovery from moderate and heavy oiling over a 3-year span, beginning 30 months after the spill. Although neither fiddler crab burrow density nor diameter differed between oiled and reference sites when combined across all sampling events, these traits differed among some individual sampling periods consistent with a pattern of lingering oiling impacts. Periwinkle density, however, increased in all oiling categories and shell-length groups during our sampling period, and periwinkle densities were consistently highest at moderately oiled sites where Spartina alterniflora aboveground biomass was highest. Periwinkle shell length linearly increased from a mean of 16.5 to 19.2 mm over the study period at reference sites. In contrast, shell lengths at moderately oiled and heavily oiled sites increased through month 48 after the spill, but then decreased. This decrease was associated with a decline in the relative abundance of large adults (shell length 21–26 mm) at oiled sites which was likely caused by chronic hydrocarbon toxicity or oil-induced effects on habitat quality or food resources. Overall, the recovery of S. alterniflora facilitated the recovery of fiddler crabs and periwinkles. However, our long-term record not only indicates that variation in periwinkle mean shell length and length-frequency distributions are sensitive indicators of the health and recovery of the marsh, but agrees with synoptic studies of vegetation and infaunal communities that full recovery of heavily oiled sites will take longer than 66 months. PMID:28828273

  14. Shoreline oiling effects and recovery of salt marsh macroinvertebrates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

    PubMed

    Deis, Donald R; Fleeger, John W; Bourgoin, Stefan M; Mendelssohn, Irving A; Lin, Qianxin; Hou, Aixin

    2017-01-01

    Salt marshes in northern Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA were oiled, sometimes heavily, in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Previous studies indicate that fiddler crabs (in the genus Uca ) and the salt marsh periwinkle ( Littoraria irrorata) were negatively impacted in the short term by the spill. Here, we detail longer-term effects and recovery from moderate and heavy oiling over a 3-year span, beginning 30 months after the spill. Although neither fiddler crab burrow density nor diameter differed between oiled and reference sites when combined across all sampling events, these traits differed among some individual sampling periods consistent with a pattern of lingering oiling impacts. Periwinkle density, however, increased in all oiling categories and shell-length groups during our sampling period, and periwinkle densities were consistently highest at moderately oiled sites where Spartina alterniflora aboveground biomass was highest. Periwinkle shell length linearly increased from a mean of 16.5 to 19.2 mm over the study period at reference sites. In contrast, shell lengths at moderately oiled and heavily oiled sites increased through month 48 after the spill, but then decreased. This decrease was associated with a decline in the relative abundance of large adults (shell length 21-26 mm) at oiled sites which was likely caused by chronic hydrocarbon toxicity or oil-induced effects on habitat quality or food resources. Overall, the recovery of S. alterniflora facilitated the recovery of fiddler crabs and periwinkles. However, our long-term record not only indicates that variation in periwinkle mean shell length and length-frequency distributions are sensitive indicators of the health and recovery of the marsh, but agrees with synoptic studies of vegetation and infaunal communities that full recovery of heavily oiled sites will take longer than 66 months.

  15. A multifrequency evaluation of active and passive microwave sensors for oil spill detection and assessment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fenner, R. G.; Reid, S. C.; Solie, C. H.

    1980-01-01

    An evaluation is given of how active and passive microwave sensors can best be used in oil spill detection and assessment. Radar backscatter curves taken over oil spills are presented and their effect on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery are discussed. Plots of microwave radiometric brightness variations over oil spills are presented and discussed. Recommendations as to how to select the best combination of frequency, viewing angle, and sensor type for evaluation of various aspects of oil spills are also discussed.

  16. Potential impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on large pelagic fishes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frias-Torres, Sarrah; Bostater, Charles R., Jr.

    2011-11-01

    Biogeographical analyses provide insights on how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted large pelagic fishes. We georeferenced historical ichthyoplankton surveys and published literature to map the spawning and larval areas of bluefin tuna, swordfish, blue marlin and whale shark sightings in the Gulf of Mexico with daily satellite-derived images detecting surface oil. The oil spill covered critical areas used by large pelagic fishes. Surface oil was detected in 100% of the northernmost whale shark sightings, in 32.8 % of the bluefin tuna spawning area and 38 % of the blue marlin larval area. No surface oil was detected in the swordfish spawning and larval area. Our study likely underestimates the extend of the oil spill due to satellite sensors detecting only the upper euphotic zone and the use of dispersants altering crude oil density, but provides a previously unknown spatio-temporal analysis.

  17. Improving Phytoremediation of Oil Spills through Organic Absorbents

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, W.

    2017-12-01

    Every year, oil spills around the world contaminate the environment and cost billions of dollars to clean up. Phytoremediation is a current technology for recovering environments contaminated by harmful substances, such as oil, that utilizes plants' capabilities to concentrate and metabolize the contaminants. Ranunculus, or the buttercup, has raised interest in the field of phytoremediation, being reported to grow in waste environments including municipal waste disposals. My project confirmed Ranunculus to be a suitable plant for phytoremediation. However, the Ranunculus plants throughout experiments showed a limited tolerance for oil concentration, causing the plant to wilt, thus ending the phytoremediation process. To overcome this problem, my project explored the combination of organic oil absorbents and phytoremediation. Oil absorbents can quickly fix the spilled oil in place and prevent it from further migration. In addition, and most importantly, the initial free oil concentration in contact with the roots is thus effectively decreased, which is essential for the plants to survive. Typha(cattail) inflorescence, saw dust, cotton and a commercial polymer were tested for oil absorption and Typha was deemed superior, being highly oil absorbent, inexpensive, organic and hydrophobic. Further experiments were undertaken in a small outdoor space and in the UBC Horticulture greenhouse during the winter season over the course of one year. The experiments were set up to both determine the most suitable plant for phytoremediation and test the impact of using Typha inflorescence as an absorbent. For each plant, there were three pots with Typha inflorescence and oil, with oil but no Typha inflorescence and without either. In order to measure the benefit quantitatively, naturally occurring electrical currents of the metabolic process common in phytoremediation was used as an indicator for phytoremediative activity. The main findings of the experiments were: 1. Adding Typha

  18. In-depth analysis of accidental oil spills from tankers in the context of global spill trends from all sources.

    PubMed

    Burgherr, Peter

    2007-02-09

    This study gives a global overview of accidental oil spills from all sources (> or =700t) for the period 1970-2004, followed by a detailed examination of trends in accidental tanker spills. The present analysis of the number and volume of tanker spills includes temporal and spatial spill trends, aspects of spill size distribution as well as trends of key factors (i.e., flag state, hull type, tanker age, accident cause and sensitivity of location). Results show that the total number and volume of tanker spills have significantly decreased since the 1970s, which is in contrast to increases in maritime transport of oil and to popular perceptions following recent catastrophic events. However, many spills still occur in ecologically sensitive locations because the major maritime transport routes often cross the boundaries of the Large Marine Ecosystems, but the substantially lower total spill volume is an important contribution to potentially reduce overall ecosystem impacts. In summary, the improvements achieved in the past decades have been the result of a set of initiatives and regulations implemented by governments, international organizations and the shipping industry.

  19. Modeling for the allocation of oil spill recovery capacity considering environmental and economic factors.

    PubMed

    Ha, Min-Jae

    2018-01-01

    This study presents a regional oil spill risk assessment and capacities for marine oil spill response in Korea. The risk assessment of oil spill is carried out using both causal factors and environmental/economic factors. The weight of each parameter is calculated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Final regional risk degrees of oil spill are estimated by combining the degree and weight of each existing parameter. From these estimated risk levels, oil recovery capacities were determined with reference to the recovery target of 7500kl specified in existing standards. The estimates were deemed feasible, and provided a more balanced distribution of resources than existing capacities set according to current standards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Marine oil spill risk mapping for accidental pollution and its application in a coastal city.

    PubMed

    Lan, Dongdong; Liang, Bin; Bao, Chenguang; Ma, Minghui; Xu, Yan; Yu, Chunyan

    2015-07-15

    Accidental marine oil spill pollution can result in severe environmental, ecological, economic and other consequences. This paper discussed the model of Marine Oil Spill Risk Mapping (MOSRM), which was constructed as follows: (1) proposing a marine oil spill risk system based on the typical marine oil spill pollution accidents and prevailing risk theories; (2) identifying suitable indexes that are supported by quantitative sub-indexes; (3) constructing the risk measuring models according to the actual interactions between the factors in the risk system; and (4) assessing marine oil spill risk on coastal city scale with GIS to map the overall risk. The case study of accidental marine oil spill pollution in the coastal area of Dalian, China was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. The coastal areas of Dalian were divided into three zones with risk degrees of high, medium, and low. And detailed countermeasures were proposed for specific risk zones. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Development of an oil spill information system combining remote sensing data and surveillance metadata

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tufte, Lars; Trieschmann, Olaf; Carreau, Philippe; Hunsaenger, Thomas; Clayton, Peter J. S.; Barjenbruch, Ulrich

    2004-02-01

    The detection of accidentally or illegal marine oil discharges in the German territorial waters of the North Sea and Baltic Sea is of great importance for combating of oil spills and protection of the marine ecosystem. Therefore the German Federal Ministry of Transport set up an airborne surveillance system consisting of two Dornier DO 228-212 aircrafts equipped with a Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR), a IR/UV sensor, a Microwave Radiometer (MWR) for quantification and a Laser-Flurosensor (LFS) for classification purposes of the oil spills. The flight parameters and the remote sensing data are stored in a database during the flight. A Pollution Observation Log is completed by the operator consisting of information about the detected oil spill (e.g. position, length, width) and several other information about the flight (e.g. name of navigator, name of observer). The objective was to develop an oil spill information system which integrates the described data, metadata and includes visualization and spatial analysis capabilities. The metadata are essential for further statistical analysis in spatial and temporal domains of oil spill occurrences and of the surveillance itself. It should facilitate the communication and distribution of metadata between the administrative bodies and partners of the German oil spill surveillance system. A connection between a GIS and the database allows to use the powerful visualization and spatial analysis functionality of the GIS in conjunction with the oil spill database.

  2. Low level exposure to crude oil impacts avian flight performance: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill effect on migratory birds.

    PubMed

    Perez, Cristina R; Moye, John K; Cacela, Dave; Dean, Karen M; Pritsos, Chris A

    2017-12-01

    In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill released 134 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico making it the largest oil spill in US history. The three month oil spill left tens of thousands of birds dead; however, the fate of tens of thousands of other migratory birds that were affected but did not immediately die is unknown. We used the homing pigeon as a surrogate species for migratory birds to investigate the effects of a single external oiling event on the flight performance of birds. Data from GPS data loggers revealed that lightly oiled pigeons took significantly longer to return home and spent more time stopped en route than unoiled birds. This suggests that migratory birds affected by the oil spill could have experienced long term flight impairment and delayed arrival to breeding, wintering, or crucial stopover sites and subsequently suffered reductions in survival and reproductive success. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. NASA AVIRIS Aids in Gulf Oil Spill Response

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2010-05-27

    This image from NASA Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer instrument AVIRIS was collected on May 17, 2010, over the site of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill disaster. In the image, crude oil on the surface appears orange to brown.

  4. USE OF CHEMICAL DISPERSANTS FOR MARINE OIL SPILLS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Chemical dispersants are one of the tools available to oil spill response personnel to control the spread of an oil slick. The manual presents information from the literature relative to dispersant effectiveness, toxicity and other environmental factors, regulatory and administra...

  5. Three-dimensional Virtual Simulation of Oil Spill of Yangtze River in Chongqing Area Based on Emergency Decision

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Shuzhe; Huang, Liwen

    the river of Yangtze River in Chongqing area is continuous curved. Hydrology and channel situation is complex, and the transportation is busy. With the increasing of shipments of hazardous chemicals year by year, oil spill accident risk is rising. So establishment of three-dimensional virtual simulation of oil spill and its application in decision-making has become an urgent task. This paper detailed the process of three-dimensional virtual simulation of oil spill and established a system of three-dimensional virtual Simulation of oil spill of Yangtze River in Chongqing area by establishing an oil spill model of the Chongqing area based on oil particles model, and the system has been used in emergency decision to provide assistance for the oil spill response.

  6. 75 FR 47584 - National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-06

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore...: This notice announces an open meeting for the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill... in the Federal Register. The Charter of the Commission can be found at: http://www.OilSpillCommission...

  7. 75 FR 65309 - National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore...: This notice announces an open meeting of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill... concerning the root cause of the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, fire, and oil spill and to develop options...

  8. 75 FR 37783 - National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore...: This notice announces an open meeting of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill... Horizon explosion, fire and oil spill and develop options to guard against, and mitigate the impact of...

  9. 75 FR 56526 - National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore...: This notice announces an open meeting of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill... in the Federal Register. The Charter of the Commission can be found at: http://www.OilSpillCommission...

  10. 75 FR 60097 - National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore...: This notice announces an open meeting of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill... cause of the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, fire, and oil spill and to develop options to guard against...

  11. 75 FR 69652 - National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore...: This notice announces an open meeting of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill... cause of the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, fire, and oil spill and to develop options to guard against...

  12. Computer simulation of the probability that endangered whales will interact with oil spills

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Reed, M.; Jayko, K.; Bowles, A.

    1987-03-01

    A numerical model system was developed to assess quantitatively the probability that endangered bowhead and gray whales will encounter spilled oil in Alaskan waters. Bowhead and gray whale migration and diving-surfacing models, and an oil-spill trajectory model comprise the system. The migration models were developed from conceptual considerations, then calibrated with and tested against observations. The movement of a whale point is governed by a random walk algorithm which stochastically follows a migratory pathway. The oil-spill model, developed under a series of other contracts, accounts for transport and spreading behavior in open water and in the presence of sea ice.more » Historical wind records and heavy, normal, or light ice cover data sets are selected at random to provide stochastic oil-spill scenarios for whale-oil interaction simulations.« less

  13. Biodegradability Of Lingering Crude Oil 19 Years After The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

    EPA Science Inventory

    In 2001 and 2003, geospatial surveys of lingering oil were conducted in Prince William Sound (PWS) resulting in a prediction of significant acreage being contaminated with substantial subsurface oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). In 2007, other researchers d...

  14. Mathematical modelling of oil spill fate and transport in the marine environment incorporating biodegradation kinetics of oil droplets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spanoudaki, Katerina

    2016-04-01

    Oil biodegradation by native bacteria is one of the most important natural processes that can attenuate the environmental impacts of marine oil spills. However, very few numerical models of oil spill fate and transport include biodegradation kinetics of spilled oil. Furthermore, in models where biodegradation is included amongst the oil transformation processes simulated, it is mostly represented as a first order decay process neglecting the effect of several important parameters that can limit biodegradation rate, such as oil composition and oil droplets-water interface. To this end, the open source numerical model MEDSKIL-II, which simulates oil spill fate and transport in the marine environment, has been modified to include biodegradation kinetics of oil droplets dispersed in the water column. MEDSLIK-II predicts the transport and weathering of oil spills following a Lagrangian approach for the solution of the advection-diffusion equation. Transport is governed by the 3D sea currents and wave field provided by ocean circulation models. In addition to advective and diffusive displacements, the model simulates several physical and chemical processes that transform the oil (evaporation, emulsification, dispersion in the water column, adhesion to coast). The fate algorithms employed in MEDSLIK-II consider the oil as a uniform substance whose properties change as the slick weathers, an approach that can lead to reduced accuracy, especially in the estimation of oil evaporation and biodegradation. Therefore MEDSLIK-II has been modified by adopting the "pseudo-component" approach for simulating weathering processes. Spilled oil is modelled as a relatively small number of discrete, non-interacting components (pseudo-components). Chemicals in the oil mixture are grouped by physical-chemical properties and the resulting pseudo-component behaves as if it were a single substance with characteristics typical of the chemical group. The fate (evaporation, dispersion

  15. Thresholds in marsh resilience to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

    PubMed Central

    Silliman, Brian R.; Dixon, Philip M.; Wobus, Cameron; He, Qiang; Daleo, Pedro; Hughes, Brent B.; Rissing, Matthew; Willis, Jonathan M.; Hester, Mark W.

    2016-01-01

    Ecosystem boundary retreat due to human-induced pressure is a generally observed phenomenon. However, studies that document thresholds beyond which internal resistance mechanisms are overwhelmed are uncommon. Following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, field studies from a few sites suggested that oiling of salt marshes could lead to a biogeomorphic feedback where plant death resulted in increased marsh erosion. We tested for spatial generality of and thresholds in this effect across 103 salt marsh sites spanning ~430 kilometers of shoreline in coastal Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, using data collected as part of the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). Our analyses revealed a threshold for oil impacts on marsh edge erosion, with higher erosion rates occurring for ~1–2 years after the spill at sites with the highest amounts of plant stem oiling (90–100%). These results provide compelling evidence showing large-scale ecosystem loss following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. More broadly, these findings provide rare empirical evidence identifying a geomorphologic threshold in the resistance of an ecosystem to increasing intensity of human-induced disturbance. PMID:27679956

  16. GUIDELINES FOR THE BIOREMEDIATION OF OIL-CONTAMINATED SALT MARSHES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The objective of this document is to present a detailed technical guideline for use by spill responders for the cleanup of coastal wetlands contaminated with oil and oil products by using one of the least intrusive approaches
    bioremediation technology. This manual is a supplem...

  17. Adaptive Enhancement of X-Band Marine Radar Imagery to Detect Oil Spill Segments

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Peng; Li, Ying; Xu, Jin; Zhu, Xueyuan

    2017-01-01

    Oil spills generate a large cost in environmental and economic terms. Their identification plays an important role in oil-spill response. We propose an oil spill detection method with improved adaptive enhancement on X-band marine radar systems. The radar images used in this paper were acquired on 21 July 2010, from the teaching-training ship “YUKUN” of the Dalian Maritime University. According to the shape characteristic of co-channel interference, two convolutional filters are used to detect the location of the interference, followed by a mean filter to erase the interference. Small objects, such as bright speckles, are taken as a mask in the radar image and improved by the Fields-of-Experts model. The region marked by strong reflected signals from the sea’s surface is selected to identify oil spills. The selected region is subject to improved adaptive enhancement designed based on features of radar images. With the proposed adaptive enhancement technique, calculated oil spill detection is comparable to visual interpretation in accuracy. PMID:29036892

  18. Consensus oriented fuzzified decision support for oil spill contingency management.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xin; Wirtz, Kai W

    2006-06-30

    Studies on multi-group multi-criteria decision-making problems for oil spill contingency management are in their infancy. This paper presents a second-order fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) model to resolve decision-making problems in the area of contingency management after environmental disasters such as oil spills. To assess the performance of different oil combat strategies, second-order FCE allows for the utilization of lexical information, the consideration of ecological and socio-economic criteria and the involvement of a variety of stakeholders. On the other hand, the new approach can be validated by using internal and external checks, which refer to sensitivity tests regarding its internal setups and comparisons with other methods, respectively. Through a case study, the Pallas oil spill in the German Bight in 1998, it is demonstrated that this approach can help decision makers who search for an optimal strategy in multi-thread contingency problems and has a wider application potential in the field of integrated coastal zone management.

  19. Virtual Issue #1: Oil Spill Research in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology has been a venue for publishing oil spill research for over forty years. Rehwoldt et al. (1974) published the first oil spill focused paper in the Bulletin, reporting on the aquatic toxicity of two spill mitigating agents...

  20. Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A Tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    The devastating environmental impacts of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 and its media notoriety made it a frequent comparison to the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the popular press in 2010, even though the nature of the two spills and the environments impacted were vastly different. Fortunately, unlike higher organisms that are adversely impacted by oil spills, microorganisms are able to consume petroleum hydrocarbons. These oil degrading indigenous microorganisms played a significant role in reducing the overall environmental impact of both the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills. PMID:21699212

  1. Oil biodegradation and bioremediation: a tale of the two worst spills in U.S. history.

    PubMed

    Atlas, Ronald M; Hazen, Terry C

    2011-08-15

    The devastating environmental impacts of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 and its media notoriety made it a frequent comparison to the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the popular press in 2010, even though the nature of the two spills and the environments impacted were vastly different. Fortunately, unlike higher organisms that are adversely impacted by oil spills, microorganisms are able to consume petroleum hydrocarbons. These oil degrading indigenous microorganisms played a significant role in reducing the overall environmental impact of both the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills.

  2. Challenges to oil spill assessment for seabirds in the deep ocean

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Haney, J. Christopher; Jodice, Patrick G. R.; Montevecchi, William; Evers, David C.

    2017-01-01

    We synthesize impediments for evaluating effects to seabirds from open ocean hydrocarbon releases. Effects on seabirds from ship discharges, spills, and well blowouts often are poorly detected and monitored far from land. Regulatory regimes for ocean spills can result in monitoring efforts that are not entirely transparent. We illustrate how interdisciplinary technologies address deficits that hamper individual or population level assessments for seabirds, and we demonstrate where emerging technologies might be engaged to bridge gaps in oil spill monitoring. Although acute mortality from direct oil exposure poses the greatest risk to seabirds, other hazards from light-attraction, flaring, collisions, chronic pollution, and hydrocarbon inhalation around oil infrastructure also may induce bird mortality in the deep ocean.

  3. Identification of spilled oils by NIR spectroscopy technology based on KPCA and LSSVM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Ailing; Bi, Weihong

    2011-08-01

    Oil spills on the sea surface are seen relatively often with the development of the petroleum exploitation and transportation of the sea. Oil spills are great threat to the marine environment and the ecosystem, thus the oil pollution in the ocean becomes an urgent topic in the environmental protection. To develop the oil spill accident treatment program and track the source of the spilled oils, a novel qualitative identification method combined Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA) and Least Square Support Vector Machine (LSSVM) was proposed. The proposed method adapt Fourier transform NIR spectrophotometer to collect the NIR spectral data of simulated gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene oil spills samples and do some pretreatments to the original spectrum. We use the KPCA algorithm which is an extension of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using techniques of kernel methods to extract nonlinear features of the preprocessed spectrum. Support Vector Machines (SVM) is a powerful methodology for solving spectral classification tasks in chemometrics. LSSVM are reformulations to the standard SVMs which lead to solving a system of linear equations. So a LSSVM multiclass classification model was designed which using Error Correcting Output Code (ECOC) method borrowing the idea of error correcting codes used for correcting bit errors in transmission channels. The most common and reliable approach to parameter selection is to decide on parameter ranges, and to then do a grid search over the parameter space to find the optimal model parameters. To test the proposed method, 375 spilled oil samples of unknown type were selected to study. The optimal model has the best identification capabilities with the accuracy of 97.8%. Experimental results show that the proposed KPCA plus LSSVM qualitative analysis method of near infrared spectroscopy has good recognition result, which could work as a new method for rapid identification of spilled oils.

  4. Effects of Salinity on Oil Spill Dispersant Toxicity in Estuarine Organisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eckmann, C. A.

    2016-02-01

    Chemical dispersants can be a useful tool to mitigate oil spills, but the potential risks to sensitive estuarine species should be carefully considered. To improve the decision making process, more information is needed regarding the effects of oil spill dispersants on the health of coastal ecosystems under variable environmental conditions such as salinity. The two oil dispersants used in this study were Corexit ® 9500 and Finasol ® OSR 52. Corexit ® 9500 was the primary dispersant used during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill event, while Finasol® OSR 52 is another dispersant approved for oil spill response in the U.S., yet considerably less is known regarding its toxicity to estuarine species. The grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, was used as a model estuarine species. It is a euryhaline species that tolerates salinities from brackish to full strength seawater. Adult and larval life stages were tested with each dispersant at three salinities, 5ppt, 20ppt, and 30ppt. Median acute lethal toxicity thresholds were calculated. Lipid peroxidation assays were conducted on surviving shrimp to investigate sublethal effects. The toxicity of both dispersants was significantly influenced by salinity, with greatest toxicity observed at the lowest salinity tested. Larval shrimp were significantly more sensitive than adult shrimp to both dispersants, and both life stages were significantly more sensitive to Finasol than to Corexit. Furthermore, significant sublethal effects were seen at higher concentrations of both dispersants compared to the control. These data will enable environmental managers to make informed decisions regarding dispersant use in future oil spills.

  5. Effects of Salinity on Oil Spill Dispersant Toxicity in Estuarine Organisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eckmann, C. A.

    2015-12-01

    Chemical dispersants can be a useful tool to mitigate oil spills, but the potential risks to sensitive estuarine species should be carefully considered. To improve the decision making process, more information is needed regarding the effects of oil spill dispersants on the health of coastal ecosystems under variable environmental conditions such as salinity. The two oil dispersants used in this study were Corexit ® 9500 and Finasol ® OSR 52. Corexit ® 9500 was the primary dispersant used during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill event, while Finasol® OSR 52 is another dispersant approved for oil spill response in the U.S., yet considerably less is known regarding its toxicity to estuarine species. The grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, was used as a model estuarine species. It is a euryhaline species that tolerates salinities from brackish to full strength seawater. Adult and larval life stages were tested with each dispersant at three salinities, 5ppt, 20ppt, and 30ppt. Median acute lethal toxicity thresholds were calculated. Lipid peroxidation assays were conducted on surviving shrimp to investigate sublethal effects. The toxicity of both dispersants was significantly influenced by salinity, with greatest toxicity observed at the lowest salinity tested. Larval shrimp were significantly more sensitive than adult shrimp to both dispersants, and both life stages were significantly more sensitive to Finasol than to Corexit. Furthermore, significant sublethal effects were seen at higher concentrations of both dispersants compared to the control. These data will enable environmental managers to make informed decisions regarding dispersant use in future oil spills.

  6. 30 CFR 553.14 - How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false How do I determine the worst case oil-spill... THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES Applicability and Amount of OSFR § 553.14 How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume? (a) To calculate...

  7. 30 CFR 253.14 - How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How do I determine the worst case oil-spill... INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES Applicability and Amount of OSFR § 253.14 How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume? (a) To calculate the amount...

  8. 30 CFR 553.14 - How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false How do I determine the worst case oil-spill... THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES Applicability and Amount of OSFR § 553.14 How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume? (a) To calculate...

  9. 30 CFR 553.14 - How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false How do I determine the worst case oil-spill... THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES Applicability and Amount of OSFR § 553.14 How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume? (a) To calculate...

  10. ASTER Views the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill in Infrared May 7

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2010-05-07

    NASA Terra spacecraft captured this image of the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 7, 2010. The thickest parts of the oil spill appear as dark grey, filamentous masses in the southern part of the image, extending off of the bottom.

  11. A multi-stage oil-water-separating process design for the sea oil spill recovery robot

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Min-ge; Wu, Jian-guo; Lin, Xinhua; Wang, Xiao-ming

    2018-03-01

    Oil spill have the most common pollution to the marine ecological environment. In the late stage of physical method recovery, because of the thin oil and the strong sea breeze, the recovery vessels has low efficiency and high energy consumption. This paper develops a multi-stage oil-water-separating process carried by the sea oil spill recovery robot in severe conditions. This design consists of three separation process, among which both the first and third process adopt corrugated sheets horizontal oil-water separator, while the second is hydraulic rotary breaker. This design also equiptment with rectifier and cyclone separator and other important components. This process has high flexibility and high recovery efficiency. The implement effect is significant.

  12. An application of a vulnerability index to oil spill modeling in the Gulf of Mexico

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    LaBelle, R.P.; Rainey, Gail; Lanfear, K.J.

    1982-01-01

    An analysis was made of the relative impact to the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico from proposed Federal Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing activity. An oil spill trajectory model was coupled with a land segment vulnerability characterization to predict the risks to the shoreline. Such a technique allows spatial and temporal variability in oil spill sensitivity to be represented and combined with the likelihood of oil spill contact to specific coastal segments in the study area. Predicted relative impact was greatest along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Useful information is provided for environmental impact analysis, as well as oil spill response planning.

  13. Oil spill disasters detection and monitoring by optical satellite data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Livia Grimaldi, Caterina Sara; Coviello, Irina; Lacava, Teodosio; Pergola, Nicola; Tramutoli, Valerio

    2010-05-01

    Marine oil spill disasters may be related to natural hazards, when storms and hurricanes cause the sinking of tankers carrying crude or refined oil, as well as to human action, as illegal discharges, assessment errors (failures or collisions) or acts of warfare. Their consequence has a devastating effects on the marine and coastal environment. In order to reduce the environmental impact of such kind of hazard, giving to local authorities necessary information of pollution entity and evolution, timely detection and continuously updated information are fundamental. Satellite remote sensing can give a significant contribution in such a direction. Nowadays, SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology has been recognized as the most efficient for oil spill detection and description, thanks to the high spatial resolution and all-time/weather capability of the present operational sensors. Anyway, the actual SARs revisiting time does not allow a rapid detection and near real-time monitoring of these phenomena at global scale. The COSMO-Skymed Italian dual-mission (expected in the 2010) will overcome this limitation improving the temporal resolution until 12 hours by a SAR constellation of four satellites, but several open questions regarding costs and global delivery policy of such data, might prevent their use in an operational context. Passive optical sensors, on board meteorological satellites, thanks to their high temporal resolution (from a few hours to 15 minutes, depending on the characteristics of the platform/sensor), may represent, at this moment, a suitable SAR alternative/complement for oil spill detection and monitoring. Up to now, some techniques have been proposed for mapping known oil spill discharges monitoring using optical satellite data, on the other hand, reliable satellite methods for an automatic and timely detection of oil spill are still currently missing. Existing methods, in fact, can localize the presence of an oil spill only after an alert and

  14. 30 CFR 253.14 - How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How do I determine the worst case oil-spill... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES Applicability and Amount of OSFR § 253.14 How do I determine the worst case oil-spill discharge volume? (a) To...

  15. A review of oil, dispersed oil and sediment interactions in the aquatic environment: influence on the fate, transport and remediation of oil spills.

    PubMed

    Gong, Yanyan; Zhao, Xiao; Cai, Zhengqing; O'Reilly, S E; Hao, Xiaodi; Zhao, Dongye

    2014-02-15

    The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has spurred significant amounts of researches on fate, transport, and environmental impacts of oil and oil dispersants. This review critically summarizes what is understood to date about the interactions between oil, oil dispersants and sediments, their roles in developing oil spill countermeasures, and how these interactions may change in deepwater environments. Effects of controlling parameters, such as sediment particle size and concentration, organic matter content, oil properties, and salinity on oil-sediment interactions are described in detail. Special attention is placed to the application and effects of oil dispersants on the rate and extent of the interactions between oil and sediment or suspended particulate materials. Various analytical methods are discussed for characterization of oil-sediment interactions. Current knowledge gaps are identified and further research needs are proposed to facilitate sounder assessment of fate and impacts of oil spills in the marine environment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Usefulness of high resolution coastal models for operational oil spill forecast: the "Full City" accident

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Broström, G.; Carrasco, A.; Hole, L. R.; Dick, S.; Janssen, F.; Mattsson, J.; Berger, S.

    2011-11-01

    Oil spill modeling is considered to be an important part of a decision support system (DeSS) for oil spill combatment and is useful for remedial action in case of accidents, as well as for designing the environmental monitoring system that is frequently set up after major accidents. Many accidents take place in coastal areas, implying that low resolution basin scale ocean models are of limited use for predicting the trajectories of an oil spill. In this study, we target the oil spill in connection with the "Full City" accident on the Norwegian south coast and compare operational simulations from three different oil spill models for the area. The result of the analysis is that all models do a satisfactory job. The "standard" operational model for the area is shown to have severe flaws, but by applying ocean forcing data of higher resolution (1.5 km resolution), the model system shows results that compare well with observations. The study also shows that an ensemble of results from the three different models is useful when predicting/analyzing oil spill in coastal areas.

  17. Lessons from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill: A biological perspective

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ballachey, Brenda E.; Bodkin, James L.; Esler, Daniel N.; Rice, Stanley D.

    2014-01-01

    On March 24, 1989, the tanker vessel Exxon Valdez altered its course to avoid floating ice, and ran aground on Bligh Reef in northeastern Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska (Figure 1). The tanker was carrying about 53 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude, a heavy oil, and an estimated 11 million gallons spilled (264,000 barrels or about 42 million liters) in what was, prior to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill of 2010, the largest accidental release of oil into U.S. waters (Morris and Loughlin 1994; Spies et al. 1996; Shigenaka 2014). Following the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS), a broad range of studies was implemented and 25 years later, monitoring and research efforts to understand the long-term impacts of the spill continue, although now at a lesser intensity. The Exxon Valdez and DWH spills differed in many ways (Plater 2010; Atlas and Hazen 2011; Sylves and Comfort 2012), but there are also similarities, and lessons from the EVOS experience may offer valuable insights as research efforts proceed in the wake of the DWH spill. Here we provide an overview of the EVOS, summarize key findings from several long-term biological research programs, and conclude with some considerations of lessons learned after two and a half decades of study.

  18. Effects of an oil spill on benthic community production and respiration on subtropical intertidal sandflats.

    PubMed

    Lee, Li-Hua; Lin, Hsing-Juh

    2013-08-15

    This study determined effects of an oil spill on subtropical benthic community production and respiration by monitoring CO2 fluxes in benthic chambers on intertidal sandflats during emersion before and after an accidental spill. The oil spill decreased sediment chlorophyll a concentrations, altered benthic macrofaunal community, and affected ecological functioning by suppressing or even stopping microalgal production, increasing bacterial respiration, and causing a shift from an autotrophic system to a heterotrophic system. Effects of the oil spill on the macrofauna were more severe than on benthic microalgae, and affected sedentary infauna more than motile epifauna. Despite the oil spill's impact on the benthic community and carbon metabolism, the affected area appeared to return to normal in about 23 days. Our results suggest that the prompt response of benthic metabolism to exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons can serve as a useful indicator of the impact of an oil spill. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Towards a common oil spill risk assessment framework – Adapting ISO 31000 and addressing uncertainties.

    PubMed

    Sepp Neves, Antonio Augusto; Pinardi, Nadia; Martins, Flavio; Janeiro, Joao; Samaras, Achilleas; Zodiatis, George; De Dominicis, Michela

    2015-08-15

    Oil spills are a transnational problem, and establishing a common standard methodology for Oil Spill Risk Assessments (OSRAs) is thus paramount in order to protect marine environments and coastal communities. In this study we firstly identified the strengths and weaknesses of the OSRAs carried out in various parts of the globe. We then searched for a generic and recognized standard, i.e. ISO 31000, in order to design a method to perform OSRAs in a scientific and standard way. The new framework was tested for the Lebanon oil spill that occurred in 2006 employing ensemble oil spill modeling to quantify the risks and uncertainties due to unknown spill characteristics. The application of the framework generated valuable visual instruments for the transparent communication of the risks, replacing the use of risk tolerance levels, and thus highlighting the priority areas to protect in case of an oil spill. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. An assessment of oil-spill effects on pink salmon populations following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Part 2: Adults and escapement

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Maki, A.W.; Brannon, E.J.; Gilbertson, L.G.

    1995-12-31

    This paper presents results of a field program designed to monitor the status of wildstock pink salmon populations in Prince William Sound following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Field counts of spawning salmon were conducted each year from 1989 through 1992 to test for spill effects o the distribution nd abundance of pink salmon adults spawning in selected streams in the southwestern portion of Prince William Sound, including streams from the most heavily oiled areas. Counts of whole-stream and intertidal escapement density were statistically compared for 40 study streams in 1989 and for a subset of those streams in successivemore » years. Measurements of residual hydrocarbons were made from stream-bed sediments to test for correlations with spawning behavior. Adult pink salmon in the postspill years of 1990 and 1991, progeny of the year classes considered most vulnerable to the oil spill, returned in high numbers, with the wildstock spawners exceeding their parent year returns. In 1989, adult returns reflected the relatively weak run for that year with a mean spawner density of 0.68 fish/m{sup 2} in reference streams and 0.69 fish/m{sup 2} in oiled streams. In 1990, mean escapement density for reference streams was 1.40 fish/m{sup 2} and 1.55 fish/m{sup 2} for oiled streams, indicating the strongest run of the four study years. Trends in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations for the majority of oiled streams show a general decline from 1989 to background levels by 1990. 45 refs., 14 figs., 5 tabs.« less

  1. The Primi Project: August-September 2009 Validation Cruise On Oil Spill Detection And Fate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santoleri, R.; Bignami, F.; Bohm, E.; Nichio, F.; De Dominicis, M.; Ruggieri, G.; Marulllo, S.; Trivero, P.; Zambianchi, E.; Archetti, R.; Adamo, M.; Biamino, W.; Borasi, M.; Buongiorno Nardelli, B.; Cavagnero, M.; Colao, F.; Colella, S.; Coppini, G.; Debettio, V.; De Carolis, G.; Forneris, V.; Griffa, A.; Iacono, R.; Lombardi, E.; Manzella, G.; Mercantini, A.; Napolitano, E.; Pinardi, N.; Pandiscia, G.; Pisano, A.; Rupolo, V.; Reseghetti, F.; Sabia, L.; Sorgente, R.; Sprovieri, M.; Terranova, G.; Trani, M.; Volpe, G.

    2010-04-01

    In the framework of the ASI PRIMI Project, CNR- ISAC, in collaboration with the PRIMI partners, organized a validation cruise for the PRIMI oil spill monitoring and forecasting system on board the CNR R/V Urania. The cruise (Aug. 6 - Sept. 7 2009) took place in the Sicily Strait, an area affected by large oil tanker traffic. The cruise plan was organized in order to have the ship within the selected SAR image frames at acquisition time so that the ship could move toward the oil slick and verify it via visual and instrumental inspection. During the cruise, several oil spills, presumably being the result of illegal tank washing, were detected by the PRIMI system and were verified in situ. Preliminary results indicate that SAR and optical satellites are able to detect heavy and thin film oil spills, the maturity of oil spill forecasting models and that further work combining satellite, model and in situ data is necessary to assess the spill severity from the signature in satellite imagery.

  2. Automatic Mexico Gulf Oil Spill Detection from Radarsat-2 SAR Satellite Data Using Genetic Algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marghany, Maged

    2016-10-01

    In this work, a genetic algorithm is exploited for automatic detection of oil spills of small and large size. The route is achieved using arrays of RADARSAT-2 SAR ScanSAR Narrow single beam data obtained in the Gulf of Mexico. The study shows that genetic algorithm has automatically segmented the dark spot patches related to small and large oil spill pixels. This conclusion is confirmed by the receiveroperating characteristic (ROC) curve and ground data which have been documented. The ROC curve indicates that the existence of oil slick footprints can be identified with the area under the curve between the ROC curve and the no-discrimination line of 90%, which is greater than that of other surrounding environmental features. The small oil spill sizes represented 30% of the discriminated oil spill pixels in ROC curve. In conclusion, the genetic algorithm can be used as a tool for the automatic detection of oil spills of either small or large size and the ScanSAR Narrow single beam mode serves as an excellent sensor for oil spill patterns detection and surveying in the Gulf of Mexico.

  3. 46 CFR 126.225 - Alternate tonnage for offshore supply vessels seeking oil spill response vessel certification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... oil spill response vessel certification. 126.225 Section 126.225 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF... Inspection § 126.225 Alternate tonnage for offshore supply vessels seeking oil spill response vessel... also be certificated as an oil spill response vessel. [76 FR 77131, Dec. 12, 2011] ...

  4. Improving oiled shoreline cleanup with COREXIT 9580

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fiocco, R.J.; Lessard, R.R.; Canevari, G.P.

    1996-08-01

    The cleanup of oiled shorelines has generally been by mechanical, labor-intensive means. The use of a chemical shoreline cleaner to assist in water-flushing oil from the surfaces can result in more complete and more rapid cleaning. Not only is the cleaning process more efficient, but it can also be less environmentally damaging since there is potentially much less human intrusion and stress on the biological community. This paper describes research and applications of COREXIT 9580 shoreline cleaner for treatment of oiled shorelines, including four recent applications in Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Texas and Nova Scotia. Research work on shoreline vegetation, suchmore » as mangroves, has also demonstrated the potential use of this product to save and restore oiled vegetation.« less

  5. 77 FR 32978 - Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of the Secretary Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior. ACTION: Notice of meeting... Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee. DATES: July 9, 2012, at 10 a.m. ADDRESSES: Glenn Olds...

  6. Children's Moral and Ecological Reasoning about the Prince William Sound Oil Spill.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kahn, Peter H., Jr.; Friedman, Batya

    This study investigated children's moral and ecological conceptions and values about an actual, environmentally destructive accident, the large oil spill that occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989. Sixty children from second, fifth, and eighth grades were interviewed on children's reasoning and understandings about the oil spill which…

  7. Contingency plan improvement for managing oil spills in the coastal waters of Thailand.

    PubMed

    Singkran, Nuanchan

    2014-12-15

    The estimated risks of being impacted by oil spills in the coastal waters were used to improve the oil spill contingency plan of Thailand. Functional roles of local agencies are integrated into the plan. Intensive measures are suggested for the coastal provinces located in high-very high risk zones, whereas light and moderate measures are suggested for the coastal provinces located in low and moderate risk zones, respectively. The estimated percentage risks due to simulated oil slicks hitting the coast and/or important resources (PRoilspill) were used to guide the year-round water activities that should be carefully handled at a certain radius with a low-moderate PRoilspill, whereas they should be avoided at a certain radius with a high-very high PRoilspill. Important measures before, during, and post periods of an oil spill incident are suggested to prevent and monitor oil spill incidents and mitigate their impacts on the environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. NAPL source zone depletion model and its application to railroad-tank-car spills.

    PubMed

    Marruffo, Amanda; Yoon, Hongkyu; Schaeffer, David J; Barkan, Christopher P L; Saat, Mohd Rapik; Werth, Charles J

    2012-01-01

    We developed a new semi-analytical source zone depletion model (SZDM) for multicomponent light nonaqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) and incorporated this into an existing screening model for estimating cleanup times for chemical spills from railroad tank cars that previously considered only single-component LNAPLs. Results from the SZDM compare favorably to those from a three-dimensional numerical model, and from another semi-analytical model that does not consider source zone depletion. The model was used to evaluate groundwater contamination and cleanup times for four complex mixtures of concern in the railroad industry. Among the petroleum hydrocarbon mixtures considered, the cleanup time of diesel fuel was much longer than E95, gasoline, and crude oil. This is mainly due to the high fraction of low solubility components in diesel fuel. The results demonstrate that the updated screening model with the newly developed SZDM is computationally efficient, and provides valuable comparisons of cleanup times that can be used in assessing the health and financial risk associated with chemical mixture spills from railroad-tank-car accidents. © 2011, The Author(s). Ground Water © 2011, National Ground Water Association.

  9. 30 CFR 253.5 - What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill... SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES General § 253.5 What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information...

  10. 30 CFR 553.5 - What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill... MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES General § 553.5 What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information...

  11. 30 CFR 553.5 - What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill... MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES General § 553.5 What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information...

  12. 30 CFR 253.5 - What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill... MANAGEMENT, REGULATION, AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES General § 253.5 What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial...

  13. 30 CFR 553.5 - What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill... MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL SPILL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES General § 553.5 What is the authority for collecting Oil Spill Financial Responsibility (OSFR) information...

  14. A Review of distribution and quantity of lingering subsurface oil from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nixon, Zachary; Michel, Jacqueline

    2018-01-01

    Remaining lingering subsurface oil residues from the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) are, at present, patchily distributed across the geologically complex and spatially extensive shorelines of Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. We review and synthesize previous literature describing the causal geomorphic and physical mechanisms for persistence of oil in the intertidal subsurface sediments of these areas. We also summarize previous sampling and modeling efforts, and refine previously presented models with additional data to characterize the present-day linear and areal spatial extent, and quantity of lingering subsurface oil. In the weeks after the spill in March of 1989, approximately 17,750 t of oil were stranded along impacted shorelines, and by October of 1992, only 2% of the mass of spilled oil was estimated to remain in intertidal areas. We estimate that lingering subsurface residues, generally between 5 and 20 cm thick and sequestered below 10-20 cm of clean sediment, are present over 30 ha of intertidal area, along 11.4 km of shoreline, and represent approximately 227 t or 0.6% of the total mass of spilled oil. These residues are typically located in finer-grained sand and gravel sediments, often under an armor of cobble- or boulder-sized clasts, in areas with limited groundwater flow and porosity. Persistence of these residues is correlated with heavy initial oil loading together with localized sheltering from physical disturbance such as wave energy within the beach face. While no longer generally bioavailable and increasingly chemically weathered, present removal rates for these remaining subsurface oil residues have slowed to nearly zero. The only remaining plausible removal mechanisms will operate over time scales of decades.

  15. Characterization of surface oil thickness distribution patterns observed during the Deepwater Horizon (MC-252) oil spill with aerial and satellite remote sensing.

    PubMed

    Svejkovsky, Jan; Hess, Mark; Muskat, Judd; Nedwed, Tim J; McCall, Jenifer; Garcia, Oscar

    2016-09-15

    Knowledge of the spatial distribution of oil thickness patterns within an on-water spill is of obvious importance for immediate spill response activities as well as for subsequent evaluation of the spill impacts. For long-lasting continuous spills like the 2010 3-month Deepwater Horizon (DWH) event in the Gulf of Mexico, it is also important to identify changes in the dominant oil features through time. This study utilized very high resolution (≤5m) aerial and satellite imagery acquired during the DWH spill to evaluate the shape, size and thickness of surface oil features that dominated the DWH slick. Results indicate that outside of the immediate spill source region, oil distributions did not encompass a broad, varied range of thicknesses. Instead, the oil separated into four primary, distinct characterizations: 1) invisible surface films detectable only with Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging because of the decreased surface backscatter, 2) thicker sheen & rainbow areas (<0.005mm), 3) large regional areas of relatively thin, "metallic appearance" films (0.005-0.08mm), and 4) strands of thick, emulsified oil (>1mm) that were consistently hundreds of meters long but most commonly only 10-50m wide. Where present within the slick footprint, each of the three distinct visible oil thickness classes maintained its shape characteristics both spatially (at different distances from the source and in different portions of the slick), and temporally (from mid-May through July 2010). The region over the source site tended to contain a more continuous range of oil thicknesses, however, our results indicate that the continuous injection of subsurface dispersants starting in late May significantly altered (lowered) that range. In addition to characterizing the oil thickness distribution patterns through the timeline of one of the world's largest oil spills, this paper also details the extension of using high resolution aerial imagery to calibrate medium resolution satellite data

  16. 46 CFR 126.225 - Alternate tonnage for offshore supply vessels seeking oil spill response vessel certification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... oil spill response vessel certification. 126.225 Section 126.225 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF... Inspection § 126.225 Alternate tonnage for offshore supply vessels seeking oil spill response vessel... also be certificated as an oil spill response vessel. [82-004 and CGD 86-074, 62 FR 49324, Sept. 19...

  17. 46 CFR 126.225 - Alternate tonnage for offshore supply vessels seeking oil spill response vessel certification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... oil spill response vessel certification. 126.225 Section 126.225 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF... Inspection § 126.225 Alternate tonnage for offshore supply vessels seeking oil spill response vessel... also be certificated as an oil spill response vessel. [82-004 and CGD 86-074, 62 FR 49324, Sept. 19...

  18. Multidisciplinary oil spill modeling to protect coastal communities and the environment of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alves, Tiago M.; Kokinou, Eleni; Zodiatis, George; Radhakrishnan, Hari; Panagiotakis, Costas; Lardner, Robin

    2016-11-01

    We present new mathematical and geological models to assist civil protection authorities in the mitigation of potential oil spill accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Oil spill simulations for 19 existing offshore wells were carried out based on novel and high resolution bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, and geomorphological data. The simulations show a trend for east and northeast movement of oil spills into the Levantine Basin, affecting the coastal areas of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Oil slicks will reach the coast in 1 to 20 days, driven by the action of the winds, currents and waves. By applying a qualitative analysis, seabed morphology is for the first time related to the direction of the oil slick expansion, as it is able to alter the movement of sea currents. Specifically, the direction of the major axis of the oil spills, in most of the cases examined, is oriented according to the prevailing azimuth of bathymetric features. This work suggests that oil spills in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea should be mitigated in the very few hours after their onset, and before wind and currents disperse them. We explain that protocols should be prioritized between neighboring countries to mitigate any oil spills.

  19. Multidisciplinary oil spill modeling to protect coastal communities and the environment of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

    PubMed

    Alves, Tiago M; Kokinou, Eleni; Zodiatis, George; Radhakrishnan, Hari; Panagiotakis, Costas; Lardner, Robin

    2016-11-10

    We present new mathematical and geological models to assist civil protection authorities in the mitigation of potential oil spill accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Oil spill simulations for 19 existing offshore wells were carried out based on novel and high resolution bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, and geomorphological data. The simulations show a trend for east and northeast movement of oil spills into the Levantine Basin, affecting the coastal areas of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Oil slicks will reach the coast in 1 to 20 days, driven by the action of the winds, currents and waves. By applying a qualitative analysis, seabed morphology is for the first time related to the direction of the oil slick expansion, as it is able to alter the movement of sea currents. Specifically, the direction of the major axis of the oil spills, in most of the cases examined, is oriented according to the prevailing azimuth of bathymetric features. This work suggests that oil spills in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea should be mitigated in the very few hours after their onset, and before wind and currents disperse them. We explain that protocols should be prioritized between neighboring countries to mitigate any oil spills.

  20. Effects of the Oil Spill on Alaskan Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oldaker, Lawrence Lee

    Oil-industry-produced revenues, help finance Alaskan state and local governmental services including education. Capital losses incurred by the Exxon Corporation and by commerical fisheries as a consequence of the Exxon Valdez oil spill caused an economic recession, the result being diminished financing for a number of governmental programs and…

  1. NASA DEVELOP Students Rev Up Response to Gulf Oil Spill

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Jason B.; Childs, Lauren M.

    2010-01-01

    After the April 20th explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the world witnessed one of the worst oil spill catastrophes in global history. In an effort to mitigate the disaster, the U.S. government moved quickly to establish a unified command for responding to the spill. Some of the command's most immediate needs were to track the movement of the surface oil slick, establish a baseline measurement of pre-oil coastal ecosystem conditions, and assess potential air quality and water hazards related to the spill. To help address these needs and assist the Federal response to the disaster, NASA deployed several of its airborne and satellite research sensors to collect an unprecedented amount of remotely-sensed data over the Gulf of Mexico region. Although some of these data were shared with the public via the media, much of the NASA data on the disaster was not well known to the Gulf Coast community. The need existed to inform the general public about these datasets and help improve understanding about how NASA's science research was contributing to oil spill response and recovery. With its extensive experience conducting community-oriented remote sensing projects and close ties to organizations around Gulf of Mexico, the NASA DEVELOP National Program stood in a unique position to meet this need.

  2. Physical, chemical and biological observations and modeling of oil spills in the Mediterranean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ribotti, A.; De Dominicis, M.

    2016-11-01

    According to a definition of GESAMP, United Nations advisory body on scientific aspects of marine protection, a marine pollution is: "direct or indirect introduction by man of substances or energy into the marine environment … which results in such deleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazard to human health, hindrance to marine activities including fishing, impairment of water quality and reduction of marine attractions". The works presented in this Special Issue stem from the need to manage the problem of marine pollution. The categories of pollutants associated with the maritime traffic are mainly hydrocarbons and chemicals. Hydrocarbon is the oil in all its forms, including the crude oil, the fuel oil, the sludges, debris and other refined products (as defined by MARPOL 73/78 Annex I (MARPOL, 1978)). An oil spill is a release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term often refers to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the open ocean or coastal waters. Oil spills include releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products, and heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil. Oil spills can have devastating effects on the marine environment and can jeopardize the functional integrity of the marine ecosystem (seabirds populations, fish communities, and marine mammals), as reported in Jackson et al. (1989), Piatt and Anderson (1996), Peterson et al. (2003). While being toxic to marine life, the hydrocarbons are very difficult to clean up, and last for years in the sediment and marine environment. Discharge of cargo residues from bulk carries can pollute ports, waterways and oceans. In many instances vessels intentionally discharge illegal wastes despite foreign and domestic regulation prohibiting

  3. Decision support system for emergency management of oil spill accidents in the Mediterranean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liubartseva, Svitlana; Coppini, Giovanni; Pinardi, Nadia; De Dominicis, Michela; Lecci, Rita; Turrisi, Giuseppe; Cretì, Sergio; Martinelli, Sara; Agostini, Paola; Marra, Palmalisa; Palermo, Francesco

    2016-08-01

    This paper presents an innovative web-based decision support system to facilitate emergency management in the case of oil spill accidents, called WITOIL (Where Is The Oil). The system can be applied to create a forecast of oil spill events, evaluate uncertainty of the predictions, and calculate hazards based on historical meteo-oceanographic datasets. To compute the oil transport and transformation, WITOIL uses the MEDSLIK-II oil spill model forced by operational meteo-oceanographic services. Results of the modeling are visualized through Google Maps. A special application for Android is designed to provide mobile access for competent authorities, technical and scientific institutions, and citizens.

  4. Mathematical model simulation of a diesel spill in the Potomac River

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Feng, S.S.; Nicolette, J.P.; Markarian, R.K.

    1995-12-31

    A mathematical modeling technique was used to simulate the transport and fate of approximately 400,000 gallons of spilled diesel fuel and its impact on the aquatic biota in the Potomac River and Sugarland Run. Sugarland Run is a tributary about 21 miles upstream from Washington, DC. The mass balance model predicted the dynamic (spatial and temporal) distribution of spilled oil. The distributions were presented in terms of surface oil slick and sheen, dissolved and undissolved total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the water surface, water column, river sediments, shoreline and atmosphere. The processes simulated included advective movement, dispersion, dissolution, evaporation, volatilization,more » sedimentation, shoreline deposition, biodegradation, and removal of oil from cleanup operations. The model predicted that the spill resulted in a water column dissolved TPH concentration range of 0.05 to 18.6 ppm in Sugarland Run. The spilled oil traveled 10 miles along Sugarland Run before it reached the Potomac River. At the Potomac River, the water column TPH concentration was predicted to have decreased to the range of 0.0 to 0.43 ppm. These levels were consistent with field samples. To assess biological injury, the model used 4, 8, 24, 48, and 96-hr LC values in computing the fish injury caused by the fuel oil. The model used the maximum running average of dissolved TPH and exposure time to predict levels of fish mortality in the range of 38 to 40% in Sugarland Run. This prediction was consistent with field fisheries surveys. The model also computed the amount of spilled oil that adsorbed and settled into the river sediments.« less

  5. Biomarkers reveal sea turtles remained in oiled areas following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Bolten, Alan B.; Tucker, Anton D.; Hart, Kristen M.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Reich, Kimberly J.; Addison, David S.; Mansfield, Katherine L.; Phillips, Katrina F.; Pajuelo, Mariela; Bjorndal, Karen A.

    2016-01-01

    Assessments of large-scale disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, are problematic because while measurements of post-disturbance conditions are common, measurements of pre-disturbance baselines are only rarely available. Without adequate observations of pre-disaster organismal and environmental conditions, it is impossible to assess the impact of such catastrophes on animal populations and ecological communities. Here, we use long-term biological tissue records to provide pre-disaster data for a vulnerable marine organism. Keratin samples from the carapace of loggerhead sea turtles record the foraging history for up to 18 years, allowing us to evaluate the effect of the oil spill on sea turtle foraging patterns. Samples were collected from 76 satellite-tracked adult loggerheads in 2011 and 2012, approximately one to two years after the spill. Of the 10 individuals that foraged in areas exposed to surface oil, none demonstrated significant changes in foraging patterns post spill. The observed long-term fidelity to foraging sites indicates that loggerheads in the northern Gulf of Mexico likely remained in established foraging sites, regardless of the introduction of oil and chemical dispersants. More research is needed to address potential long-term health consequences to turtles in this region. Mobile marine organisms present challenges for researchers to monitor effects of environmental disasters, both spatially and temporally. We demonstrate that biological tissues can reveal long-term histories of animal behavior and provide critical pre-disaster baselines following an anthropogenic disturbance or natural disaster.

  6. Oil Spills and Dispersants Can Cause the Initiation of Potentially Harmful Dinoflagellate Blooms ("Red Tides").

    PubMed

    Almeda, Rodrigo; Cosgrove, Sarah; Buskey, Edward J

    2018-05-15

    After oil spills and dispersant applications the formation of red tides or harmful algal blooms (HABs) has been observed, which can cause additional negative impacts in areas affected by oil spills. However, the link between oil spills and HABs is still unknown. Here, we present experimental evidence that demonstrates a connection between oil spills and HABs. We determined the effects of oil, dispersant-treated oil, and dispersant alone on the structure of natural plankton assemblages in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. In coastal waters, large tintinnids and oligotrich ciliates, major grazers of phytoplankton, were negatively affected by the exposure to oil and dispersant, whereas bloom-forming dinoflagellates ( Prorocentrum texanum, P. triestinum, and Scrippsiella trochoidea) notably increased their concentration. The removal of key grazers due to oil and dispersant disrupts the predator-prey controls ("top-down controls") that normally function in plankton food webs. This disruption of grazing pressure opens a "loophole" that allows certain dinoflagellates with higher tolerance to oil and dispersants than their grazers to grow and form blooms when there are no growth limiting factors (e.g., nutrients). Therefore, oil spills and dispersants can act as disrupters of predator-prey controls in plankton food webs and as indirect inducers of potentially harmful dinoflagellate blooms.

  7. Estimating the impacts of oil spills on polar bears

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Durner, George M.; Amstrup, Steven C.; McDonald, Trent L.

    2000-01-01

    The polar bear is the apical predator and universal symbol of the Arctic. They occur throughout the Arctic marine environment wherever sea ice is prevalent. In the southern Beaufort Sea, polar bears are most common within the area of the outer continental shelf, where the hunt for seals along persistent leads and openings in the ice. Polar bears are a significant cultural and subsistence component of the lifestyles of indigenous people. They may also be one of the most important indicators of the health of the Arctic marine environment. Polar bears have a late age of maturation, a long inter0brth period, and small liter sizes. These life history features make polar bear populations susceptible to natural and human perturbations.Petroleum exploration and extraction have been in progress along the coast of northern Alaska for more than 25 years. Until recently, most activity has taken place on the mainland or at sites connected to the shore by a causeway. In 1999, BP Exploration-Alaska began constructing the first artificial production island designed to transport oil through sub-seafloor pipelines. Other similar projects have been proposed to begin in the next several years.The proximity of oil exploration and development to principal polar bear habitats raises concerns, and with the advent of true off-shore development projects, these concerns are compounded. Contact with oil and other industrial chemicals by polar bears, through grooming, consumption of tainted food, or direct consumption of chemicals, may be lethal. The active ice where polar bears hunt is also where spilled oil may be expected to concentrate during spring break-up and autumn freeze-up. Because of this, we could expect that an oil spill in the waters and ice of the continental shelf would have profound effects on polar bears. Assessments of the effects of spills, however, have not been done. This report described a promising method for estimating the effects of oil spills on polar bears in the

  8. Population, reproduction and foraging of pigeon guillemots at Naked Island, Alaska, before and after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Bird study number 9. Exxon Valdez oil spill state/federal natural resource damage assessment final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Oakley, K.L.; Kuletz, K.J.

    1994-01-01

    Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, we studied pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) breeding just 30 km from the grounding site. The post-spill population was 43% less than the pre-spill population, but we could not attribute the entire decline to the spill because a decline in the PWS guillemot population may have predated the spill. However, relative declines in the population were greater along oiled shorelines, suggesting that the spill was responsible for some of the decline. The most likely explanation for the few effects observed is that oil was present on the surfacemore » waters of the study area for a relatively short period before the guillemots returned to begin their annual reproductive activities.« less

  9. Oil Spill Detection and Modelling: Preliminary Results for the Cercal Accident

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    da Costa, R. T.; Azevedo, A.; da Silva, J. C. B.; Oliveira, A.

    2013-03-01

    Oil spill research has significantly increased mainly as a result of the severe consequences experienced from industry accidents. Oil spill models are currently able to simulate the processes that determine the fate of oil slicks, playing an important role in disaster prevention, control and mitigation, generating valuable information for decision makers and the population in general. On the other hand, satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery has demonstrated significant potential in accidental oil spill detection, when they are accurately differentiated from look-alikes. The combination of both tools can lead to breakthroughs, particularly in the development of Early Warning Systems (EWS). This paper presents a hindcast simulation of the oil slick resulting from the Motor Tanker (MT) Cercal oil spill, listed by the Portuguese Navy as one of the major oil spills in the Portuguese Atlantic Coast. The accident took place nearby Leix˜oes Harbour, North of the Douro River, Porto (Portugal) on the 2nd of October 1994. The oil slick was segmented from available European Remote Sensing (ERS) satellite SAR images, using an algorithm based on a simplified version of the K-means clustering formulation. The image-acquired information, added to the initial conditions and forcings, provided the necessary inputs for the oil spill model. Simulations were made considering the tri-dimensional hydrodynamics in a crossscale domain, from the interior of the Douro River Estuary to the open-ocean on the Iberian Atlantic shelf. Atmospheric forcings (from ECMWF - the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and NOAA - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), river forcings (from SNIRH - the Portuguese National Information System of the Hydric Resources) and tidal forcings (from LNEC - the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering), including baroclinic gradients (NOAA), were considered. The lack of data for validation purposes only allowed the use of the

  10. Timelines and mechanisms of wildlife population recovery following the Exxon Valdez oil spill

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Esler, Daniel; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Matkin, Craig; Cushing, Daniel; Kaler, Robert; Bodkin, James; Monson, Daniel; Esslinger, George; Kloecker, Kim

    2018-01-01

    Research and monitoring activities over the 28 years since the T/V Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska have led to an improved understanding of how wildlife populations were damaged, as well as the mechanisms and timelines of recovery. A key finding was that for some species, such as harlequin ducks and sea otters, chronic oil spill effects persisted for at least two decades and were a larger influence on population dynamics over the long term than acute effects of the spill. These data also offer insights into population variation resulting from factors other than the oil spill. For example, while many seabirds experienced direct and indirect effects of the spill, population trajectories of some piscivorous birds, including pigeon guillemots and marbled murrelets, were linked to long-term environmental changes independent of spill effects. Another species, killer whales, suffered population declines due to acute spill effects that have not been resolved despite lack of chronic direct effects, representing a novel pathway of long-term injury. The observed variation in mechanisms and timelines of recovery is linked to species specific life history and natural history traits, and thus may be useful for predicting population recovery for other species following other spills.

  11. Timelines and mechanisms of wildlife population recovery following the Exxon Valdez oil spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Esler, Daniel N.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Matkin, Craig O.; Cushing, Daniel; Kaler, Robert; Bodkin, James L.; Monson, Daniel; Esslinger, George G.; Kloecker, Kimberly A.

    2018-01-01

    Research and monitoring activities over the 28 years since the T/V Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska have led to an improved understanding of how wildlife populations were damaged, as well as the mechanisms and timelines of recovery. A key finding was that for some species, such as harlequin ducks and sea otters, chronic oil spill effects persisted for at least two decades and were a larger influence on population dynamics over the long term than acute effects of the spill. These data also offer insights into population variation resulting from factors other than the oil spill. For example, while many seabirds experienced direct and indirect effects of the spill, population trajectories of some piscivorous birds, including pigeon guillemots and marbled murrelets, were linked to long-term environmental changes independent of spill effects. Another species, killer whales, suffered population declines due to acute spill effects that have not been resolved despite lack of chronic direct effects, representing a novel pathway of long-term injury. The observed variation in mechanisms and timelines of recovery is linked to species specific life history and natural history traits, and thus may be useful for predicting population recovery for other species following other spills.

  12. Development and application of damage assessment modeling: example assessment for the North Cape oil spill.

    PubMed

    McCay, Deborah French

    2003-01-01

    Natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) models for oil spills have been under development since 1984. Generally applicable (simplified) versions with built-in data sets are included in US government regulations for NRDAs in US waters. The most recent version of these models is SIMAP (Spill Impact Model Application Package), which contains oil fates and effects models that may be applied to any spill event and location in marine or freshwater environments. It is often not cost-effective or even possible to quantify spill impacts using field data collections. Modeling allows quantification of spill impacts using as much site-specific data as available, either as input or as validation of model results. SIMAP was used for the North Cape oil spill in Rhode Island (USA) in January 1996, for injury quantification in the first and largest NRDA case to be performed under the 1996 Oil Pollution Act NRDA regulations. The case was successfully settled in 1999. This paper, which contains a description of the model and application to the North Cape spill, delineates and demonstrates the approach.

  13. SAR observation and model tracking of an oil spill event in coastal waters.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Yongcun; Li, Xiaofeng; Xu, Qing; Garcia-Pineda, Oscar; Andersen, Ole Baltazar; Pichel, William G

    2011-02-01

    Oil spills are a major contributor to marine pollution. The objective of this work is to simulate the oil spill trajectory of oil released from a pipeline leaking in the Gulf of Mexico with the GNOME (General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment) model. The model was developed by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to investigate the effects of different pollutants and environmental conditions on trajectory results. Also, a Texture-Classifying Neural Network Algorithm (TCNNA) was used to delineate ocean oil slicks from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations. During the simulation, ocean currents from NCOM (Navy Coastal Ocean Model) outputs and surface wind data measured by an NDBC (National Data Buoy Center) buoy are used to drive the GNOME model. The results show good agreement between the simulated trajectory of the oil spill and synchronous observations from the European ENVISAT ASAR (Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar) and the Japanese ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) PALSAR (Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar) images. Based on experience with past marine oil spills, about 63.0% of the oil will float and 18.5% of the oil will evaporate and disperse. In addition, the effects from uncertainty of ocean currents and the diffusion coefficient on the trajectory results are also studied. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Biological aspects of terrestrial oil spills: USA CRREL oil research in Alaska, 1970--1974. Final report 1970--1974

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Deneke, F.J.; McCown, B.H.; Coyne, P.I.

    1975-12-01

    Knowledge concerning the biological effects of oil pollution on arctic and subarctic terrestrial ecosystems is limited. USA CRREL research personnel conducted investigations from 1970 through 1974 to expand information in this field. Objectives were to: (1) define the ecosystems most sensitive to the presence of crude oil or its refined products, (2) quantify and understand the injury response, and (3) establish time frames for manifestation of damage and natural restorative processes in arctic and subarctic regions. This was accomplished through: (1) surveys of natural oil seepages and past accidential spills in the Arctic and Subarctic, (2) initiation of controlled oilmore » spills and (3) detailed laboratory investigations. Results demonstrated that terrestrial oil spills will to some degree be detrimental to both artic and subarctic plant communities. Degree and longevity of damage will be influenced primarily by the magnitude of the spill, season of occurrence and existing soil moisture content. Rapid recovery of plant communities subjected to spills will occur only if root systems remain relatively unaffected. Damage will be more extensive and long-term when root systems are saturated witl oil. Effects of damage will be manifested gradually over several seasons being influenced by winter stresses. Variation does exist in plant species susceptibility. Carex aquatilis a predominant sedge of the arctic is markedly resistant to crude oil damage. In the taiga Picea mariana is very susceptible. Plant recovery can be enhanced through the application of fertilizer. Fertilization, in addition to its direct effect on plant nutrition, will stimulate microbial decomposition of crude oil. (Author)« less

  15. Segmentation of Oil Spills on Side-Looking Airborne Radar Imagery with Autoencoders.

    PubMed

    Gallego, Antonio-Javier; Gil, Pablo; Pertusa, Antonio; Fisher, Robert B

    2018-03-06

    In this work, we use deep neural autoencoders to segment oil spills from Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) imagery. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been much exploited for ocean surface monitoring, especially for oil pollution detection, but few approaches in the literature use SLAR. Our sensor consists of two SAR antennas mounted on an aircraft, enabling a quicker response than satellite sensors for emergency services when an oil spill occurs. Experiments on TERMA radar were carried out to detect oil spills on Spanish coasts using deep selectional autoencoders and RED-nets (very deep Residual Encoder-Decoder Networks). Different configurations of these networks were evaluated and the best topology significantly outperformed previous approaches, correctly detecting 100% of the spills and obtaining an F 1 score of 93.01% at the pixel level. The proposed autoencoders perform accurately in SLAR imagery that has artifacts and noise caused by the aircraft maneuvers, in different weather conditions and with the presence of look-alikes due to natural phenomena such as shoals of fish and seaweed.

  16. Segmentation of Oil Spills on Side-Looking Airborne Radar Imagery with Autoencoders

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    In this work, we use deep neural autoencoders to segment oil spills from Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) imagery. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been much exploited for ocean surface monitoring, especially for oil pollution detection, but few approaches in the literature use SLAR. Our sensor consists of two SAR antennas mounted on an aircraft, enabling a quicker response than satellite sensors for emergency services when an oil spill occurs. Experiments on TERMA radar were carried out to detect oil spills on Spanish coasts using deep selectional autoencoders and RED-nets (very deep Residual Encoder-Decoder Networks). Different configurations of these networks were evaluated and the best topology significantly outperformed previous approaches, correctly detecting 100% of the spills and obtaining an F1 score of 93.01% at the pixel level. The proposed autoencoders perform accurately in SLAR imagery that has artifacts and noise caused by the aircraft maneuvers, in different weather conditions and with the presence of look-alikes due to natural phenomena such as shoals of fish and seaweed. PMID:29509720

  17. Impact of climate change and seasonal trends on the fate of Arctic oil spills.

    PubMed

    Nordam, Tor; Dunnebier, Dorien A E; Beegle-Krause, C J; Reed, Mark; Slagstad, Dag

    2017-12-01

    We investigated the effects of a warmer climate, and seasonal trends, on the fate of oil spilled in the Arctic. Three well blowout scenarios, two shipping accidents and a pipeline rupture were considered. We used ensembles of numerical simulations, using the OSCAR oil spill model, with environmental data for the periods 2009-2012 and 2050-2053 (representing a warmer future) as inputs to the model. Future atmospheric forcing was based on the IPCC's A1B scenario, with the ocean data generated by the hydrodynamic model SINMOD. We found differences in "typical" outcome of a spill in a warmer future compared to the present, mainly due to a longer season of open water. We have demonstrated that ice cover is extremely important for predicting the fate of an Arctic oil spill, and find that oil spills in a warming climate will in some cases result in greater areal coverage and shoreline exposure.

  18. Towards improving the representation of beaching in oil spill models: a case study.

    PubMed

    Samaras, Achilleas G; De Dominicis, Michela; Archetti, Renata; Lamberti, Alberto; Pinardi, Nadia

    2014-11-15

    Oil-shoreline interaction (or "beaching" as commonly referred to in literature) is an issue of major concern in oil spill modeling, due to the significant environmental, social and economic importance of coastal areas. The present work studies the improvement of the representation of beaching brought by the introduction of the Oil Holding Capacity approach to estimate oil concentration on coast, along with new approaches for coast type assignment to shoreline segments and the calculation of permanent oil attachment to the coast. The above were tested for the Lebanon oil spill of 2006, using a modified version of the open-source oil spill model MEDSLIK-II. The modified model results were found to be in good agreement with field observations for the specific case study, and their comparison with the original model results denote the significant improvement in the fate of beached oil brought by the proposed changes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Integrating technologies for oil spill response in the SW Iberian coast

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Janeiro, J.; Neves, A.; Martins, F.; Relvas, P.

    2017-09-01

    An operational oil spill modelling system developed for the SW Iberia Coast is used to investigate the relative importance of the different components and technologies integrating an oil spill monitoring and response structure. A backtrack of a CleanSeaNet oil detection in the region is used to demonstrate the concept. Taking advantage of regional operational products available, the system provides the necessary resolution to go from regional to coastal scales using a downscalling approach, while a multi-grid methodology allows the based oil spill model to span across model domains taking full advantage of the increasing resolution between the model grids. An extensive validation procedure using a multiplicity of sensors, with good spatial and temporal coverage, strengthens the operational system ability to accurately solve coastal scale processes. The model is validated using available trajectories from satellite-tracked drifters. Finally, a methodology is proposed to identifying potential origins for the CleanSeaNet oil detection, by combining model backtrack results with ship trajectories supplied by AIS was developed, including the error estimations found in the backtrack validation.

  20. Tracking and Monitoring Oil Slicks Using remote Sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klemas, V. V.

    2011-12-01

    Tracking and Monitoring Oil Slicks Using Remote Sensing Victor Klemas, Ph.D. , College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 Abstract Oil spills can harm marine life in the ocean, estuaries and wetlands. To limit the damage by a spill and facilitate cleanup efforts, emergency managers need information on spill location, size and extent, direction and speed of oil movement, wind, current, and wave information for predicting oil drift and dispersion. The main operational data requirements are fast turn-around time and frequent imaging to monitor the dynamics of the spill. Radar and multispectral remote sensors on satellites and aircraft meet most of these requirements by tracking the spilled oil at various resolutions, over wide areas and at frequent intervals. They also provide key inputs to drift prediction models and facilitate targeting of skimming and booming efforts. Satellite data are frequently supplemented by information provided by aircraft, ships and remotely controlled underwater robots. The Sea Princess tanker grounding off the coast of Wales and the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico provide two representative, yet different, scenarios for evaluating the effectiveness of remote sensors during oil spill emergencies. Session NH17: Remote Sensing of Natural Hazards Session Chair: Ramesh P. Singh Sponsor: Natural Hazards (NH)

  1. 75 FR 12561 - Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory Committee; Meeting Cancelled

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard [Docket No. USCG-2008-0333] Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory Committee; Meeting Cancelled AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of cancellation of meeting. SUMMARY: The Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory Committee (DRBOSAC) meeting scheduled for...

  2. Field evaluations of marine oil spill bioremediation.

    PubMed Central

    Swannell, R P; Lee, K; McDonagh, M

    1996-01-01

    Bioremediation is defined as the act of adding or improving the availability of materials (e.g., nutrients, microorganisms, or oxygen) to contaminated environments to cause an acceleration of natural biodegradative processes. The results of field experiments and trials following actual spill incidents have been reviewed to evaluate the feasibility of this approach as a treatment for oil contamination in the marine environment. The ubiquity of oil-degrading microorganisms in the marine environment is well established, and research has demonstrated the capability of the indigenous microflora to degrade many components of petroleum shortly after exposure. Studies have identified numerous factors which affect the natural biodegradation rates of oil, such as the origin and concentration of oil, the availability of oil-degrading microorganisms, nutrient concentrations, oxygen levels, climatic conditions, and sediment characteristics. Bioremediation strategies based on the application of fertilizers have been shown to stimulate the biodegradation rates of oil in aerobic intertidal sediments such as sand and cobble. The ratio of oil loading to nitrogen concentration within the interstitial water has been identified to be the principal controlling factor influencing the success of this bioremediation strategy. However, the need for the seeding of natural environments with hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria has not been clearly demonstrated under natural environmental conditions. It is suggested that bioremediation should now take its place among the many techniques available for the treatment of oil spills, although there is still a clear need to set operational limits for its use. On the basis of the available evidence, we have proposed preliminary operational guidelines for bioremediation on shoreline environments. PMID:8801437

  3. RST analysis of thermal infrared satellite data for a continuous oil spill detection and monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grimaldi, C. S. L.; Coviello, I.; Lacava, T.; Pergola, N.; Tramutoli, V.

    2012-04-01

    Oil spills is one of the main sea pollution sources causing remarkable ecological impact on maritime and coastal environments. Oil spills can derive both from natural phenomena (hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes) and "human errors" (tankers collisions, shipwrecks, platform accidents), even if the main contribution to this kind of technological hazard comes from operational discharge from tankers (i.e. oil dumped during cleaning operations) representing 45% of total hydrocarbons marine pollution. Mainly for this reason, the developing of systems able to provide a high frequent sampling and observation of sea surface is fundamental. Satellite remote sensing, thanks to global coverage and continuity of observations, might effectively contribute to mitigate oil spill environmental impact, provided that reliable and effective detection techniques are developed and that relevant information and products are timely delivered and made available. In particular, satellite remote sensing by passive optical sensors on board meteorological satellites, thanks to their high temporal resolution (from a few hours to 15 minutes, depending on the characteristics of the platform/sensor), can give a significant opportunity in this field. Unfortunately, up to now, optical satellite data found a poor application in oil spill alert system mainly for the lack of data analysis techniques suitable for an automatic oil spill detection. The few methods up to now proposed are only able to manually and interactively localize the presence of an already known oil spill, mainly for "a posteriori" mapping purpose, often requiring the intervention of an expert operator. In particular, techniques based on Thermal Infrared (TIR) records exploit oil and water different thermal inertia in order to map spill sea pollution. Oil thermal inertia, in fact, is lower than sea water one, so that oil polluted areas usually show Brightness Temperature (BT) higher than sea water in TIR images collected in daytime

  4. The effect of oil spills on the bacterial diversity and catabolic function in coastal sediments: a case study on the Prestige oil spill.

    PubMed

    Acosta-González, Alejandro; Martirani-von Abercron, Sophie-Marie; Rosselló-Móra, Ramon; Wittich, Regina-Michaela; Marqués, Silvia

    2015-10-01

    The accident of the Prestige oil tanker in 2002 contaminated approximately 900 km of the coastline along the northern Spanish shore, as well as parts of Portugal and France coast, with a mixture of heavy crude oil consisting of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkanes, asphaltenes and resins. The capacity of the autochthonous bacterial communities to respond to the oil spill was assessed indirectly by determining the hydrocarbon profiles of weathered oil samples collected along the shore, as well as through isotope ratios of seawater-dissolved CO2, and directly by analyses of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprints and 16S rRNA gene libraries. Overall, the results evidenced biodegradation of crude oil components mediated by natural bacterial communities, with a bias towards lighter and less substituted compounds. The changes observed in the Proteobacteria, the most abundant phylum in marine sediments, were related to the metabolic profiles of the sediment. The presence of crude oil in the supratidal and intertidal zones increased the abundance of Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria, dominated by the groups Sphingomonadaceae, Rhodobacteraceae and Chromatiales, whilst Gamma- and Deltaproteobacteria were more relevant in subtidal zones. The phylum Actinobacteria, and particularly the genus Rhodococcus, was a key player in the microbial response to the spill, especially in the degradation of the alkane fraction. The addition of inorganic fertilizers enhanced total biodegradation rates, suggesting that, in these environments, nutrients were insufficient to support significant growth after the huge increase in carbon sources, as evidenced in other spills. The presence of bacterial communities able to respond to a massive oil input in this area was consistent with the important history of pollution of the region by crude oil.

  5. CONTAMINANT REDISTRIBUTION CAN CONFOUND INTERPRETATION OF OIL-SPILL BIOREMEDIATION STUDIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The physical redistribution of oil between the inside and outside of experimental plots can affect the results of bioremediation field studies that are conducted on shorelines contaminated by real oil spills. Because untreated oil from the surrounding beach will enter the plot, ...

  6. Geohistorical records indicate no impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on oyster body size

    PubMed Central

    Durham, Stephen R.

    2016-01-01

    Documentation of the near- and long-term effects of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, one of the largest environmental disasters in US history, is still ongoing. We used a novel before-after-control-impact analysis to test the hypothesis that average body size of intertidal populations of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) inhabiting impacted areas in Louisiana decreased due to increased stress/mortality related to the oil spill. Time-averaged death assemblages of oysters were used to establish a pre-spill baseline of body-size structure for four impacted and four control locations along a 350 km stretch of Louisiana's coastline. Post-spill body sizes were then measured from live oysters at each site in order to evaluate the differences in body size between oiled (i.e. impact) and unoiled (i.e. control) locations before and after the spill. Our results indicate that average body size of oysters remained relatively unchanged after the oil spill. There were also no temporal patterns in temperature, salinity or disease prevalence that could have explained our results. Together, these findings suggest that oysters either recovered rapidly following the immediate impact of the DWH oil spill, or that its impact was not severe enough to influence short-term population dynamics of the oyster beds. PMID:28018663

  7. Major oil spill response coordination in the combat of spills in Bahrain waters

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brown, D.J.S.; James, J.D.

    1985-01-01

    On Aug. 25, 1980, without warning, a large oil slick invaded the north and west coasts of Bahrain. This serious incident was designated a national emergency, and a special high-level government committee was established immediately to handle the response procedure. This paper describes how the committee functioned with the private sector and the problems encountered and overcome. The lessons learned have stimulated interest in the proposed use of computers to aid combat operations as both a technical tool and an information service. In addition, this experience can guide those responsible for controlling response operations for future major oil spills inmore » coastal areas. With proper planning, a highly satisfactory cooperative organization can be established between goverment and the private sector to respond effectively, economically, and with minimum environmental damage to a major oil spill affecting coastal waters and shorelines. Part of this planning is to collate and record the major available response equipment and material packages, thereby increasing the necessary state of readiness.« less

  8. A Field Guide for Arctic Oil Spill Behavior.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1984-11-01

    bial degradation was 107 for the of 15 to 20 0C, psychrophilic bacteria oil treated with water-soluble fertili - have been routinely observed to grow...About six weeks later, the oil came up The Colville River floods during through the pressure ridge to mark the first week In June. The runoff the spill

  9. Multidisciplinary oil spill modeling to protect coastal communities and the environment of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    PubMed Central

    Alves, Tiago M.; Kokinou, Eleni; Zodiatis, George; Radhakrishnan, Hari; Panagiotakis, Costas; Lardner, Robin

    2016-01-01

    We present new mathematical and geological models to assist civil protection authorities in the mitigation of potential oil spill accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Oil spill simulations for 19 existing offshore wells were carried out based on novel and high resolution bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, and geomorphological data. The simulations show a trend for east and northeast movement of oil spills into the Levantine Basin, affecting the coastal areas of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Oil slicks will reach the coast in 1 to 20 days, driven by the action of the winds, currents and waves. By applying a qualitative analysis, seabed morphology is for the first time related to the direction of the oil slick expansion, as it is able to alter the movement of sea currents. Specifically, the direction of the major axis of the oil spills, in most of the cases examined, is oriented according to the prevailing azimuth of bathymetric features. This work suggests that oil spills in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea should be mitigated in the very few hours after their onset, and before wind and currents disperse them. We explain that protocols should be prioritized between neighboring countries to mitigate any oil spills. PMID:27830742

  10. Ecological effects of a major oil spill on Panamanian coastal marine communities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jackson, J.B.C.; Cubit, J.D.; Keller, B.D.

    1989-01-06

    In 1986 more than 8 million liters of crude oil spilled into a complex region of mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs just east of the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. This was the largest recorded spill into coastal habitats in the tropical Americas. Many populations of plants and animals in both oiled and unoiled sites had been studied previously, thereby providing an unprecedented measure of ecological variation before the spill. Documentation of the spread of oil and its biological effects begun immediately. Intertidal mangroves, seagrasses, algae, and associated invertebrates were covered by oil and died soon after. More surprisingly,more » there was also extensive mortality of shallow subtidal reef corals and infauna of seagrass beds. After 1.5 years only some organisms in areas exposed to the open sea have recovered.« less

  11. Cessation of oil exposure in harlequin ducks after the Exxon Valdez oil spill: Cytochrome P4501A biomarker evidence

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Esler, Daniel N.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A. Keith; Dickson, Rian D.; Henderson, John D.

    2017-01-01

    The authors quantified hepatic hydrocarbon-inducible cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) expression, as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, in wintering harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) captured in Prince William Sound, Alaska (USA), during 2011, 2013, and 2014 (22–25 yr following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill). Average EROD activity was compared between birds from areas oiled by the spill and those from nearby unoiled areas. The present study replicated studies conducted from 1998 to 2009 demonstrating that harlequin ducks using areas oiled in 1989 had elevated EROD activity, indicative of oil exposure, up to 2 decades post spill. In the present study, it was found that average EROD activity during March 2011 was significantly higher in wintering harlequin ducks captured in oiled areas relative to unoiled areas, which the authors interpret to indicate that harlequin ducks continued to be exposed to residual Exxon Valdez oil up to 22 yr after the original spill. However, the 2011 results also indicated reductions in exposure relative to previous years. Average EROD activity in birds from oiled areas was approximately 2 times that in birds from unoiled areas in 2011, compared with observations from 2005 to 2009, in which EROD activity was 3 to 5 times higher in oiled areas. It was also found that average EROD activity during March 2013 and March 2014 was not elevated in wintering harlequin ducks from oiled areas. The authors interpret these findings to indicate that exposure of harlequin ducks to residual Exxon Valdez oil abated within 24 yr after the original spill. The present study finalizes a timeline of exposure, extending over 2 decades, for a bird species thought to be particularly vulnerable to oil contamination in marine environments

  12. Hard aground: the story of the Argo Merchant oil spill

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Winslow, R.

    1978-01-01

    On December 15, 1976, the Argo Merchant, an aging Liberian tanker, went aground on a sandy shoal southeast of Nantucket Island with 7.6 million gallons of industrial heating oil aboard. So begins the story of the largest coastal oil spill in the U.S. history. This book focuses on the effort to save the crew and cargo of the Argo Merchant from the fifty-knot winds and towering seas of a North Atlantic gale. At the center of the story is the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team. Specially trained to fight oil spills, the team was lowered by helicopter to themore » pitching deck of the dead vessel. After six tense days, they had to admit defeat. The Argo Merchant could not be refloated, and the violent seas prevented off-loading the oil onto another vessel. Under the pounding of the waves, the Argo Merchant had begun to break up. This men-against-the-sea tale and documentary show how vulnerable the nation's coastline is to oil spills. In this case, the entire cargo drifted out to sea, but next time we may not be so lucky. Every day, the United States imports the equivalent of more than forty Argo Merchants full of oil, much of it in outdated, marginally operated ships like the Argo Merchant itself.« less

  13. Biodegradability Of Lingering EVOS Oil 19 Years After The Spill

    EPA Science Inventory

    In 2001 and 2003, NOAA scientists conducted geospatial surveys of lingering oil in Prince William Sound (PWS) and concluded areas were still contaminated with substantial subsurface oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). In 2007, a mass weathering index (MWI) wa...

  14. Modeling oil spills in the Med-Sea as a mean of early response in cases of oil leakages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zodiatis, George; De Dominicis, Michela; Perivoliotis, Leonidas; Radhakrishnan, Hari; Lardner, Robin; Pinardi, Nadia; Coppini, Giovanni; Soloviev, Dmitry; Tintore, Joaquin; Sotillo, Marcos; Drago, Aldo; Stylianou, Stavros; Nikolaidis, Andreas; Alves, Tiago; Kokinou, Eleni

    2016-04-01

    Modeling oil spills in the Med-Sea as a mean of early response in cases of oil leakages G. Zodiatis1, M. De Dominicis2, L. Perivoliotis3, H. Radhakrishnan1, R. W. Lardner1, N. Pinardi2, G. Coppini4, D. Soloviev1, J. Tintore5, M. Sotillo6 A. Drago7, S. Stylianou1, A. Nikolaidis1, T. Alves8, E. Kokinou9 and MEDESS4MS partners 1Oceanography Centre, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus 2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Bologna, Italy 3Hellenic Center for Marine Research, Athens, Greece 4Centro Euro- Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Italy 5SOCIB, IMEDEA, Palma de Majorca, Spain 6Puertos del Estado, Madrid, Spain 7IOI, University of Malta, La Valetta, Malta 83D Seismic Lab, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom 9Dept. of Environmental and Natural Resources, Technological Educational Institute Crete, Chania, Greece The risk from oil spill pollution in the Mediterranean is high due to the heavy traffic of merchant vessels for transporting oil and to the increasing coastal and offshore platforms related to the hydrocarbon exploration. This is especially true in the Levantine Basin following the recent widening of the Suez canal and the increase of the offshore deep wells for the exploitation of oil and gas. In order to select the optimal response measurements to assist the response agencies, oil spill models are used to provide predictions of the drift and weathering of the oil slicks. The establishment of the operational ocean forecasting systems at regional level, within the Copernicus Marine Environmental Monitoring Service and in association with the national downscaled ones, provided the background for the implementation of a multi model integrated oil spill prediction system for the entire Mediterranean to support the maritime safety in near real time. This implementation was carried out in the frame of the medess4ms.eu project, which is dedicated to the response agencies of the riparian countries and to

  15. Decalcification of benthic foraminifera due to "Hebei Spirit" oil spill, Korea.

    PubMed

    Lee, Yeon Gyu; Kim, Shin; Jeong, Da Un; Lee, Jung Sick; Woo, Han Jun; Park, Min Woo; Kim, Byeong Hak; Son, Maeng Hyun; Choi, Yang Ho

    2014-10-15

    In order to determine the effects on foraminifera due to spilled crude oil in the "Herbei Spirit" incident, a study of benthic foraminiferal assemblages was carried out on sediment samples collected from the Sogeunri tidal flat, Taean Peninsula, Korea. Breakages of the chambers in the Ammonia beccarii and Elphidium subincertum species of the Sogeunri tidal flat with a low pH (6.98 on average) were marked. These chamber breakages occurred in 71.6% of A. beccarii and are thought to be caused by decalcification due to the fall in pH resulting from the "Hebei Spirit" oil spill. The factors that affect breakage of the chamber in benthic foraminifera under low pH condition may be not only deto decalcification but also to exposure duration of substrata in the tidal flat spilled crude oil. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Enrichment of Fusobacteria in Sea Surface Oil Slicks from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    PubMed Central

    Gutierrez, Tony; Berry, David; Teske, Andreas; Aitken, Michael D.

    2016-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill led to rapid microbial community shifts in the Gulf of Mexico, including the formation of unprecedented quantities of marine oil snow (MOS) and of a massive subsurface oil plume. The major taxa that bloomed in sea surface oil slicks during the spill included Cycloclasticus, and to a lesser extent Halomonas, Alteromonas, and Pseudoalteromonas—organisms that grow and degrade oil hydrocarbons aerobically. Here, we show that sea surface oil slicks at DWH contained obligate and facultative anaerobic taxa, including members of the obligate anaerobic phylum Fusobacteria that are commonly found in marine sediment environments. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed that Fusobacteria were strongly selected for when sea surface oil slicks were allowed to develop anaerobically. These organisms have been found in oil-contaminated sediments in the Gulf of Mexico, in deep marine oil reservoirs, and other oil-contaminated sites, suggesting they have putative hydrocarbon-degrading qualities. The occurrence and strong selection for Fusobacteria in a lab-based incubation of a sea surface oil slick sample collected during the spill suggests that these organisms may have become enriched in anaerobic zones of suspended particulates, such as MOS. Whilst the formation and rapid sinking of MOS is recognised as an important mechanism by which a proportion of the Macondo oil had been transported to the sea floor, its role in potentially transporting microorganisms, including oil-degraders, from the upper reaches of the water column to the seafloor should be considered. The presence of Fusobacteria on the sea surface—a highly oxygenated environment—is intriguing, and may be explained by the vertical upsurge of oil that provided a carrier to transport these organisms from anaerobic/micro-aerophilic zones in the oil plume or seabed to the upper reaches of the water column. We also propose that the formation of rapidly-sinking MOS may have re

  17. Role of Bacterial Exopolysaccharides (EPS) in the Fate of the Oil Released during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    PubMed Central

    Gutierrez, Tony; Berry, David; Yang, Tingting; Mishamandani, Sara; McKay, Luke; Teske, Andreas; Aitken, Michael D.

    2013-01-01

    Halomonas species are recognized for producing exopolysaccharides (EPS) exhibiting amphiphilic properties that allow these macromolecules to interface with hydrophobic substrates, such as hydrocarbons. There remains a paucity of knowledge, however, on the potential of Halomonas EPS to influence the biodegradation of hydrocarbons. In this study, the well-characterized amphiphilic EPS produced by Halomonas species strain TG39 was shown to effectively increase the solubilization of aromatic hydrocarbons and enhance their biodegradation by an indigenous microbial community from oil-contaminated surface waters collected during the active phase of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Three Halomonas strains were isolated from the Deepwater Horizon site, all of which produced EPS with excellent emulsifying qualities and shared high (97-100%) 16S rRNA sequence identity with strain TG39 and other EPS-producing Halomonas strains. Analysis of pyrosequence data from surface water samples collected during the spill revealed several distinct Halomonas phylotypes, of which some shared a high sequence identity (≥97%) to strain TG39 and the Gulf spill isolates. Other bacterial groups comprising members with well-characterized EPS-producing qualities, such as Alteromonas , Colwellia and Pseudoalteromonas , were also found enriched in surface waters, suggesting that the total pool of EPS in the Gulf during the spill may have been supplemented by these organisms. Roller bottle incubations with one of the Halomonas isolates from the Deepwater Horizon spill site demonstrated its ability to effectively produce oil aggregates and emulsify the oil. The enrichment of EPS-producing bacteria during the spill coupled with their capacity to produce amphiphilic EPS is likely to have contributed to the ultimate removal of the oil and to the formation of oil aggregates, which were a dominant feature observed in contaminated surface waters. PMID:23826336

  18. BP fusion model for the detection of oil spills on the sea by remote sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Weiwei; An, Jubai; Zhang, Hande; Lin, Bin

    2003-06-01

    Oil spills are very serious marine pollution in many countries. In order to detect and identify the oil-spilled on the sea by remote sensor, scientists have to conduct a research work on the remote sensing image. As to the detection of oil spills on the sea, edge detection is an important technology in image processing. There are many algorithms of edge detection developed for image processing. These edge detection algorithms always have their own advantages and disadvantages in the image processing. Based on the primary requirements of edge detection of the oil spills" image on the sea, computation time and detection accuracy, we developed a fusion model. The model employed a BP neural net to fuse the detection results of simple operators. The reason we selected BP neural net as the fusion technology is that the relation between simple operators" result of edge gray level and the image"s true edge gray level is nonlinear, while BP neural net is good at solving the nonlinear identification problem. Therefore in this paper we trained a BP neural net by some oil spill images, then applied the BP fusion model on the edge detection of other oil spill images and obtained a good result. In this paper the detection result of some gradient operators and Laplacian operator are also compared with the result of BP fusion model to analysis the fusion effect. At last the paper pointed out that the fusion model has higher accuracy and higher speed in the processing oil spill image"s edge detection.

  19. Risk assessment of oil spills along the Mediterranean coast: A sensitivity analysis of the choice of hazard quantification.

    PubMed

    Al Shami, A; Harik, G; Alameddine, I; Bruschi, D; Garcia, D Astiaso; El-Fadel, M

    2017-01-01

    Oil pollution in the Mediterranean represents a serious threat to the coastal environment. Quantifying the risks associated with a potential spill is often based on results generated from oil spill models. In this study, MEDSLIK-II, an EU funded and endorsed oil spill model, is used to assess potential oil spill scenarios at four pilot areas located along the northern, eastern, and southern Mediterranean shoreline, providing a wide range of spill conditions and coastal geomorphological characteristics. Oil spill risk assessment at the four pilot areas was quantified as a function of three oil pollution metrics that include the susceptibility of oiling per beach segment, the average volume of oiling expected in the event of beaching, and the average oil beaching time. The results show that while the three pollution metrics tend to agree in their hazard characterization when the shoreline morphology is simple, considerable differences in the quantification of the associated hazard is possible under complex coastal morphologies. These differences proved to greatly alter the evaluation of environmental risks. An integrative hazard index is proposed that encompasses the three simulated pollution metrics. The index promises to shed light on oil spill hazards that can be universally applied across the Mediterranean basin by integrating it with the unified oil spill risk assessment tool developed by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean (REMPEC). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Biomarkers reveal sea turtles remained in oiled areas following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    PubMed

    Vander Zanden, Hannah B; Bolten, Alan B; Tucker, Anton D; Hart, Kristen M; Lamont, Margaret M; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Reich, Kimberly J; Addison, David S; Mansfield, Katherine L; Phillips, Katrina F; Pajuelo, Mariela; Bjorndal, Karen A

    2016-10-01

    Assessments of large-scale disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, are problematic because while measurements of post-disturbance conditions are common, measurements of pre-disturbance baselines are only rarely available. Without adequate observations of pre-disaster organismal and environmental conditions, it is impossible to assess the impact of such catastrophes on animal populations and ecological communities. Here, we use long-term biological tissue records to provide pre-disaster data for a vulnerable marine organism. Keratin samples from the carapace of loggerhead sea turtles record the foraging history for up to 18 years, allowing us to evaluate the effect of the oil spill on sea turtle foraging patterns. Samples were collected from 76 satellite-tracked adult loggerheads in 2011 and 2012, approximately one to two years after the spill. Of the 10 individuals that foraged in areas exposed to surface oil, none demonstrated significant changes in foraging patterns post spill. The observed long-term fidelity to foraging sites indicates that loggerheads in the northern Gulf of Mexico likely remained in established foraging sites, regardless of the introduction of oil and chemical dispersants. More research is needed to address potential long-term health consequences to turtles in this region. Mobile marine organisms present challenges for researchers to monitor effects of environmental disasters, both spatially and temporally. We demonstrate that biological tissues can reveal long-term histories of animal behavior and provide critical pre-disaster baselines following an anthropogenic disturbance or natural disaster. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

  1. Investigation of Oil Fluorescence as a Technique for the Remote Sensing of Oil Spills

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1971-06-01

    The flexibility of remote sensing of oil spills by laser-excited oil fluorescence is investigated. The required parameters are fed into a physical model to predict signal and background levels; and the predictions are verified by field experiments. A...

  2. Impacts of oil spills on altimeter waveforms and radar backscatter cross section

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheng, Yongcun; Tournadre, Jean; Li, Xiaofeng; Xu, Qing; Chapron, Bertrand

    2017-05-01

    Ocean surface films can damp short capillary-gravity waves, reduce the surface mean square slope, and induce "sigma0 blooms" in satellite altimeter data. No study has ascertained the effect of such film on altimeter measurements due to lack of film data. The availability of Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) oil cover, daily oil spill extent, and thickness data acquired during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill accident provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of surface film on altimeter data. In this study, the Jason-1/2 passes nearest to the DWH platform are analyzed to understand the waveform distortion caused by the spill as well as the variation of σ0 as a function of oil thickness, wind speed, and radar band. Jason-1/2 Ku-band σ0 increased by 10 dB at low wind speed (<3 m s-1) in the oil-covered area. The mean σ0 in Ku and C bands increased by 1.0-3.5 dB for thick oil and 0.9-2.9 dB for thin oil while the waveforms are strongly distorted. As the wind increases up to 6 m s-1, the mean σ0 bloom and waveform distortion in both Ku and C bands weakened for both thick and thin oil. When wind exceeds 6 m s-1, only does the σ0 in Ku band slightly increase by 0.2-0.5 dB for thick oil. The study shows that high-resolution altimeter data can certainly help better evaluate the thickness of oil spill, particularly at low wind speeds.

  3. Forensic fingerprinting of oil-spill hydrocarbons in a methanogenic environment-Mandan, ND and Bemidji, MN

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hostettler, F.D.; Wang, Y.; Huang, Y.; Cao, W.; Bekins, B.A.; Rostad, C.E.; Kulpa, C.F.; Laursen, Andrew E.

    2007-01-01

    In recent decades forensic fingerprinting of oil-spill hydrocarbons has emerged as an important tool for correlating oils and for evaluating their source and character. Two long-term hydrocarbon spills, an off-road diesel spill (Mandan, ND) and a crude oil spill (Bemidji, MN) experiencing methanogenic biodegradation were previously shown to be undergoing an unexpected progression of homologous n-alkane and n-alkylated cyclohexane loss. Both exhibited degradative losses proceeding from the high-molecular-weight end of the distributions, along with transitory concentration increases of lower-molecular-weight homologs. Particularly in the case of the diesel fuel spill, these methanogenic degradative patterns can result in series distributions that mimic lower cut refinery fuels or admixture with lower cut fuels. Forensic fingerprinting in this long-term spill must therefore rely on more recalcitrant series, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon or drimane sesquiterpane profiles, to prove if the spilled oil is single-sourced or whether there is verifiable admixture with other extraneous refinery fuels. Degradation processes impacting n-alkanes and n-alkylated ring compounds, which make these compounds unsuitable for fingerprinting, nevertheless are of interest in understanding methanogenic biodegradation. Copyright ?? Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

  4. Review of oil spill remote sensing.

    PubMed

    Fingas, Merv; Brown, Carl

    2014-06-15

    Remote-sensing for oil spills is reviewed. The use of visible techniques is ubiquitous, however it gives only the same results as visual monitoring. Oil has no particular spectral features that would allow for identification among the many possible background interferences. Cameras are only useful to provide documentation. In daytime oil absorbs light and remits this as thermal energy at temperatures 3-8K above ambient, this is detectable by infrared (IR) cameras. Laser fluorosensors are useful instruments because of their unique capability to identify oil on backgrounds that include water, soil, weeds, ice and snow. They are the only sensor that can positively discriminate oil on most backgrounds. Radar detects oil on water by the fact that oil will dampen water-surface capillary waves under low to moderate wave/wind conditions. Radar offers the only potential for large area searches, day/night and foul weather remote sensing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Rapid fingerprinting of spilled petroleum products using fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor and principal component analysis.

    PubMed

    Mirnaghi, Fatemeh S; Soucy, Nicholas; Hollebone, Bruce P; Brown, Carl E

    2018-05-19

    The characterization of spilled petroleum products in an oil spill is necessary for identifying the spill source, selection of clean-up strategies, and evaluating potential environmental and ecological impacts. Existing standard methods for the chemical characterization of spilled oils are time-consuming due to the lengthy sample preparation for analysis. The main objective of this study is the development of a rapid screening method for the fingerprinting of spilled petroleum products using excitation/emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy, thereby delivering a preliminary evaluation of the petroleum products within hours after a spill. In addition, the developed model can be used for monitoring the changes of aromatic compositions of known spilled oils over time. This study involves establishing a fingerprinting model based on the composition of polycyclic and heterocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH and HAHs, respectively) of 130 petroleum products at different states of evaporative weathering. The screening model was developed using parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) of a large EEM dataset. The significant fluorescing components for each sample class were determined. After which, through principal component analysis (PCA), the variation of scores of their modeled factors was discriminated based on the different classes of petroleum products. This model was then validated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The rapid fingerprinting and the identification of unknown and new spilled oils occurs through matching the spilled product with the products of the developed model. Finally, it was shown that HAH compounds in asphaltene and resins contribute to ≥4-ring PAHs compounds in petroleum products. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  6. Usefulness of high resolution coastal models for operational oil spill forecast: the Full City accident

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Broström, G.; Carrasco, A.; Hole, L. R.; Dick, S.; Janssen, F.; Mattsson, J.; Berger, S.

    2011-06-01

    Oil spill modeling is considered to be an important decision support system (DeSS) useful for remedial action in case of accidents, as well as for designing the environmental monitoring system that is frequently set up after major accidents. Many accidents take place in coastal areas implying that low resolution basin scale ocean models is of limited use for predicting the trajectories of an oil spill. In this study, we target the oil spill in connection with the Full City accident on the Norwegian south coast and compare three different oil spill models for the area. The result of the analysis is that all models do a satisfactory job. The "standard" operational model for the area is shown to have severe flaws but including an analysis based on a higher resolution model (1.5 km resolution) for the area the model system show results that compare well with observations. The study also shows that an ensemble using three different models is useful when predicting/analyzing oil spill in coastal areas.

  7. Fate and effects of crude oil spilled on permafrost terrain. Annual progress report No. 2, Jun 76-Jul 77

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McFadden, T.; Jenkins, T.; Collins, C.

    1977-12-01

    A study was initiated in 1975 to evaluate the fate and effects of crude oil spilled on a taiga-covered permafrost site in Alaska. During this second year of the study the logistical portion of the experiments was completed with a spill of hot Prudhoe Bay crude oil in July 1976. This spill was compared with one that took place in February 1976 (reported upon in the first annual progress report). Studies on the differences in the fate of the oil, its effects on the permafrost, and its impact on the biological communities were continued and expanded. Oil moved downslope atmore » a much faster rate during the summer spill than during the winter spill. In the winter the oil cooled and pooled rapidly. The summer spill covered approximately one-third more surface area than did the winter spill in the final configuration, even though the two spills were of almost identical volume. Increases in microbial populations and activities during the months following the spill were evident. Increased counts of bacteria, yeasts, denitrifying bacteria, and petroleum-degrading bacteria following the oil spills were particularly evident. Analysis of the oil's decomposition using gas chromatography techniques indicated that the low molecular weight fractions, methane and ethane, were lost almost immediately after the spill in each case.« less

  8. Revised oil-spill risk analysis: Beaufort Sea outer continental shelf lease sale 170. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, C.; Johnson, W.; Marshall, C.

    1997-11-01

    The Federal Government has proposed to offer Outer Continental Shelf lands in the Beaufort Sea for oil and gas leasing. Because oil spills may occur from activities associated with offshore oil production, the Minerals Management Service conducts a formal risk assessment. This report summarizes results of oil-spill risk analysis conducted for the proposed Beaufort Sea lease sale.

  9. Current status of deepwater oil spill modelling in the Faroe-Shetland Channel, Northeast Atlantic, and future challenges.

    PubMed

    Gallego, Alejandro; O'Hara Murray, Rory; Berx, Barbara; Turrell, William R; Beegle-Krause, C J; Inall, Mark; Sherwin, Toby; Siddorn, John; Wakelin, Sarah; Vlasenko, Vasyl; Hole, Lars R; Dagestad, Knut Frode; Rees, John; Short, Lucy; Rønningen, Petter; Main, Charlotte E; Legrand, Sebastien; Gutierrez, Tony; Witte, Ursula; Mulanaphy, Nicole

    2018-02-01

    As oil reserves in established basins become depleted, exploration and production moves towards relatively unexploited areas, such as deep waters off the continental shelf. The Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC, NE Atlantic) and adjacent areas have been subject to increased focus by the oil industry. In addition to extreme depths, metocean conditions in this region characterise an environment with high waves and strong winds, strong currents, complex circulation patterns, sharp density gradients, and large small- and mesoscale variability. These conditions pose operational challenges to oil spill response and question the suitability of current oil spill modelling frameworks (oil spill models and their forcing data) to adequately simulate the behaviour of a potential oil spill in the area. This article reviews the state of knowledge relevant to deepwater oil spill modelling for the FSC area and identifies knowledge gaps and research priorities. Our analysis should be relevant to other areas of complex oceanography. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. 50 CFR 622.14 - Area closures related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Web site: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon_oil_spill.htm. (b) Gulf EEZ area closure related... the Gulf EEZ identified in the map shown on the NMFS Web site: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater... shown on the NMFS Web site: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon_oil_spill.htm. ...

  11. Impact of oil in the tropical marine environment. Technical pub

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cintron, G.; Lugo, A.E.; Martinez, R.

    1981-11-01

    Oil spills have a devastating effect on biologically rich coastal environments. This report investigates this problem, covering damage by oil to biological systems, the use of dispersants (toxicity and considerations for dispersant use), impact of oil and dispersants on coral reefs, impact of oil on seagrass beds and sandy beaches, impact of oil on mangroves (seedling survival and tolerance, regeneration, forest type vulnerability, and cleanup and recovery activities in mangroves), conclusions, and recommendations. The study concludes that coral reefs and seagrass beds may escape significant spill damage if pollution is not chronic and if dispersants are not used. Sandy andmore » rocky shores may be severely impacted but recover quickly. Mangroves are the most vulnerable coastal ecosystem. Recommendations are that oil spill contingency plans must be prepared for all areas, and that the necessary equipment for the plans must be in place.« less

  12. Recruitment and survival of immature seabirds in relation to oil spills and climate variability.

    PubMed

    Votier, S C; Birkhead, T R; Oro, D; Trinder, M; Grantham, M J; Clark, J A; McCleery, R H; Hatchwell, B J

    2008-09-01

    1. In long-lived animals with delayed maturity, the non-breeding component of the population may play an important role in buffering the effects of stochastic mortality. Populations of colonial seabirds often consist of more than 50% non-breeders, yet because they spend much of their early life at sea, we understand little about their impact on the demographic process. 2. Using multistate capture-mark-recapture techniques, we analyse a long-term data set of individually identifiable common guillemots, Uria aalge Pont., to assess factors influencing their immature survival and two-stage recruitment process. 3. Analysis of the distribution of ringed common guillemots during the non-breeding season, separated by age classes, revealed that all age classes were potentially at risk from four major oil spills. However, the youngest age class (0-3 years) were far more widely spread than birds 4-6 years old, which were more widely spread than birds aged 6 and over. Therefore the chance of encountering an oil spill was age-dependent. 4. A 2-year compound survival estimate for juvenile guillemots was weakly negatively correlated with winter sea-surface temperature, but was not influenced by oil spills. Non-breeder survival did not vary significantly over time. 5. In years following four oil spills, juvenile recruitment was almost double the value in non-oil-spill years. Recent work from Skomer Island showed a doubling of adult mortality associated with major oil spills, which probably reduced competition at the breeding colony, allowing increased immature recruitment to compensate for these losses. We discuss the implications of compensatory recruitment for assessing the impact of oil pollution incidents.

  13. Scenario-building for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Machlis, Gary; McNutt, Marcia K.

    2010-01-01

    In May 2010, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) established a Strategic Sciences Working Group (SSWG) to assess how the Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill may impact the ecology, economy, and people of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). It included scientists from diverse disciplines and federal, academic, and nongovernmental organizations. The SSWG was not to conduct a scientific investigation, but to provide rapid scientific assessment of potential consequences of the spill that could provide usable knowledge to decision-makers.

  14. 46 CFR 68.27 - Definitions for purposes of this subpart.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup § 68.27 Definitions for purposes of this subpart. Certificate of... Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. Not-for-profit oil spill response... purposes of training for, carrying out, and supporting oil spill cleanup operations or related research...

  15. 46 CFR 68.27 - Definitions for purposes of this subpart.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup § 68.27 Definitions for purposes of this subpart. Certificate of... Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. Not-for-profit oil spill response... purposes of training for, carrying out, and supporting oil spill cleanup operations or related research...

  16. 46 CFR 68.27 - Definitions for purposes of this subpart.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Vessels for Oil Spill Cleanup § 68.27 Definitions for purposes of this subpart. Certificate of... Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. Not-for-profit oil spill response... purposes of training for, carrying out, and supporting oil spill cleanup operations or related research...

  17. Risk Assessment for Children Exposed to Beach Sands Impacted by Oil Spill Chemicals.

    PubMed

    Black, Jennifer C; Welday, Jennifer N; Buckley, Brian; Ferguson, Alesia; Gurian, Patrick L; Mena, Kristina D; Yang, Ill; McCandlish, Elizabeth; Solo-Gabriele, Helena M

    2016-08-27

    Due to changes in the drilling industry, oil spills are impacting large expanses of coastlines, thereby increasing the potential for people to come in contact with oil spill chemicals. The objective of this manuscript was to evaluate the health risk to children who potentially contact beach sands impacted by oil spill chemicals from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. To identify chemicals of concern, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) monitoring data collected during and immediately after the spill were evaluated. This dataset was supplemented with measurements from beach sands and tar balls collected five years after the spill. Of interest is that metals in the sediments were observed at similar levels between the two sampling periods; some differences were observed for metals levels in tar balls. Although PAHs were not observed five years later, there is evidence of weathered-oil oxidative by-products. Comparing chemical concentration data to baseline soil risk levels, three metals (As, Ba, and V) and four PAHs (benzo[a]pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and dibenz[a,h]anthracene) were found to exceed guideline levels prompting a risk assessment. For acute or sub-chronic exposures, hazard quotients, computed by estimating average expected contact behavior, showed no adverse potential health effects. For cancer, computations using 95% upper confidence limits for contaminant concentrations showed extremely low increased risk in the 10(-6) range for oral and dermal exposure from arsenic in sediments and from dermal exposure from benzo[a]pyrene and benz[a]anthracene in weathered oil. Overall, results suggest that health risks are extremely low, given the limitations of available data. Limitations of this study are associated with the lack of toxicological data for dispersants and oil-spill degradation products. We also recommend studies to collect quantitative information about children's beach play habits, which are necessary to more

  18. 78 FR 47723 - Information Collection: Forms for Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Offshore Facilities...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-06

    ...; MMAA104000] Information Collection: Forms for Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Offshore Facilities...) concerns the forms used for paperwork requirements under 30 CFR 553, Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for... send your comments on this ICR to the BOEM Information Collection Clearance Officer, Arlene Bajusz...

  19. 78 FR 66763 - Information Collection: Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Offshore Facilities; Submitted for...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-06

    ...] Information Collection: Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Offshore Facilities; Submitted for OMB Review... information collection request (ICR) concerns the paperwork requirements for 30 CFR 553, Oil Spill Financial... 6, 2013 ADDRESSES: Submit comments on this ICR to the Desk Officer for the Department of the...

  20. Identification of Spilled Oil from the MV Marathassa (Vancouver, Canada 2015) Using Alkyl PAH Isomer Ratios.

    PubMed

    Morales-Caselles, Carmen; Yunker, Mark B; Ross, Peter S

    2017-07-01

    On the morning of April 9, 2015, citizens in Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada) awoke to the sight and smell of oil on the shores of popular downtown beaches. Because the oil also had spread over the shallow seawater intakes for the Vancouver Aquarium, a preliminary screening of samples was performed as a prompt, first response to assess the risks to the Aquarium collection and guide the emergency operational response. A subsequent, more detailed examination for the presence of spilled oil in sediment, biota and water samples from the Vancouver Harbour region was then conducted based on the analysis of a large suite of alkanes, petroleum biomarkers, parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkyl PAH isomers. Most of the commonly applied biomarker ratios exhibit similar values for the spilled oil, Alberta oil (the main petroleum source for British Columbia), and pre-spill and un-oiled sediment samples. In contrast, alkyl PAH isomer ratios showed a clear distinction between the spilled oil and pre-spill samples, with the largest differences shown by isomers of the methyl fluoranthene/pyrene alkyl PAH series. This novel use of alkyl PAH isomers for fingerprinting petroleum helped to confirm the grain carrier MV Marathassa as the source of the oil that affected beach and mussel samples to document definitively the spread of the oil and to establish which samples contained a mix of the oil and hydrocarbons linked to historical activities. Finally, an initial evaluation of the biological risks of the MV Marathassa oil spill in Vancouver Harbour showed that oiled beach sediments had priority parent PAH concentrations that are likely to harm marine life.

  1. Assessing impacts of simulated oil spills on the Northeast Arctic cod fishery.

    PubMed

    Carroll, JoLynn; Vikebø, Frode; Howell, Daniel; Broch, Ole Jacob; Nepstad, Raymond; Augustine, Starrlight; Skeie, Geir Morten; Bast, Radovan; Juselius, Jonas

    2018-01-01

    We simulate oil spills of 1500 and 4500m 3 /day lasting 14, 45, and 90days in the spawning grounds of the commercial fish species, Northeast Arctic cod. Modeling the life history of individual fish eggs and larvae, we predict deviations from the historical pattern of recruitment to the adult population due to toxic oil exposures. Reductions in survival for pelagic stages of cod were 0-10%, up to a maximum of 43%. These reductions resulted in a decrease in adult cod biomass of <3% for most scenarios, up to a maximum of 12%. In all simulations, the adult population remained at full reproductive potential with a sufficient number of juveniles surviving to replenish the population. The diverse age distribution helps protect the adult cod population from reductions in a single year's recruitment after a major oil spill. These results provide insights to assist in managing oil spill impacts on fisheries. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  2. Support mechanisms for oil spill accident response in costal lagoon areas (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oliveira, Eduardo R.; Silveira, Bruno; Alves, Fátima L.

    2014-10-01

    Oil spill accidents can be caused by several risk factors associated to maritime transport and port activities, which cannot always be predicted or controlled. Therefore, it is essential to support prevention and contingency plans, whose effectiveness is crucial to produce adequate responses and minimize resulting impacts. Ria de Aveiro (Portugal) is a wide coastal lagoon, within a densely populated area, representing a concentration of important biodiversity resources and several economic activities. This paper presents alternative methodologies to support the optimization of civil protection assets in the occurrence of oil spill events and the results of their application on a section area of the Aveiro Lagoon, using an established geographic information system database containing crucial data. The presented methodologies are based on the Environmental Sensitivity Index developed by the North American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA) and the Global Vulnerability Index which were applied on the Bay of Biscay (Spain). However, during the development of this work, neither of these methodologies was considered to entirely assess the study area in its full extent, which led to the need to adapt and define a bespoke approach. The introduced changes include extra categories in shoreline classification, an adapted physical vulnerability index for coastal lagoons, differentiated aspects for highly protected status areas, qualitative assessment of socioeconomic features and an access and operability index created to support emergency operation response. The resulting maps are the subject of analysis, in which considerations regarding control and cleanup methods are introduced, together with guidelines for further integration in local risk management strategies.

  3. Combined effects of fishing and oil spills on marine fish: Role of stock demographic structure for offspring overlap with oil.

    PubMed

    Stige, Leif Chr; Ottersen, Geir; Yaragina, Natalia A; Vikebø, Frode B; Stenseth, Nils Chr; Langangen, Øystein

    2018-04-01

    It has been proposed that the multiple pressures of fishing and petroleum activities impact fish stocks in synergy, as fishing-induced demographic changes in a stock may lead to increased sensitivity to detrimental effects of acute oil spills. High fishing pressure may erode the demographic structure of fish stocks, lead to less diverse spawning strategies, and more concentrated distributions of offspring in space and time. Hence an oil spill may potentially hit a larger fraction of a year-class of offspring. Such a link between demographic structure and egg distribution was recently demonstrated for the Northeast Arctic stock of Atlantic cod for years 1959-1993. We here estimate that this variation translates into a two-fold variation in the maximal proportion of cod eggs potentially exposed to a large oil spill. With this information it is possible to quantitatively account for demographic structure in prospective studies of population effects of possible oil spills. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Combating oil spill problem using plastic waste.

    PubMed

    Saleem, Junaid; Ning, Chao; Barford, John; McKay, Gordon

    2015-10-01

    Thermoplastic polymers (such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE)) constitute 5-15% of municipal solid waste produced across the world. A huge quantity of plastic waste is disposed of each year and is mostly either discarded in landfills or incinerated. On the other hand, the usage of synthetic polymers as oil sorbents, in particular, polyolefins, including polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE) are the most commonly used oil sorbent materials mainly due to their low cost. However, they possess relatively low oil absorption capacities. In this work, we provide an innovative way to produce a value-added product such as oil-sorbent film with high practical oil uptake values in terms of g/g from waste HDPE bottles for rapid oil spill remedy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Biodegradation of marine oil spill residues using aboriginal bacterial consortium based on Penglai 19-3 oil spill accident, China.

    PubMed

    Wang, Chuanyuan; Liu, Xing; Guo, Jie; Lv, Yingchun; Li, Yuanwei

    2018-09-15

    Bioremediation, mainly by indigenous bacteria, has been regarded as an effective way to deal with the petroleum pollution after an oil spill accident. The biodegradation of crude oil by microorganisms co-incubated from sediments collected from the Penglai 19-3 oil platform, Bohai Sea, China, was examined. The relative susceptibility of the isomers of alkylnaphthalenes, alkylphenanthrenes and alkyldibenzothiophene to biodegradation was also discussed. The results showed that the relative degradation values of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) are 43.56% and 51.29% for sediments with untreated microcosms (S-BR1) and surfactant-treated microcosms (S-BR2), respectively. TPH biodegradation results showed an obvious decrease in saturates (biodegradation rate: 67.85-77.29%) and a slight decrease in aromatics (biodegradation rate: 47.13-57.21%), while no significant difference of resins and asphaltenes was detected. The biodegradation efficiency of alkylnaphthalenes, alkylphenanthrenes and alkyldibenzothiophene for S-BR1 and S-BR2 samples reaches 1.28-84.43% and 42.56-86.67%, respectively. The efficiency of crude oil degradation in sediment with surfactant-treated microcosms cultures added Tween 20, was higher than that in sediment with untreated microcosms. The biodegradation and selective depletion is not only controlled by thermodynamics but also related to the stereochemical structure of individual isomer compounds. Information on the biodegradation of oil spill residues by the bacterial community revealed in this study will be useful in developing strategies for bioremediation of crude oil dispersed in the marine ecosystem. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Scaling and diffusion of oil spills in the Ocean Surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tarquis, A. M.; Platonov, A.; Grau, J.; Sekula, E.

    2010-05-01

    The region of the Gulf of Lions at the northwestern Mediterranean Sea has been studied within a ten-year period from December 1996 until November 2006. More than 1000 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, which have been acquired by the Second European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS 1/2) as well as from ENVISAT. We present statistical results of the structure of several features revealed by SAR such as oil spills and tensioactive slicks dynamic. We compare oil splils obtained from the projects Clean Seas,ENVA4/CT/0334, RC2003/005700, ESP2005/07551 and ESA/AO/IP2240. Since natural (caused by plankton, fish, etc.) slicks as well as man-made oil slicks dampen the small-scale surface waves, which are responsible for the radar backscattering from the ocean surface, both types of effects may be confused and give look/alike false oil spill detections. The early SAR images were processed at a resolution of 1 pixel=200m and were provided by the RApid Information Dissemination System (RAIDS) SAR processing facility in West Freugh, UK. Recent ENVISAT images directly from ESA allow a higher resolution of 1 pixel = 26 m, improving the detected turbulent scaling range. The occurrence of marine oil pollution as well as several dynamic features near Barcelona (frames 8-10, 19, 20; 200 SAR images)is itself a random multi-scale process. The use of different multifractal techniques, both using limits to the smallest and largest available scales, show that the scaling laws are very complex and depend strongly on intermittency of the assumed turbulent cascade, the shapes of the multifractal spectra functions are seen to deviate from an homogeneous multifractal and depend both on the initial conditions of the spill or slick, and on the transit time that the spill has been subjected to the local turbulence.

  7. Determining Which Dispersants Will Be Effective In Future Deepwater Oil Spills

    EPA Science Inventory

    Deepwater spills result in oil distributed from deep in the water column to the water surface. The objective of this study was to test eight of the available dispersants (including Corexit 9500A, which was used extensively on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Spill) on South Louisiana C...

  8. Characterization of Solidifiers used for Oil Spill Remediation

    EPA Science Inventory

    The physical characteristics and chemical composition of oil spill solidifiers were studied, and correlation of these properties with product effectiveness enabled determination of characteristics that are desirable in a good solidifier. The analyses revealed that the commercial...

  9. Overview of studies to determine injury caused by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill to marine mammals

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Loughlin, Thomas R.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Wright, B.A.; Rice, S.D.; Spies, R.B.; Wolfe, D.A.; Wright, B.A.

    1996-01-01

    Marine mammal damage assessment studies after the Exxon Valdez oil spill concentrated on sea otters, harbor seals, Steller sea lions, killer whales, and humpback whales. Sea otter and harbor seals were the most affected marine mammal; it was estimated that several thousand otters and several hundred harbor seals died within months of the spill. Steller sea lion, harbor seal, and sea otter numbers were monitored using aerial surveys. Studies of humpback whales and killer whales used photoidentification techniques to determine changes in abundance, distribution, mortality, and natality. Tissues from animals found dead in spill and control areas were analyzed for hydrocarbon levels. Sea otters, sea lions and harbor seals had elevated hydrocarbon levels, but only sea otters and harbor seals showed population declines associated with the spill. Humpback whales were not severely affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Killer whale numbers in the resident AB pod declined after the spill. Coincidental evidence supports the oil spill as the causative agent.

  10. A Retrospective Review of Microbiological Methods Applied in Studies Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shuangfei; Hu, Zhong; Wang, Hui

    2018-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 resulted in serious damage to local marine and coastal environments. In addition to the physical removal and chemical dispersion of spilled oil, biodegradation by indigenous microorganisms was regarded as the most effective way for cleaning up residual oil. Different microbiological methods were applied to investigate the changes and responses of bacterial communities after the DWH oil spills. By summarizing and analyzing these microbiological methods, giving recommendations and proposing some methods that have not been used, this review aims to provide constructive guidelines for microbiological studies after environmental disasters, especially those involving organic pollutants.

  11. A Retrospective Review of Microbiological Methods Applied in Studies Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Shuangfei; Hu, Zhong; Wang, Hui

    2018-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 resulted in serious damage to local marine and coastal environments. In addition to the physical removal and chemical dispersion of spilled oil, biodegradation by indigenous microorganisms was regarded as the most effective way for cleaning up residual oil. Different microbiological methods were applied to investigate the changes and responses of bacterial communities after the DWH oil spills. By summarizing and analyzing these microbiological methods, giving recommendations and proposing some methods that have not been used, this review aims to provide constructive guidelines for microbiological studies after environmental disasters, especially those involving organic pollutants. PMID:29628913

  12. 76 FR 77128 - Alternate Tonnage Threshold for Oil Spill Response Vessels

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-12

    ...The Coast Guard is establishing an alternate size threshold based on the measurement system established under the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, for Oil Spill Response Vessels (OSRVs), which are properly certificated under 46 CFR subchapter L. The present size threshold of 500 gross registered tons is based on the U.S. regulatory measurement system. This rule provides an alternative for owners and operators of offshore supply vessels (OSVs) that may result in an increase in oil spill response capacity and capability.

  13. Segmentation of oil spills in SAR images by using discriminant cuts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ding, Xianwen; Zou, Xiaolin

    2018-02-01

    The discriminant cut is used to segment the oil spills in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The proposed approach is a region-based one, which is able to capture and utilize spatial information in SAR images. The real SAR images, i.e. ALOS-1 PALSAR and Sentinel-1 SAR images were collected and used to validate the accuracy of the proposed approach for oil spill segmentation in SAR images. The accuracy of the proposed approach is higher than that of the fuzzy C-means classification method.

  14. Oil Spills and Spills of Hazardous Substances.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Water Programs.

    The stated purpose of this publication is to describe some of the more significant spill incidents and the mechanisms, both managerial and technological, to deal with them. This publication is targeted for school, general public, and other such audiences. Sections include effects of spills, prevention of spills, responding to spills, spill…

  15. Effects of Droplet Size on Intrusion of Sub-Surface Oil Spills

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adams, Eric; Chan, Godine; Wang, Dayang

    2014-11-01

    We explore effects of droplet size on droplet intrusion and transport in sub-surface oil spills. Negatively buoyant glass beads released continuously to a stratified ambient simulate oil droplets in a rising multiphase plume, and distributions of settled beads are used to infer signatures of surfacing oil. Initial tests used quiescent conditions, while ongoing tests simulate currents by towing the source and a bottom sled. Without current, deposited beads have a Gaussian distribution, with variance increasing with decreasing particle size. Distributions agree with a model assuming first order particle loss from an intrusion layer of constant thickness, and empirically determined flow rate. With current, deposited beads display a parabolic distribution similar to that expected from a source in uniform flow; we are currently comparing observed distributions with similar analytical models. Because chemical dispersants have been used to reduce oil droplet size, our study provides one measure of their effectiveness. Results are applied to conditions from the `Deep Spill' field experiment, and the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and are being used to provide ``inner boundary conditions'' for subsequent far field modeling of these events. This research was made possible by grants from Chevron Energy Technology Co., through the Chevron-MITEI University Partnership Program, and BP/The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, GISR.

  16. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill and Gulf of Mexico shelf hypoxia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rabalais, Nancy N.; Smith, Leslie M.; Turner, R. Eugene

    2018-01-01

    The oil/water/dispersant mixture from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was juxtaposed on the Louisiana continental shelf with the annual development of oxygen-depleted bottom waters. There was uncertainty whether the oil from the spill might worsen the extent or severity of the seasonal hypoxic area formation in 2010. The surface and bottom water hydrocarbons in May were elevated compared to in June and July, while the bottom-water dissolved oxygen concentrations were higher in May and June compared to in July. The degradation of oil in the water column or sediments was not known. The results of an empirical orthogonal functions (EOF) analysis of the progression of hypoxia development in May, June and July 2010, and an analysis of conditions in July compared to a 27-year background database, indicated no difference in oxygen concentrations for May, June or July 2010, with or without oil data included, nor any difference in July 2010 compared to other years. The analysis instead indicated that, in all years compared, the hypoxic area increased with higher river discharge, higher nitrate-N load, an easterly (westward) wind and reduced wind speed. Although the analyses did not demonstrate that the oil spill affected, or did not affect, the size of the 2010 hypoxic zone, there was evidence that the 2010 hypoxia season did not differ from the long-term record.

  17. MIT/marine industry collegium opportunity brief No. 9. oil spills: Problems and opportunities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1977-07-20

    The events occurring during the grounding and break up of the Liberian tanker, Argo Merchant, in December 1976, are used to illustrate the types and magnitudes of problems involved in responding to accidental oil spills. The Argo Merchant incident provides a framework for understanding what is needed for dealing with such events in the future. A chronology of the important events between the grounding and the break up are presented. The need for instrumentation and research to answer the question of 'how much oil has been spilled and where is it likely to go' is dealt with. The equipment andmore » vehicles needed for containment of a spill on the high seas are discussed and then the logistical requirements of getting people and equipment to the spill, containing and collecting oil and removing it are discussed and finally the general characteristics required for two boats and barges are summarized.« less

  18. Biodegradability Of Lingering EVOS Oil 19 Years After The Spill (Presentation)

    EPA Science Inventory

    In 2001 and 2003, NOAA scientists conducted geospatial surveys of lingering oil in Prince William Sound (PWS) and concluded areas were still contaminated with substantial subsurface oil from the 1989 Exxon Vladez oil spill (EVOS). In 2007, a mass weathering index (MWI) wa...

  19. New insights into microbial responses to oil spills from the Deepwater Horizon incident

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mason, O.U.; Hazen, T.C.

    2011-06-15

    On April 20, 2010, a catastrophic eruption of methane caused the Deepwater Horizon exploratory drill rig drilling the Macondo Well in Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (MC252) to explode. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was unprecendeted for several reasons: the volume of oil released; the spill duration; the well depth; the distance from the shore-line (77 km or about 50 miles); the type of oil (light crude); and the injection of dispersant directly at the wellhead. This study clearly demonstrated that there was a profound and significant response by certain members of the in situ microbial community in the deep-sea inmore » the Gulf of Mexico. In particular putative hydrocarbon degrading Bacteria appeared to bloom in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, even though the temperature at these depths is never >5 C. As the plume aged the shifts in the microbial community on a temporal scale suggested that different, yet metabolically important members of the community were able to respond to a myriad of plume constituents, e.g. shifting from propane/ethane to alkanes and finally to methane. Thus, the biodegradation of hydrocarbons in the plume by Bacteria was a highly significant process in the natural attenuation of many compounds released during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.« less

  20. Oil Droplet Size Distribution and Optical Properties During Wave Tank Simulated Oil Spills

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Conmy, R. N.; Venosa, A.; Courtenay, S.; King, T.; Robinson, B.; Ryan, S.

    2013-12-01

    Fate and transport of spilled petroleum oils in aquatic environments is highly dependent upon oil droplet behavior which is a function of chemical composition, dispersibility (natural and chemically-enhanced) and droplet size distribution (DSD) of the oil. DSD is influenced by mixing energy, temperature, salinity, pressure, presence of dissolved and particulate materials, flow rate of release, and application of dispersants. To better understand DSD and droplet behavior under varying physical conditions, flask-scale experiments are often insufficient. Rather, wave tank simulations allow for scaling to field conditions. Presented here are experiment results from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography wave tank facility, where chemically-dispersed (Corexit 9500; DOR = 1:20) Louisiana Sweet crude, IFO-120 and ANS crude oil were exposed to mixing energies to achieve dispersant effectiveness observed in the field. Oil plumes were simulated, both surface and subsea releases with varying water temperature and flow rate. Fluorometers (Chelsea Technologies Group AQUATracka, Turner Designs Cyclops, WET Labs Inc ECO) and particle size analyzers (Sequoia LISST) were used to track the dispersed plumes in the tank and characterize oil droplets. Sensors were validated with known oil volumes (down to 300 ppb) and measured Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and Benzene-Toluene-Ethylbenzene-Xylene (BTEX) values. This work has large implications for tracking surface and deep sea oil plumes with fluorescence and particle size analyzers, improved weathering and biodegradation estimates, and understanding the fate and transport of spill oil.

  1. Assessing the footprint and volume of oil deposited in deep-sea sediments following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    PubMed

    Stout, Scott A; Rouhani, Shahrokh; Liu, Bo; Oehrig, Jacob; Ricker, Robert W; Baker, Gregory; Lewis, Christopher

    2017-01-15

    The lateral and vertical extents of Macondo oil in deep-sea sediments resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill were determined using chemical forensics and geostatistical kriging of data from 2397 sediment samples from 875 cores collected in 2010/2011 and 2014. The total mass of Macondo-derived hopane on the seafloor in 2010/2011 was conservatively estimated between 2.00 and 2.26metric tons, derived from 219,000 to 247,000barrels of oil; or 6.9 to 7.7% of the 3.19millionbarrels spilled. Macondo-derived hopane was deposited over 1030 to 1910km 2 of the seafloor, mostly (>97%) in surface (0-1cm) and near-surface (1-3cm) sediments, which is consistent with short-term oil deposition. Although Macondo oil was still present in surface sediments in 2014, the total mass of Macondo-derived hopane was significantly lower (~80 to 90%) than in 2010/2011, affirming an acute impact from the spill and not long-term deposition from natural seeps. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Analysis of inland crude oil spill threats, vulnerabilities, and emergency response in the midwest United States.

    PubMed

    Brody, Thomas M; Di Bianca, Paisly; Krysa, Jan

    2012-10-01

    Although coastal oil spills tend to be highly publicized, crude oil spills in the United States affect inland areas relatively often. Spills to inland areas often affect sensitive environments and can have greater impacts to health and welfare than spills to coastal areas. For these reasons, the authors investigated inland crude oil spill threats, vulnerabilities, and emergency response in the midwestern U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. These states work with the Region 5 Offices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Region 5's geospatial data in the Inland Sensitivity Atlas were turned into metrics indicating inland crude oil spill threats and vulnerabilities among the Region's sub-watersheds. These threats and vulnerabilities were weighted using data from the National Response Center and the Department of Energy's Environmental Restoration Priority System. The locations of the Region's emergency responders were geocoded in GIS. The GIS calculated the emergency response times to the Region's sub-watersheds. The resulting scatter plots are connected to the sub-watersheds in the map so stakeholders can (1) see the outlying sub-watersheds of concern and (2) better understand how reducing threats and better response time can reduce the risk of inland crude oil spills. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the U.S.A.

  3. Application of oil spill model to marine pollution and risk control problems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aseev, Nikita; Agoshkov, Valery; Sheloput, Tatyana

    2017-04-01

    Oil transportation by sea induces challenging problems of environmental control. Millions of tonnes of oil are yearly released during routine ship operations, not to mention vast spills due to different accidents (e.g. tanker collisions, grounding, etc.). Oil pollution is dangerous to marine organisms such as plants, fish and mammals, leading to widespread damage to our planet. In turn, fishery and travel agencies can lose money and clients, and ship operators are obliged to pay huge penalties for environmental pollution. In this work we present the method of accessing oil pollution of marine environment using recently developed oil spill model. The model describes basic processes of the oil slick evolution: oil transport due to currents, drift under the action of wind, spreading on the surface, evaporation, emulsification and dispersion. Such parameters as slick location, mass, density of oil, water content, viscosity and density of "water-in-oil" emulsion can be calculated. We demonstrate how to apply the model to damage calculation problems using a concept of average damage to particular marine area. We also formulate the problem of oil spill risk control, when some accident parameters are not known, but their probability distribution is given. We propose a new algorithm to solve such problems and show results of our model simulations. The work can be interesting to broad environmental, physics and mathematics community. The work is supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research grant 16-31-00510.

  4. Oil spill impacts on mangroves: Recommendations for operational planning and action based on a global review.

    PubMed

    Duke, Norman C

    2016-08-30

    Mangrove tidal wetland habitats are recognised as highly vulnerable to large and chronic oil spills. This review of current literature and public databases covers the last 6 decades, summarising global data on oil spill incidents affecting, or likely to have affected, mangrove habitat. Over this period, there have been at least 238 notable oil spills along mangrove shorelines worldwide. In total, at least 5.5milliontonnes of oil has been released into mangrove-lined, coastal waters, oiling possibly up to around 1.94millionha of mangrove habitat, and killing at least 126,000ha of mangrove vegetation since 1958. However, there were assessment limitations with incomplete and unavailable data, as well as unequal coverage across world regions. To redress the gaps described here in reporting on oil spill impacts on mangroves and their recovery worldwide, a number of recommendations and suggestions are made for refreshing and updating standard operational procedures for responders, managers and researchers alike. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. eDNA-based bioassessment of coastal sediments impacted by an oil spill.

    PubMed

    Xie, Yuwei; Zhang, Xiaowei; Yang, Jianghua; Kim, Seonjin; Hong, Seongjin; Giesy, John P; Yim, Un Hyuk; Shim, Won Joon; Yu, Hongxia; Khim, Jong Seong

    2018-07-01

    Oil spills offshore can cause long-term ecological effects on coastal marine ecosystems. Despite their important ecological roles in the cycling of energy and nutrients in food webs, effects on bacteria, protists or arthropods are often neglected. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding was applied to characterize changes in the structure of micro- and macro-biota communities of surface sediments over a 7-year period since the occurrence of Hebei Spirit oil spill on December 7, 2007. Alterations in diversities and structures of micro- and macro-biota were observed in the contaminated area where concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were greater. Successions of bacterial, protists and metazoan communities revealed long-term ecological effects of residual oil. Residual oil dominated the largest cluster of the community-environment association network. Presence of bacterial families (Aerococcaceae and Carnobacteriaceae) and the protozoan family (Platyophryidae) might have conferred sensitivity of communities to oil pollution. Hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial families (Anaerolinaceae, Desulfobacteraceae, Helicobacteraceae and Piscirickettsiaceae) and algal family (Araphid pennate) were resistant to adverse effects of spilt oil. The protistan family (Subulatomonas) and arthropod families (Folsomia, Sarcophagidae Opomyzoidea, and Anomura) appeared to be positively associated with residual oil pollution. eDNA metabarcoding can provide a powerful tool for assessing effects of anthropogenic pollution, such as oil spills on sediment communities and its long-term trends in coastal marine environments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Comparative Risk Assessment of spill response options for a deepwater oil well blowout: Part 1. Oil spill modeling.

    PubMed

    French-McCay, Deborah; Crowley, Deborah; Rowe, Jill J; Bock, Michael; Robinson, Hilary; Wenning, Richard; Walker, Ann Hayward; Joeckel, John; Nedwed, Tim J; Parkerton, Thomas F

    2018-06-01

    Oil spill model simulations of a deepwater blowout in the Gulf of Mexico De Soto Canyon, assuming no intervention and various response options (i.e., subsea dispersant injection SSDI, in addition to mechanical recovery, in-situ burning, and surface dispersant application) were compared. Predicted oil fate, amount and area of surfaced oil, and exposure concentrations in the water column above potential effects thresholds were used as inputs to a Comparative Risk Assessment to identify response strategies that minimize long-term impacts. SSDI reduced human and wildlife exposure to volatile organic compounds; dispersed oil into a large water volume at depth; enhanced biodegradation; and reduced surface water, nearshore and shoreline exposure to floating oil and entrained/dissolved oil in the upper water column. Tradeoffs included increased oil exposures at depth. However, since organisms are less abundant below 200 m, results indicate that overall exposure of valued ecosystem components was minimized by use of SSDI. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Oil-spill risk analysis: Cook inlet outer continental shelf lease sale 149. Volume 1. The analysis. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Johnson, W.R.; Marshall, C.F.; Anderson, C.M.

    1994-08-01

    This report summarizes results of an oil-spill risk analysis (OSRA) conducted for the proposed lower Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Sale 149. The objective of this analysis was to estimate relative oil-spill risks associated with oil and gas production from the leasing alternatives proposed for the lease sale. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) will consider the analysis in the environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared for the lease sale. The analysis for proposed OCS Lease Sale 149 was conducted in three parts corresponding to different aspects of the overall problem. The first part dealt with the probability of oil-spillmore » occurrence. The second dealt with trajectories of oil spills from potential spill sites to various environmental resources or land segments. The third part combined the results of the first two parts to give estimates of the overall oil-spill risk if there is oil production as a result of the lease sale. To aid the analysis, conditional risk contour maps of seasonal conditional probabilities of spill contact were generated for each environmental resource or land segment in the study area (see vol. 2).« less

  8. Abundance and Size of Gulf Shrimp in Louisiana's Coastal Estuaries following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    PubMed Central

    van der Ham, Joris L.; de Mutsert, Kim

    2014-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted Louisiana's coastal estuaries physically, chemically, and biologically. To better understand the ecological consequences of this oil spill on Louisiana estuaries, we compared the abundance and size of two Gulf shrimp species (Farfantepeneus aztecus and Litopeneus setiferus) in heavily affected and relatively unaffected estuaries, before and after the oil spill. Two datasets were used to conduct this study: data on shrimp abundance and size before the spill were available from Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). Data on shrimp abundance and size from after the spill were independently collected by the authors and by LDWF. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact with Paired sampling (BACIP) design with monthly samples of two selected basins, we found brown shrimp to become more abundant and the mean size of white shrimp to become smaller. Using a BACIP with data on successive shrimp year-classes of multiple basins, we found both species to become more abundant in basins that were affected by the spill, while mean shrimp size either not change after the spill, or increased in both affected and unaffected basins. We conclude that following the oil spill abundances of both species increased within affected estuaries, whereas mean size may have been unaffected. We propose two factors that may have caused these results: 1) exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may have reduced the growth rate of shrimp, resulting in a delayed movement of shrimp to offshore habitats, and an increase of within-estuary shrimp abundance, and 2) fishing closures established immediately after the spill, may have resulted in decreased fishing effort and an increase in shrimp abundance. This study accentuates the complexities in determining ecological effects of oil spills, and the need of studies on the organismal level to reveal cause-and-effect relationships of such events. PMID:25272142

  9. Comparative risk assessment of spill response options for a deepwater oil well blowout: Part III. Stakeholder engagement.

    PubMed

    Walker, Ann Hayward; Scholz, Debra; McPeek, Melinda; French-McCay, Deborah; Rowe, Jill; Bock, Michael; Robinson, Hilary; Wenning, Richard

    2018-05-25

    This paper describes oil spill stakeholder engagement in a recent comparative risk assessment (CRA) project that examined the tradeoffs associated with a hypothetical offshore well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, with a specific focus on subsea dispersant injection (SSDI) at the wellhead. SSDI is a new technology deployed during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill response. Oil spill stakeholders include decision makers, who will consider whether to integrate SSDI into future tradeoff decisions. This CRA considered the tradeoffs associated with three sets of response strategies: (1) no intervention; (2) mechanical recovery, in-situ burning, and surface dispersants; and, (3) SSDI in addition to responses in (2). For context, the paper begins with a historical review of U.S. policy and engagement with oil spill stakeholders regarding dispersants. Stakeholder activities throughout the project involved decision-maker representatives and their advisors to inform the approach and consider CRA utility in future oil spill preparedness. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Macondo crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disrupts specific developmental processes during zebrafish embryogenesis

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background The Deepwater Horizon disaster was the largest marine oil spill in history, and total vertical exposure of oil to the water column suggests it could impact an enormous diversity of ecosystems. The most vulnerable organisms are those encountering these pollutants during their early life stages. Water-soluble components of crude oil and specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been shown to cause defects in cardiovascular and craniofacial development in a variety of teleost species, but the developmental origins of these defects have yet to be determined. We have adopted zebrafish, Danio rerio, as a model to test whether water accumulated fractions (WAF) of the Deepwater Horizon oil could impact specific embryonic developmental processes. While not a native species to the Gulf waters, the developmental biology of zebrafish has been well characterized and makes it a powerful model system to reveal the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind Macondo crude toxicity. Results WAF of Macondo crude oil sampled during the oil spill was used to treat zebrafish throughout embryonic and larval development. Our results indicate that the Macondo crude oil causes a variety of significant defects in zebrafish embryogenesis, but these defects have specific developmental origins. WAF treatments caused defects in craniofacial development and circulatory function similar to previous reports, but we extend these results to show they are likely derived from an earlier defect in neural crest cell development. Moreover, we demonstrate that exposure to WAFs causes a variety of novel deformations in specific developmental processes, including programmed cell death, locomotor behavior, sensory and motor axon pathfinding, somitogenesis and muscle patterning. Interestingly, the severity of cell death and muscle phenotypes decreased over several months of repeated analysis, which was correlated with a rapid drop-off in the aromatic and alkane hydrocarbon components of the oil

  11. The Discovery of Deep Oil Plumes at the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Site (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Diercks, A. R.; Asper, V. L.; Highsmith, R. C.; Woolsey, M.; Lohrenz, S. E.; McLetchie, K.; Gossett, A.; Lowe, M., III; Joung, D.; McKay, L.

    2010-12-01

    In May 2010, the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology (NIUST), a partnership of the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi and NOAA, had a 17-day research cruise aboard the UNOLS vessel R/V Pelican scheduled. Two weeks before departure, the Deepwater Horizon oil platform burned and sank, resulting in an uncontrolled oil spill at a depth of ~1500 m at Mississippi Canyon Block 252. The initial mission plan to do AUV surveys of wrecks and hydrate outcrops in the northern Gulf of Mexico, some of them very close to the site of the accident, was abandoned in favor of responding to the still uncontrolled oil spill. The primary goals of the redefined cruise were to acquire baseline and early impact data for seafloor sediments and subsurface distribution of oil and gas hydrates as close as possible in time and space to the origin of the oil spill. Investigating an oil spill nearly a mile deep in the ocean presents special benthic sampling and subsurface oil detection challenges. NIUST’s AUV’s were unloaded from the ship and a large main winch installed to allow operation of a full ocean depth box corer for collecting sediment samples in water depths up to 2000 m. During the first five-day leg of the cruise, a total of 28 box cores were collected. The Pelican returned to port (Cocodrie, LA) to drop off sediment and water samples for immediate analyses, and to take on more sampling gear and supplies for the second leg of the cruise, including an Acrobat, a CDOM fluorometer, a Video Ray ROV, and a CO2 sensor in addition to the already installed CTD Rosette with O2 sensor and beam transmissometer. During Leg 2, CTD stations were plotted to cover the area surrounding the wreck site and at various water depths to map the subsurface water column structure and chemistry as baseline values for future investigations and especially to look for submerged oil and/or gas hydrates. Early in the water column sampling, a subsurface feature

  12. UV-responsive nano-sponge for oil absorption and desorption

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Do Hyun; Jung, Min Chan; Cho, So-Hye; Kim, Sang Hoon; Kim, Ho-Young; Lee, Heon Ju; Oh, Kyu Hwan; Moon, Myoung-Woon

    2015-01-01

    Controlled surface wettability for oil has been intensively studied to remove industrial oil waste or oil spill pollution from seas or rivers. In particular, external stimuli-induced special wetting materials, such as photo-responsive TiO2, have attracted considerable attention for oil-water separation. In this study, a novel method is reported to fabricate a nano-sponge which is composed of hydrophobic hydrocarbon and hydrophilic TiO2 nanoparticles for oil absorption or desorption that are responsive to UV irradiation. The hydrocarbon in the nano-sponge could selectively absorb oil from water, whereas the absorbed oil is released into the water by TiO2 in response to UV irradiation. The nano-sponge functionalized porous polydimethylsiloxane released more than 98% of the absorbed crude oil with UV irradiation and air-bubbling. It could be continuously reused while maintaining a high absorption capacity and desorption efficiency without incurring secondary air or water pollution. This smart oil absorption/desorption methodology with excellent selectivity and recyclability with almost perfect removal of absorbed oil can be applied for oil-water separation, oil spill cleanup and reuse of spilled oil. PMID:26260470

  13. Risk Assessment for Children Exposed to Beach Sands Impacted by Oil Spill Chemicals

    PubMed Central

    Black, Jennifer C.; Welday, Jennifer N.; Buckley, Brian; Ferguson, Alesia; Gurian, Patrick L.; Mena, Kristina D.; Yang, Ill; McCandlish, Elizabeth; Solo-Gabriele, Helena M.

    2016-01-01

    Due to changes in the drilling industry, oil spills are impacting large expanses of coastlines, thereby increasing the potential for people to come in contact with oil spill chemicals. The objective of this manuscript was to evaluate the health risk to children who potentially contact beach sands impacted by oil spill chemicals from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. To identify chemicals of concern, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) monitoring data collected during and immediately after the spill were evaluated. This dataset was supplemented with measurements from beach sands and tar balls collected five years after the spill. Of interest is that metals in the sediments were observed at similar levels between the two sampling periods; some differences were observed for metals levels in tar balls. Although PAHs were not observed five years later, there is evidence of weathered-oil oxidative by-products. Comparing chemical concentration data to baseline soil risk levels, three metals (As, Ba, and V) and four PAHs (benzo[a]pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and dibenz[a,h]anthracene) were found to exceed guideline levels prompting a risk assessment. For acute or sub-chronic exposures, hazard quotients, computed by estimating average expected contact behavior, showed no adverse potential health effects. For cancer, computations using 95% upper confidence limits for contaminant concentrations showed extremely low increased risk in the 10−6 range for oral and dermal exposure from arsenic in sediments and from dermal exposure from benzo[a]pyrene and benz[a]anthracene in weathered oil. Overall, results suggest that health risks are extremely low, given the limitations of available data. Limitations of this study are associated with the lack of toxicological data for dispersants and oil-spill degradation products. We also recommend studies to collect quantitative information about children’s beach play habits, which are necessary to more

  14. Salt Marsh Bacterial Communities before and after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Chang; Paterson, Audrey T.; Anderson, Laurie C.; Turner, R. Eugene; Overton, Edward B.

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Coastal salt marshes along the northern Gulf of Mexico shoreline received varied types and amounts of weathered oil residues after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. At the time, predicting how marsh bacterial communities would respond and/or recover to oiling and other environmental stressors was difficult because baseline information on community composition and dynamics was generally unavailable. Here, we evaluated marsh vegetation, physicochemistry, flooding frequency, hydrocarbon chemistry, and subtidal sediment bacterial communities from 16S rRNA gene surveys at 11 sites in southern Louisiana before the oil spill and resampled the same marshes three to four times over 38 months after the spill. Calculated hydrocarbon biomarker indices indicated that oil replaced native natural organic matter (NOM) originating from Spartina alterniflora and marine phytoplankton in the marshes between May 2010 and September 2010. At all the studied marshes, the major class- and order-level shifts among the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria occurred within these first 4 months, but another community shift occurred at the time of peak oiling in 2011. Two years later, hydrocarbon levels decreased and bacterial communities became more diverse, being dominated by Alphaproteobacteria (Rhizobiales), Chloroflexi (Dehalococcoidia), and Planctomycetes. Compositional changes through time could be explained by NOM source differences, perhaps due to vegetation changes, as well as marsh flooding and salinity excursions linked to freshwater diversions. These findings indicate that persistent hydrocarbon exposure alone did not explain long-term community shifts. IMPORTANCE Significant deterioration of coastal salt marshes in Louisiana has been linked to natural and anthropogenic stressors that can adversely affect how ecosystems function. Although microorganisms carry out and regulate most biogeochemical reactions, the diversity of bacterial

  15. The solution of the problem of oil spill risk control in the Baltic Sea taking into account the processes of oil propagation and degradation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aseev, Nikita; Agoshkov, Valery

    2015-04-01

    The report is devoted to the one approach to the problem of oil spill risk control of protected areas in the Baltic Sea (Aseev et al., 2014). By the problem of risk control is meant a problem of determination of optimal resources quantity which are necessary for decreasing the risk to some acceptable value. It is supposed that only moment of accident is a random variable. Mass of oil slick is chosen as a function of control. For the realization of the random variable the quadratic 'functional of cost' is introduced. It comprises cleaning costs and deviation of damage of oil pollution from its acceptable value. The problem of minimization of this functional is solved based on the methods of optimal control and the theory of adjoint equations (Agoshkov, 2003, Agoshkov et al., 2012). The solution of this problem is explicitly found. In order to solve the realistic problem of oil spill risk control in the Baltic Sea the 2d model of oil spill propagation on the sea surface based on the Seatrack Web model (Liungman, Mattson, 2011) is developed. The model takes into account such processes as oil transportation by sea currents and wind, turbulent diffusion, spreading, evaporation from sea surface, dispersion and formation of emulsion 'water-in-oil'. The model allows to calculate basic oil slick parameters: localization, mass, volume, thickness, density of oil, water content and viscosity of emulsion. The results of several numerical experiments in the Baltic Sea using the model and the methodology of oil spill risk control are presented. Along with moment of accident other parameters of oil spill and environment could be chosen as a random variables. The methodology of solution of oil spill risk control problem will remain the same but the computational complexity will increase. Conversion of the function of control to quantity of resources with a glance to methods of pollution removal should be processed. As a result, the developed 2d model of oil spill propagation

  16. Satellite and airborne oil spill remote sensing: State of the art and application to the BP DeepWater Horizon oil spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Leifer, I.; Clark, R.; Jones, C.; Holt, B.; Svejkovsky, J.; Swayze, G.

    2011-01-01

    The vast, persistent, and unconstrained oil release from the DeepWater Horizon (DWH) challenged the spill response, which required accurate quantitative oil assessment at synoptic and operational scales. Experienced observers are the mainstay of oil spill response. Key limitations are weather, scene illumination geometry, and few trained observers, leading to potential observer bias. Aiding the response was extensive passive and active satellite and airborne remote sensing, including intelligent system augmentation, reviewed herein. Oil slick appearance strongly depends on many factors like emulsion composition and scene geometry, yielding false positives and great thickness uncertainty. Oil thicknesses and the oil to water ratios for thick slicks were derived quantitatively with a new spectral library approach based on the shape and depth of spectral features related to C-H vibration bands. The approach used near infrared, imaging spectroscopy data from the AVIRIS (Airborne Visual/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer) instrument on the NASA ER-2 stratospheric airplane. Extrapolation to the total slick used MODIS satellite visual-spectrum broadband data, which observes sunglint reflection from surface slicks; i.e., indicates the presence of oil and/or surfactant slicks. Oil slick emissivity is less than seawater's allowing MODIS thermal infrared (TIR) nighttime identification; however, water temperature variations can cause false positives. Some strong emissivity features near 6.7 and 9.7 ??m could be analyzed as for the AVIRIS short wave infrared features, but require high spectral resolution data. TIR spectral trends can allow fresh/weathered oil discrimination. Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SSAR) provided synoptic data under all-sky conditions by observing oil dampening of capillary waves; however, SSAR typically cannot discriminate thick from thin oil slicks. Airborne UAVSAR's significantly greater signal-to-noise ratio and fine spatial resolution allowed

  17. Cessation of oil exposure in harlequin ducks after the Exxon Valdez oil spill: Cytochrome P4501A biomarker evidence.

    PubMed

    Esler, Daniel; Ballachey, Brenda E; Bowen, Lizabeth; Miles, A Keith; Dickson, Rian D; Henderson, John D

    2017-05-01

    The authors quantified hepatic hydrocarbon-inducible cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) expression, as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, in wintering harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) captured in Prince William Sound, Alaska (USA), during 2011, 2013, and 2014 (22-25 yr following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill). Average EROD activity was compared between birds from areas oiled by the spill and those from nearby unoiled areas. The present study replicated studies conducted from 1998 to 2009 demonstrating that harlequin ducks using areas oiled in 1989 had elevated EROD activity, indicative of oil exposure, up to 2 decades post spill. In the present study, it was found that average EROD activity during March 2011 was significantly higher in wintering harlequin ducks captured in oiled areas relative to unoiled areas, which the authors interpret to indicate that harlequin ducks continued to be exposed to residual Exxon Valdez oil up to 22 yr after the original spill. However, the 2011 results also indicated reductions in exposure relative to previous years. Average EROD activity in birds from oiled areas was approximately 2 times that in birds from unoiled areas in 2011, compared with observations from 2005 to 2009, in which EROD activity was 3 to 5 times higher in oiled areas. It was also found that average EROD activity during March 2013 and March 2014 was not elevated in wintering harlequin ducks from oiled areas. The authors interpret these findings to indicate that exposure of harlequin ducks to residual Exxon Valdez oil abated within 24 yr after the original spill. The present study finalizes a timeline of exposure, extending over 2 decades, for a bird species thought to be particularly vulnerable to oil contamination in marine environments. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1294-1300. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America

  18. Oil spill treatment products approval: the UK approach and potential application to the Gulf region.

    PubMed

    Kirby, Mark F; Law, Robin J

    2008-07-01

    The environmental threat from oil spills remains significant across the globe and particularly in regions of high oil production and transport such as the Gulf. The ultimate damage caused can be limited by mitigation actions that responders deploy. The responsible and appropriate use of oil spill treatment products (e.g. dispersants, sorbents etc.) can offer response options that can result in substantial net environmental benefit. However, the approval and choice of what products to use needs careful consideration. The United Kingdom has had in place a statutory approval scheme for oil spill treatment products for 30 years. It is based on measures of efficiency and environmental acceptability. Two toxicity tests form an integral part of the assessment, the Sea test and the Rocky Shore test, and work on the premise that approved products will not make the situation significantly worse when added to spilled oil. This paper outlines the UK approach and how its rationale might be applied to the approval of products specific for the Gulf region. Issues such as species choice, higher temperatures and salinity and regional environmental conditions are considered.

  19. Gis-based assessment of marine oil spill hazard and environmental vulnerability for the coasts of Crete in South Aegean Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spanoudaki, Katerina; Nikiforakis, Ioannis K.; Kampanis, Nikolaos A.

    2017-04-01

    produced comprising shoreline classification - ranked according to a scale relating to sensitivity, natural persistence of oil, and ease of cleanup (Adler and Inbar, 2007; Alves et al., 2014) - biological resources and human-use resources, i.e. specific areas that have added sensitivity and value because of their use, such as beaches, water intakes, and archaeological sites (NOAA, 2002). Seasonal hazard maps (surface oil slick, beached oil) are produced employing a modified version of the open source Lagrangian oil spill fate and transport model MEDSLIK-II (http://medslikii.bo.ingv.it/) coupled with a high-resolution 3D hydrodynamic model. The model predicts the transport and weathering of oil spills following a Lagrangian approach for the solution of the advection-diffusion equation. Transport is governed by the 3D sea currents and wave field. In addition to advective and diffusive displacements, the model simulates several physical and chemical processes that transform the oil (evaporation, emulsification, dispersion in the water column, biodegradation, adhesion to coast). The analysis is carried out under multiple oil spill scenarios accounting for the busiest ship lanes and meteorological conditions using multiple year hydrodynamics. The results highlight the hazard faced by coastal areas of Crete with high ESI. Acknowledgement This work has been co-financed by the EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection under Grant Agreement No. ECHO/SUB/2015/713788/PREP - Project ''DECATASTROPHIZE : UsE of SDSS and MCDA To prepAre for diSasTeRs Or Plan for multIplE HaZards''. References Adler, E. & Inbar, M. (2007). Shoreline sensitivity to oil spills, the Mediterranean coast of Israel: Assessment and analysis. Ocean Coast. Manage., 50 (1-2), 24-34. Alves, T. M., Kokinou, E. & Zodiatis, G. A (2014). A three-step model to assess shoreline and offshore susceptibility to oil spills: The South Aegean (Crete) as an analogue for confined marine basins. Mar. Poll. Bull., 86, 443-457. NOAA

  20. Transporting US oil imports: The impact of oil spill legislation on the tanker market

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rowland, P.J.

    1992-05-01

    The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 ( OPA'') and an even more problematic array of State pollution laws have raised the cost, and risk, of carrying oil into and out of the US. This report, prepared under contract to the US Department of energy's Office of Domestic and International Policy, examines the impact of Federal and State oil spill legislation on the tanker market. It reviews the role of marine transportation in US oil supply, explores the OPA and State oil spill laws, studies reactions to OPA in the tanker and tank barge industries and in related industries such asmore » insurance and ship finance, and finally, discusses the likely developments in the years ahead. US waterborne oil imports amounted to 6.5 million B/D in 1991, three-quarters of which was crude oil. Imports will rise by almost 3 million B/D by 2000 according to US Department of energy forecasts, with most of the crude oil growth after 1995. Tanker demand will grow even faster: most of the US imports and the increased traffic to other world consuming regions will be on long-haul trades. Both the number of US port calls by tankers and the volume of offshore lightering will grow. Every aspect of the tanker industry's behavior is affected by OPA and a variety of State pollution laws.« less

  1. Detection and Monitoring of Oil Spills Using Moderate/High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images.

    PubMed

    Li, Ying; Cui, Can; Liu, Zexi; Liu, Bingxin; Xu, Jin; Zhu, Xueyuan; Hou, Yongchao

    2017-07-01

    Current marine oil spill detection and monitoring methods using high-resolution remote sensing imagery are quite limited. This study presented a new bottom-up and top-down visual saliency model. We used Landsat 8, GF-1, MAMS, HJ-1 oil spill imagery as dataset. A simplified, graph-based visual saliency model was used to extract bottom-up saliency. It could identify the regions with high visual saliency object in the ocean. A spectral similarity match model was used to obtain top-down saliency. It could distinguish oil regions and exclude the other salient interference by spectrums. The regions of interest containing oil spills were integrated using these complementary saliency detection steps. Then, the genetic neural network was used to complete the image classification. These steps increased the speed of analysis. For the test dataset, the average running time of the entire process to detect regions of interest was 204.56 s. During image segmentation, the oil spill was extracted using a genetic neural network. The classification results showed that the method had a low false-alarm rate (high accuracy of 91.42%) and was able to increase the speed of the detection process (fast runtime of 19.88 s). The test image dataset was composed of different types of features over large areas in complicated imaging conditions. The proposed model was proved to be robust in complex sea conditions.

  2. Effects of rainfall on oil droplet size and the dispersion of spilled oil with application to Douglas Channel, British Columbia, Canada.

    PubMed

    Wu, Yongsheng; Hannah, Charles G; Thupaki, Pramod; Mo, Ruping; Law, Brent

    2017-01-15

    Raindrops falling on the sea surface produce turbulence. The present study examined the influence of rain-induced turbulence on oil droplet size and dispersion of oil spills in Douglas Channel in British Columbia, Canada using hourly atmospheric data in 2011-2013. We examined three types of oils: a light oil (Cold Lake Diluent - CLD), and two heavy oils (Cold Lake Blend - CLB and Access Western Blend - AWB). We found that the turbulent energy dissipation rate produced by rainfalls is comparable to what is produced by wind-induced wave breaking in our study area. With the use of chemical dispersants, our results indicate that a heavy rainfall (rain rate>20mmh -1 ) can produce the maximum droplet size of 300μm for light oil and 1000μm for heavy oils, and it can disperse the light oil with fraction of 22-45% and the heavy oils of 8-13%, respectively. Heavy rainfalls could be a factor for the fate of oil spills in Douglas Channel, especially for a spill of light oil and the use of chemical dispersants. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Bioremediating Oil Spills in Nutrient Poor Ocean Waters Using Fertilized Clay Mineral Flakes: Some Experimental Constraints

    PubMed Central

    Warr, Laurence N.; Friese, André; Schwarz, Florian; Schauer, Frieder; Portier, Ralph J.; Basirico, Laura M.; Olson, Gregory M.

    2013-01-01

    Much oil spill research has focused on fertilizing hydrocarbon oxidising bacteria, but a primary limitation is the rapid dilution of additives in open waters. A new technique is presented for bioremediation by adding nutrient amendments to the oil spill using thin filmed minerals comprised largely of Fullers Earth clay. Together with adsorbed N and P fertilizers, filming additives, and organoclay, clay flakes can be engineered to float on seawater, attach to the oil, and slowly release contained nutrients. Our laboratory experiments of microbial activity on weathered source oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico show fertilized clay treatment significantly enhanced bacterial respiration and consumption of alkanes compared to untreated oil-in-water conditions and reacted faster than straight fertilization. Whereas a major portion (up to 98%) of the alkane content was removed during the 1 month period of experimentation by fertilized clay flake interaction; the reduced concentration of polyaromatic hydrocarbons was not significantly different from the non-clay bearing samples. Such clay flake treatment could offer a way to more effectively apply the fertilizer to the spill in open nutrient poor waters and thus significantly reduce the extent and duration of marine oil spills, but this method is not expected to impact hydrocarbon toxicity. PMID:23864952

  4. Bioremediating oil spills in nutrient poor ocean waters using fertilized clay mineral flakes: some experimental constraints.

    PubMed

    Warr, Laurence N; Friese, André; Schwarz, Florian; Schauer, Frieder; Portier, Ralph J; Basirico, Laura M; Olson, Gregory M

    2013-01-01

    Much oil spill research has focused on fertilizing hydrocarbon oxidising bacteria, but a primary limitation is the rapid dilution of additives in open waters. A new technique is presented for bioremediation by adding nutrient amendments to the oil spill using thin filmed minerals comprised largely of Fullers Earth clay. Together with adsorbed N and P fertilizers, filming additives, and organoclay, clay flakes can be engineered to float on seawater, attach to the oil, and slowly release contained nutrients. Our laboratory experiments of microbial activity on weathered source oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico show fertilized clay treatment significantly enhanced bacterial respiration and consumption of alkanes compared to untreated oil-in-water conditions and reacted faster than straight fertilization. Whereas a major portion (up to 98%) of the alkane content was removed during the 1 month period of experimentation by fertilized clay flake interaction; the reduced concentration of polyaromatic hydrocarbons was not significantly different from the non-clay bearing samples. Such clay flake treatment could offer a way to more effectively apply the fertilizer to the spill in open nutrient poor waters and thus significantly reduce the extent and duration of marine oil spills, but this method is not expected to impact hydrocarbon toxicity.

  5. Tracking an Oil Tanker Collision and Spilled Oils in the East China Sea Using Multisensor Day and Night Satellite Imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Shaojie; Lu, Yingcheng; Liu, Yongxue; Wang, Mengqiu; Hu, Chuanmin

    2018-04-01

    Satellite remote sensing is well known to play a critical role in monitoring marine accidents such as oil spills, yet the recent SANCHI oil tanker collision event in January 2018 in the East China Sea indicates that traditional techniques using synthetic aperture radar or daytime optical imagery could not provide timely and adequate coverage. In this study, we show the unprecedented value of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Nightfire product and Day/Night Band data in tracking the oil tanker's drifting pathway and locations when all other means are not as effective for the same purpose. Such pathway and locations can also be reproduced with a numerical model, with root-mean-square error of <15 km. While high-resolution optical imagery after 4 days of the tanker's sinking reveals much larger oil spill area (>350 km2) than previous reports, the impact of the spilled condensate oil on the marine environment requires further research.

  6. Implication of Human Hair in Regaining Spilled Oil Further Creating A Production Rise in Oyster Mushrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pandey, A.; Srivastava, P.; Singh, U.

    2016-12-01

    It is estimated that 4.9 million liters of petroleum are spilled into U.S. waters from vessels and pipelines in a typical year. Oil spill may be as huge as of 8 million barrels (The Persian Gulf oil spill of 1991). Oil-water separation processes using polymeric or inorganic membranes have been proposed as effective and cost competitive technologies but in present the commercial use of membrane in treatment of spilled oil is currently limited by their low efficiency as well as high capital and operating cost. Indian hair-market is a billion-dollar industry yearly exporting thousands of tones of thick and dark hairs. Hairs contain keratin, a family of fibrous structural proteins been proved to adsorb oils. Laboratory results conclude that one gram of human hair can selectively adsorb about 15.5301 grams of crude oil over water, following Frendlich's isotherm. We seek hair mats made up of hairs of size ≤5 inches, costing 37/ton from selected parts of Indian hair market. With a known adsorbing efficiency of 95% towards crude oil, an estimated desorption efficiency of 70% oil worth 0.8M per year can be regained in crude form from U.S. waters only. To ensure solid waste management of hairs, hair mats left with 30% of adsorbed oil can be utilized in the cultivation of oyster mushrooms, a 20-34/kg crop that grows best in 20-25°C ,80-90% relative humidity and oily conditions. This will reduce the growing period of crop ensuring yearly profit of $6.06M in U.S. only engaging variety of stakeholders over borders. Results thus obtained in this study present an economic, safer and sustainable technique to minimize oil loss due to oil spill in waters further ensuring a low labor-low cost technique of waste management that enhances the growth of an in-demand crop. Keywords: Oil Spill, Human Hair Mats, Adsorb, Oyster Mushrooms

  7. Harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) perspective: Harlequin duck population recovery following the Exxon Valdez oil spill: Progress, process, and constraints

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Esler, Daniel N.; Bowman, Timothy D.; Trust, Kimberly A.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Dean, Thomas A.; Jewett, Stephen C.; O'Clair, Charles E.; Holland-Bartels, Leslie E.

    2002-01-01

    Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, we studied the status of recovery of harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) populations during 1995-1998. We evaluated potential constraints to full recovery, including (1) exposure to residual oil, (2) food limitation, and (3) intrinsic demographic limitations on population growth rates. In this paper, we synthesize the findings from our work and incorporate information from other harlequin duck research and monitoring programs to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the response of this species to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. We conclude that harlequin duck populations had not fully recovered by 1998. Furthermore, adverse effects continued as many as 9 years after the oil spill, in contrast to the conventional paradigm that oil spill effects on bird populations are short-lived. These conclusions are based on the findings that (1) elevated cytochrome P450 induction on oiled areas indicated continued exposure to oil in 1998, (2) adult female winter survival was lower on oiled than unoiled areas during 1995-1998, (3) fall population surveys by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicated numerical declines in oiled areas during 1995-1997, and (4) densities on oiled areas in 1996 and 1997 were lower than expected using models that accounted for effects of habitat attributes. Based on hypothesized links between oil contamination and demography, we suggest that harlequin duck population recovery was constrained primarily by continued oil exposure. Full population recovery also will be delayed by the time necessary for intrinsic population growth to allow return to pre-spill numbers following cessation of residual oil spill effects. Although not all wildlife species were affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and some others may have recovered quickly from any effects, harlequin duck life history characteristics and benthic, nearshore feeding habits make them susceptible to both initial

  8. 30 CFR 250.219 - What oil and hazardous substance spills information must accompany the EP?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What oil and hazardous substance spills information must accompany the EP? 250.219 Section 250.219 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE... and Information Contents of Exploration Plans (ep) § 250.219 What oil and hazardous substance spills...

  9. Genomic and physiological footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident marsh fishes.

    PubMed

    Whitehead, Andrew; Dubansky, Benjamin; Bodinier, Charlotte; Garcia, Tzintzuni I; Miles, Scott; Pilley, Chet; Raghunathan, Vandana; Roach, Jennifer L; Walker, Nan; Walter, Ronald B; Rice, Charles D; Galvez, Fernando

    2012-12-11

    The biological consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are unknown, especially for resident organisms. Here, we report results from a field study tracking the effects of contaminating oil across space and time in resident killifish during the first 4 mo of the spill event. Remote sensing and analytical chemistry identified exposures, which were linked to effects in fish characterized by genome expression and associated gill immunohistochemistry, despite very low concentrations of hydrocarbons remaining in water and tissues. Divergence in genome expression coincides with contaminating oil and is consistent with genome responses that are predictive of exposure to hydrocarbon-like chemicals and indicative of physiological and reproductive impairment. Oil-contaminated waters are also associated with aberrant protein expression in gill tissues of larval and adult fish. These data suggest that heavily weathered crude oil from the spill imparts significant biological impacts in sensitive Louisiana marshes, some of which remain for over 2 mo following initial exposures.

  10. Electrospun PVDF fibers and a novel PVDF/CoFe2O4 fibrous composite as nanostructured sorbent materials for oil spill cleanup

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dorneanu, Petronela Pascariu; Cojocaru, Corneliu; Olaru, Niculae; Samoila, Petrisor; Airinei, Anton; Sacarescu, Liviu

    2017-12-01

    In this work, pure polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and PVDF/cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) magnetic fibrous composite were successfully prepared by electrospinning method for oil spill sorption applications. The pure spinel phase of CoFe2O4 and PVDF/CoFe2O4 composites were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Electrospun sorbent materials were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) as well as by contact angle measurements. In addition, the composite sorbent (PVDF/CoFe2O4) was characterized by magnetic measurements. It revealed good magnetic properties that are of real interest to facilitate the separation of the oil-loaded sorbent under the external magnetic field. Finally, the produced electrospun sorbents were tested for sorption of oily liquids, such as: decane, dodecane and commercial motor oils. We obtained good oil sorption capacity (between 9.751-23.615 g/g of pure PVDF) and (8.133-18.074 g/g for the magnetic composite) depending on the nature of oil tested. The present electrospun magnetic PVDF/CoFe2O4 fibrous composite could be potentially useful for the efficient removal of oil in water and recovery of sorbent material.

  11. The Montara Oil Spill: A 2009 Well Blowout in the Timor Sea.

    PubMed

    Spies, R B; Mukhtasor, M; Burns, K A

    2017-07-01

    A well on the Montara platform on the Australian continental shelf blew out in August 2009 and spilled oil into the Timor Sea for 74 days. The oil, estimated at as much as 23.5 million L in total volume, spread over a large area of the shelf and eventually into Indonesian waters. This paper documents, through published literature, reports of both Australian and Indonesian governments and observations of coastal residents and fishermen the spread of the oil and attempts to estimate its impact. The lack of observers on the ocean and baseline, pre-spill data on populations of marine organisms, and delays in deploying scientific surveys after the spill severely limited efforts by the Australian government to determine damage in its territorial waters. Biological survey work was not done in Indonesian waters, but coastal residents attested to relatively severe impacts to algal farms. In addition fish landings declined in one port in southwest Timor Island.

  12. Tissue analysis of the oyster Crassostrea virginica after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roopnarine, D.; Roopnarine, P. D.; Anderson, L.; Chung, T.

    2013-12-01

    The Deepwater Horizon accident (DWH) of April 20th, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) released crude oil into the ocean column for 4 months. An estimated 685,000 tons of crude oil was released, making DWH spill the largest accidental spill in maritime history. The immediate impacts of the spill were evident, including oil slicks, fouled beaches and fouled, often dead wildlife. Longer-term impacts are less understood, and reliance on studies of past spills, e.g. Exxon Valdez, may not be applicable given the substantially greater magnitude of DWH (Valdez spilled 37,000 tons) and different environmental settings (predominantly rocky shorelines vs. saltmarsh-dominated coastlines). Many molluscan species exhibit responses to oil spills or other hydrocarbon contamination. Bivalved molluscs are commonly used as bioindicator organisms in part because they concentrate both metals and organic contaminants in their soft tissues. We used the American oyster Crassostrea virginica to measure exposure to and impact of the spill as the abnormal transformation of soft-tissues, or metaplasia. Metaplasia is the reversible transformation of one cell type into another. Molluscan metaplasia has been associated with exposure to petroleum contamination. While oyster epithelium is normally stratified columnar and ciliated, experimental exposures often result in metaplasia of gill, digestive and renal tissues. The occurrence and frequency of metaplasia may also be an indication of the longevity of a spill's impact. For example, individuals of the mussel Mytilus trossulus in Prince William Sound continued to exhibit metaplasia of the digestive gland more than 5 years after the Exxon Valdez spill, with an occurrence directly related to concentrations of PAHs in the animals. We focused on the hypothesis that DWH spill exposure resulted in metaplasia of gill and digestive epithelial tissues, both during and after the spill. Those transformations are eventually reversible, although on an unknown

  13. Microbial activities and dissolved organic matter dynamics in oil-contaminated surface seawater from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site.

    PubMed

    Ziervogel, Kai; McKay, Luke; Rhodes, Benjamin; Osburn, Christopher L; Dickson-Brown, Jennifer; Arnosti, Carol; Teske, Andreas

    2012-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill triggered a complex cascade of microbial responses that reshaped the dynamics of heterotrophic carbon degradation and the turnover of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in oil contaminated waters. Our results from 21-day laboratory incubations in rotating glass bottles (roller bottles) demonstrate that microbial dynamics and carbon flux in oil-contaminated surface water sampled near the spill site two weeks after the onset of the blowout were greatly affected by activities of microbes associated with macroscopic oil aggregates. Roller bottles with oil-amended water showed rapid formation of oil aggregates that were similar in size and appearance compared to oil aggregates observed in surface waters near the spill site. Oil aggregates that formed in roller bottles were densely colonized by heterotrophic bacteria, exhibiting high rates of enzymatic activity (lipase hydrolysis) indicative of oil degradation. Ambient waters surrounding aggregates also showed enhanced microbial activities not directly associated with primary oil-degradation (β-glucosidase; peptidase), as well as a twofold increase in DOC. Concurrent changes in fluorescence properties of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) suggest an increase in oil-derived, aromatic hydrocarbons in the DOC pool. Thus our data indicate that oil aggregates mediate, by two distinct mechanisms, the transfer of hydrocarbons to the deep sea: a microbially-derived flux of oil-derived DOC from sinking oil aggregates into the ambient water column, and rapid sedimentation of the oil aggregates themselves, serving as vehicles for oily particulate matter as well as oil aggregate-associated microbial communities.

  14. Microbial Activities and Dissolved Organic Matter Dynamics in Oil-Contaminated Surface Seawater from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Site

    PubMed Central

    Ziervogel, Kai; McKay, Luke; Rhodes, Benjamin; Osburn, Christopher L.; Dickson-Brown, Jennifer; Arnosti, Carol; Teske, Andreas

    2012-01-01

    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill triggered a complex cascade of microbial responses that reshaped the dynamics of heterotrophic carbon degradation and the turnover of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in oil contaminated waters. Our results from 21-day laboratory incubations in rotating glass bottles (roller bottles) demonstrate that microbial dynamics and carbon flux in oil-contaminated surface water sampled near the spill site two weeks after the onset of the blowout were greatly affected by activities of microbes associated with macroscopic oil aggregates. Roller bottles with oil-amended water showed rapid formation of oil aggregates that were similar in size and appearance compared to oil aggregates observed in surface waters near the spill site. Oil aggregates that formed in roller bottles were densely colonized by heterotrophic bacteria, exhibiting high rates of enzymatic activity (lipase hydrolysis) indicative of oil degradation. Ambient waters surrounding aggregates also showed enhanced microbial activities not directly associated with primary oil-degradation (β-glucosidase; peptidase), as well as a twofold increase in DOC. Concurrent changes in fluorescence properties of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) suggest an increase in oil-derived, aromatic hydrocarbons in the DOC pool. Thus our data indicate that oil aggregates mediate, by two distinct mechanisms, the transfer of hydrocarbons to the deep sea: a microbially-derived flux of oil-derived DOC from sinking oil aggregates into the ambient water column, and rapid sedimentation of the oil aggregates themselves, serving as vehicles for oily particulate matter as well as oil aggregate-associated microbial communities. PMID:22509359

  15. Chemical Modification of Waste Cotton Linters for Oil Spill Cleanup Application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chattopadhyay, Debapriya; Umrigar, Keval

    2017-12-01

    The possibility of use of waste cotton linters as oil sorbents by chemical modification such as acetylation and cyanoethylation was studied. The acetylation process was carried out in presence of acetic anhydride using either H2SO4 or HClO4 as catalyst. The acetylation treatment time was 30, 60 and 120 min and treatment temperature was room temperature, 50 and 70 °C. For cyanoethylation, the waste cotton linters were pre-treated with 2, 5 and 10% NaOH. The treatment temperature for cyanoethylation was room temperature, 50 and 70 °C and treatment time was 30, 60 and 120 min. Both the chemical modification processes were optimized on the basis of oil absorption capacity of the chemically modified cotton fibre with the help of MATLAB software. The modified samples were tested for its oleophilicity in terms of oil absorption capacity, oil retention capacity, oil recovery capacity, reusability of sample and water uptake and buoyancy as oil sorbent. Chemically modified fibres were characterized by Fourier transform infra red spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope and degree of substitutions.

  16. The Early Psychological Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Florida and Alabama Communities

    PubMed Central

    Grattan, Lynn M.; Roberts, Sparkle; Mahan, William T.; McLaughlin, Patrick K.; Otwell, W. Steven; Morris, J. Glenn

    2011-01-01

    Background Although public concern has focused on the environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the public health impact on a broad range of coastal communities is minimally known. Objective We sought to determine the acute level of distress (depression, anxiety), mechanisms of adjustment (coping, resilience), and perceived risk in a community indirectly impacted by the oil spill and to identify the extent to which economic loss may explain these factors. Methods Using a community-based participatory model, we performed standardized assessments of psychological distress (mood, anxiety), coping, resilience, neurocognition, and perceived risk on residents of fishing communities who were indirectly impacted (n = 71, Franklin County, Florida) or directly exposed (n = 23, Baldwin County, Alabama) to coastal oil. We also compared findings for participants who reported income stability (n = 47) versus spill-related income loss (n = 47). Results We found no significant differences between community groups in terms of psychological distress, adjustment, neurocognition, or environmental worry. Residents of both communities displayed clinically significant depression and anxiety. Relative to those with stable incomes, participants with spill-related income loss had significantly worse scores on tension/anxiety, depression, fatigue, confusion, and total mood disturbance scales; had higher rates of depression; were less resilient; and were more likely to use behavioral disengagement as a coping strategy. Conclusions Current estimates of human health impacts associated with the oil spill may underestimate the psychological impact in Gulf Coast communities that did not experience direct exposure to oil. Income loss after the spill may have a greater psychological health impact than the presence of oil on the immediately adjacent shoreline. PMID:21330230

  17. Comparing the Potential of Multispectral and Hyperspectral Data for Monitoring Oil Spill Impact.

    PubMed

    Khanna, Shruti; Santos, Maria J; Ustin, Susan L; Shapiro, Kristen; Haverkamp, Paul J; Lay, Mui

    2018-02-12

    Oil spills from offshore drilling and coastal refineries often cause significant degradation of coastal environments. Early oil detection may prevent losses and speed up recovery if monitoring of the initial oil extent, oil impact, and recovery are in place. Satellite imagery data can provide a cost-effective alternative to expensive airborne imagery or labor intensive field campaigns for monitoring effects of oil spills on wetlands. However, these satellite data may be restricted in their ability to detect and map ecosystem recovery post-spill given their spectral measurement properties and temporal frequency. In this study, we assessed whether spatial and spectral resolution, and other sensor characteristics influence the ability to detect and map vegetation stress and mortality due to oil. We compared how well three satellite multispectral sensors: WorldView2, RapidEye and Landsat EMT+, match the ability of the airborne hyperspectral AVIRIS sensor to map oil-induced vegetation stress, recovery, and mortality after the DeepWater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. We found that finer spatial resolution (3.5 m) provided better delineation of the oil-impacted wetlands and better detection of vegetation stress along oiled shorelines in saltmarsh wetland ecosystems. As spatial resolution become coarser (3.5 m to 30 m) the ability to accurately detect and map stressed vegetation decreased. Spectral resolution did improve the detection and mapping of oil-impacted wetlands but less strongly than spatial resolution, suggesting that broad-band data may be sufficient to detect and map oil-impacted wetlands. AVIRIS narrow-band data performs better detecting vegetation stress, followed by WorldView2, RapidEye and then Landsat 15 m (pan sharpened) data. Higher quality sensor optics and higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) may also improve detection and mapping of oil-impacted wetlands; we found that resampled coarser resolution AVIRIS data with higher SNR performed

  18. Comparing the Potential of Multispectral and Hyperspectral Data for Monitoring Oil Spill Impact

    PubMed Central

    Santos, Maria J.; Ustin, Susan L.; Haverkamp, Paul J.; Lay, Mui

    2018-01-01

    Oil spills from offshore drilling and coastal refineries often cause significant degradation of coastal environments. Early oil detection may prevent losses and speed up recovery if monitoring of the initial oil extent, oil impact, and recovery are in place. Satellite imagery data can provide a cost-effective alternative to expensive airborne imagery or labor intensive field campaigns for monitoring effects of oil spills on wetlands. However, these satellite data may be restricted in their ability to detect and map ecosystem recovery post-spill given their spectral measurement properties and temporal frequency. In this study, we assessed whether spatial and spectral resolution, and other sensor characteristics influence the ability to detect and map vegetation stress and mortality due to oil. We compared how well three satellite multispectral sensors: WorldView2, RapidEye and Landsat EMT+, match the ability of the airborne hyperspectral AVIRIS sensor to map oil-induced vegetation stress, recovery, and mortality after the DeepWater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. We found that finer spatial resolution (3.5 m) provided better delineation of the oil-impacted wetlands and better detection of vegetation stress along oiled shorelines in saltmarsh wetland ecosystems. As spatial resolution become coarser (3.5 m to 30 m) the ability to accurately detect and map stressed vegetation decreased. Spectral resolution did improve the detection and mapping of oil-impacted wetlands but less strongly than spatial resolution, suggesting that broad-band data may be sufficient to detect and map oil-impacted wetlands. AVIRIS narrow-band data performs better detecting vegetation stress, followed by WorldView2, RapidEye and then Landsat 15 m (pan sharpened) data. Higher quality sensor optics and higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) may also improve detection and mapping of oil-impacted wetlands; we found that resampled coarser resolution AVIRIS data with higher SNR performed

  19. Oil and Hazardous Materials Spill Response Technology Development, Strategic Plan

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-05-01

    the pollutant can be recovered, burned, or dispersed . Objectives:  Develop the means to divert and contain sinking and suspended oils in order to...Research and Development Center 1 Chelsea Street New London, CT 06320 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 11. Contract or Grant No. 12...similar analysis of prevention efforts should be carried out in the future. 17. Key Words oil, hazardous material, oil spill, pollution

  20. An in-depth survey of the oil spill literature since 1968: Long term trends and changes since Deepwater Horizon.

    PubMed

    Murphy, David; Gemmell, Brad; Vaccari, Liana; Li, Cheng; Bacosa, Hernando; Evans, Meredith; Gemmell, Colbi; Harvey, Tracy; Jalali, Maryam; Niepa, Tagbo H R

    2016-12-15

    In order to characterize the state of oil spill research and describe how the field has changed since its inception in the 1960s and since the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010, we examined approximately 10% of oil spill literature (1255 of over 11,000 publications) published from 1968 to 2015. We find that, despite its episodic nature, oil spill research is a rapidly expanding field with a growth rate faster than that of science as a whole. There is a massive post-Deepwater Horizon shift of research attention to the Gulf of Mexico, from 2% of studies in 2004-2008 to 61% in 2014-2015, thus ranking Deepwater Horizon as the most studied oil spill. There is, however, a longstanding gap in research in that only 1% of studies deal with the effects of oil spills on human health. These results provide a better understanding of the current trends and gaps within the field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Deepwater Horizon – BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This webpage provides information and materials on EPA’s enforcement response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, including settlements with some of the defendants, as well as links to other related websites for additional information.

  2. Geochemical changes in crude oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez supertanker into Prince William Sound, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hostettler, Frances D.; Kvenvolden, Keith A.

    1994-01-01

    North Slope crude oil spilled from the T/V Exxon Valdez in March 1989 and contaminated about 500 km of Prince William Sound shoreline. Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in oil samples collected in August 1990 and June 1992 from beaches on six islands impacted by the spill have been compared with the hydrocarbons from North Slope crude oil taken from the stricken tanker. Degradation processes have changed the physical appearance of this residual spilled oil; the beached oil as collected ranged from a light brown color, to a heavy black viscous oil, to a black, powder-like residue. In these physically different samples, terpane, sterane, and aromatic sterane distributions, as well as carbon isotope values, are similar and correlate with the original Exxon Valdez oil. On the other hand, n-alkanes, isoprenoids, and many of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are present in the original crude oil are dramatically altered in the oil samples collected from the beaches.

  3. THE FATE AND EFFECTS OF CRUDE OIL SPILLED ON SUBARCTIC PERMAFROST TERRAIN IN INTERIOR ALASKA

    EPA Science Inventory

    This study was conducted to determine both the short- and long-term effects of spills of hot Prudhoe Bay crude oil on permafrost terrain in subarctic interior Alaska. Two experimental oil spills of 7570 liters (2000 gallons) each on 500sqm test plots were made at a forest site un...

  4. The distribution of lingering subsurface oil from the Exxon Valdez oil spill

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Michel, Jacqueline; Nixon, Zachary; Hayes, Miles O.; Irvine, Gail V.; Short, Jeffrey W.

    2011-01-01

    This study used field data and a suite of geospatial models to identify areas where subsurface oil is likely to still be present on the shorelines of Prince William Sound (PWS) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, as well as the factors related to continued presence of such oil. The goal was to identify factors and accompanying models that could serve as screening tools to prioritize shorelines for different remediation methods. The models were based on data collected at 314 shoreline segments surveyed between 2001 and 2007. These field data allowed us to identify a number of geomorphologic and hydrologic factors that have contributed to the persistence of subsurface oil within PWS and GOA two decades after the spill. Because synoptic data layers for describing each of these factors at all locations were not available, the models developed used existing data sets as surrogates to represent these factors, such as distance to a stream mouth or shoreline convexity. While the linkages between the data used and the physical phenomena that drive persistence are not clearly understood in all cases, the performance of these models was remarkably good. The models simultaneously evaluate all identified variables to predict the presence of different types of subsurface oiling in a rigorous, unbiased manner. The refined model results suggest there are a limited but significant number of as-yet unsurveyed locations in the study area that are likely to contain subsurface oil. Furthermore, the model results may be used to quantitatively prioritize shoreline for investigation with known uncertainty.

  5. About Us | NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration

    Science.gov Websites

    Archive Home About Us About Us Restoring the Gulf after the Oil Spill. After the oil spill, the Trustees immediately got to work. Within a month, we were assessing the impacts of oil and oil spill response efforts injured by the oil spill, and increase recreational opportunities in the Gulf. Gulf Spill Restoration Menu

  6. Automatic Synthetic Aperture Radar based oil spill detection and performance estimation via a semi-automatic operational service benchmark.

    PubMed

    Singha, Suman; Vespe, Michele; Trieschmann, Olaf

    2013-08-15

    Today the health of ocean is in danger as it was never before mainly due to man-made pollutions. Operational activities show regular occurrence of accidental and deliberate oil spill in European waters. Since the areas covered by oil spills are usually large, satellite remote sensing particularly Synthetic Aperture Radar represents an effective option for operational oil spill detection. This paper describes the development of a fully automated approach for oil spill detection from SAR. Total of 41 feature parameters extracted from each segmented dark spot for oil spill and 'look-alike' classification and ranked according to their importance. The classification algorithm is based on a two-stage processing that combines classification tree analysis and fuzzy logic. An initial evaluation of this methodology on a large dataset has been carried out and degree of agreement between results from proposed algorithm and human analyst was estimated between 85% and 93% respectively for ENVISAT and RADARSAT. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Prolonged recovery of sea otters from the Exxon Valdez oil spill? A re-examination of the evidence.

    PubMed

    Garshelis, David L; Johnson, Charles B

    2013-06-15

    Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) suffered major mortality after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1989. We evaluate the contention that their recovery spanned over two decades. A model based on the otter age-at-death distribution suggested a large, spill-related population sink, but this has never been found, and other model predictions failed to match empirical data. Studies focused on a previously-oiled area where otter numbers (~80) stagnated post-spill; nevertheless, post-spill abundance exceeded the most recent pre-spill count, and population trends paralleled an adjacent, unoiled-lightly-oiled area. Some investigators posited that otters suffered chronic effects by digging up buried oil residues while foraging, but an ecological risk assessment indicated that exposure levels via this pathway were well below thresholds for toxicological effects. Significant confounding factors, including killer whale predation, subsistence harvests, human disturbances, and environmental regime shifts made it impossible to judge recovery at such a small scale. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The human health implications of crude oil spills in the Niger delta, Nigeria: An interpretation of published studies.

    PubMed

    Ordinioha, Best; Brisibe, Seiyefa

    2013-01-01

    The health hazards created by oil exploration and exploitation are covert and slow in action. They are not given the deserved attention in official documents in Nigeria, even as they can be major contributors to the disease burden in oil-bearing communities. This study is an interpretation of the data reported in several published studies on crude oil spills in the Niger delta region, Nigeria. A manual and Internet search was conducted to extract quantitative data on the quantity of crude oil spilled; the concentrations of the pollutants in surface water, ground water, ambient air and plant and animal tissue; and the direct impact on human health and household food security. An average of 240,000 barrels of crude oil are spilled in the Niger delta every year, mainly due to unknown causes (31.85%), third party activity (20.74%), and mechanical failure (17.04%). The spills contaminated the surface water, ground water, ambient air, and crops with hydrocarbons, including known carcinogens like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and benxo (a) pyrene, naturally occurring radioactive materials, and trace metals that were further bioaccumulated in some food crops. The oil spills could lead to a 60% reduction in household food security and were capable of reducing the ascorbic acid content of vegetables by as much as 36% and the crude protein content of cassava by 40%. These could result in a 24% increase in the prevalence of childhood malnutrition. Animal studies indicate that contact with Nigerian crude oil could be hemotoxic and hepatotoxic, and could cause infertility and cancer. The oil spills in the Niger delta region have acute and long-term effects on human health. Material relief and immediate and long-term medical care are recommended, irrespective of the cause of the spill, to ensure that the potential health effects of exposures to the spills are properly addressed.

  9. NASA Earth Observations Track the Gulf Oil Spill

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Jason B.; Childs, Lauren

    2010-01-01

    The NASA Applied Sciences Program created the Gulf of Mexico Initiative (GOMI) in 2007 "to enhance the region s ability to recover from the devastating hurricanes of 2005 and to address its coastal management issues going into the future." The GOMI utilizes NASA Earth science assets to address regional priorities defined by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a partnership formed by the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, along with 13 federal agencies and 4 regional organizations to promote regional collaboration and enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico. NASA's GOMI is managed by the Applied Science and Technology Project Office at Stennis Space Center and has awarded over $18 million in Gulf of Mexico research since 2008. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, GOMI personnel assisted members of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance with obtaining NASA remote sensing data for use in their oil spill response efforts.

  10. Using dispersants after oil spills: impacts on the composition and activity of microbial communities.

    PubMed

    Kleindienst, Sara; Paul, John H; Joye, Samantha B

    2015-06-01

    Dispersants are globally and routinely applied as an emergency response to oil spills in marine ecosystems with the goal of chemically enhancing the dissolution of oil into water, which is assumed to stimulate microbially mediated oil biodegradation. However, little is known about how dispersants affect the composition of microbial communities or their biodegradation activities. The published findings are controversial, probably owing to variations in laboratory methods, the selected model organisms and the chemistry of different dispersant-oil mixtures. Here, we argue that an in-depth assessment of the impacts of dispersants on microorganisms is needed to evaluate the planning and use of dispersants during future responses to oil spills.

  11. Application of Lipschitz Regularity and Multiscale Techniques for the Automatic Detection of Oil Spills in Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ajadi, O. A.; Meyer, F. J.; Tello, M.

    2015-12-01

    This research presents a promising new method for the detection and tracking of oil spills from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. The method presented here combines a number of advanced image processing techniques in order to overcome some common performance limitations of SAR-based oil spill detection. Principal among these limitations are: (1) the radar cross section of the ocean surface strongly depends on wind and wave activities and is therefore highly variable; (2) the radar cross section of oil covered waters is often indistinguishable from other dark ocean features such as low wind areas or oil lookalikes, leading to ambiguities in oil spill detection. In this paper, we introduce two novel image analysis techniques to largely mitigate the aforementioned performance limitations, namely Lipschitz regularity (LR) and Wavelet transforms. We used LR, an image texture parameter akin to the slope of the local power spectrum, in our approach to mitigate these limitations. We show that the LR parameter is much less sensitive to variations of wind and waves than the original image amplitude, lending itself well for normalizing image content. Beyond its benefit for image normalization, we also show that the LR transform enhances the contrast between oil-covered and oil-free ocean surfaces and therefore improves overall spill detection performance. To calculate LR, the SAR images are decomposed using two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform (2D-CWT), which are furthermore transformed into Holder space to measure LR. Finally, we demonstrate that the implementation of wavelet transforms provide additional benefits related to the adaptive reduction of speckle noise. We show how LR and CWT are integrated into our image analysis workflow for application to oil spill detection. To describe the performance of this approach under controlled conditions, we applied our method to simulated SAR data of wind driven oceans containing oil spills of various properties. We also

  12. Future Oil Spills and Possibilities for Intervention: A Model for the Coupled Human-Environmental Resource Extraction System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shughrue, C. M.; Werner, B.; Nugnug, P. T.

    2010-12-01

    The catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill highlights the risks for widespread environmental damage resulting from petroleum resource extraction. Possibilities for amelioration of these risks depend critically on understanding the dynamics and nonlinear interactions between various components of the coupled human-environmental resource extraction system. We use a complexity analysis to identify the levels of description and time scales at which these interactions are strongest, and then use the analysis as the basis for an agent-based numerical model with which decadal trends can be analyzed. Oil industry economic and technological activity and associated oil spills are components of a complex system that is coupled to natural environment, legislation, regulation, media, and resistance systems over annual to decadal time scales. In the model, oil spills are produced stochastically with a range of magnitudes depending on a reliability-engineering-based assessment of failure for the technology employed, human factors including compliance with operating procedures, and risks associated with the drilling environment. Oil industry agents determine drilling location and technological investment using a cost-benefit analysis relating projected revenue from added production to technology cost and government regulation. Media outlet agents reporting on the oil industry and environmental damage from oil spills assess the impacts of aggressively covering a story on circulation increases, advertiser concerns and potential loss of information sources. Environmental advocacy group agents increase public awareness of environmental damage (through media and public contact), solicit memberships and donations, and apply direct pressure on legislators for policy change. Heterogeneous general public agents adjust their desire for change in the level of regulation, contact their representatives or participate in resistance via protest by considering media sources, personal

  13. Potential oil spill risk from shipping and the implications for management in the Caribbean Sea.

    PubMed

    Singh, Asha; Asmath, Hamish; Chee, Candice Leung; Darsan, Junior

    2015-04-15

    The semi enclosed Caribbean Sea is ranked as having one of the most intense maritime traffic in the world. These maritime activities have led to significant oil pollution. Simultaneously, this sea supports many critical habitats functioning as a Large Marine Ecosystem (LME). While the impacts of oil pollution are recognised, a number of management challenges remain. This study applies spatial modelling to identify critical areas potentially at risk from oil spills in the form of a potential oil spill risk (POSR) model. The model indicates that approximately 83% of the sea could be potentially impacted by oil spills due to shipping. The results from this study collectively support a management framework for minimising ship generated oil pollution in the Caribbean Sea. Among the recommended components are a common policy, surveillance and monitoring controls, standards, monitoring programmes, data collection and greater rates of convention ratifications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Sacrificial amphiphiles: Eco-friendly chemical herders as oil spill mitigation chemicals.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Deeksha; Sarker, Bivas; Thadikaran, Keith; John, Vijay; Maldarelli, Charles; John, George

    2015-06-01

    Crude oil spills are a major threat to marine biota and the environment. When light crude oil spills on water, it forms a thin layer that is difficult to clean by any methods of oil spill response. Under these circumstances, a special type of amphiphile termed as "chemical herder" is sprayed onto the water surrounding the spilled oil. The amphiphile forms a monomolecular layer on the water surface, reducing the air-sea surface tension and causing the oil slick to retract into a thick mass that can be burnt in situ. The current best-known chemical herders are chemically stable and nonbiodegradable, and hence remain in the marine ecosystem for years. We architect an eco-friendly, sacrificial, and effective green herder derived from the plant-based small-molecule phytol, which is abundant in the marine environment, as an alternative to the current chemical herders. Phytol consists of a regularly branched chain of isoprene units that form the hydrophobe of the amphiphile; the chain is esterified to cationic groups to form the polar group. The ester linkage is proximal to an allyl bond in phytol, which facilitates the hydrolysis of the amphiphile after adsorption to the sea surface into the phytol hydrophobic tail, which along with the unhydrolyzed herder, remains on the surface to maintain herding action, and the cationic group, which dissolves into the water column. Eventual degradation of the phytol tail and dilution of the cation make these sacrificial amphiphiles eco-friendly. The herding behavior of phytol-based amphiphiles is evaluated as a function of time, temperature, and water salinity to examine their versatility under different conditions, ranging from ice-cold water to hot water. The green chemical herder retracted oil slicks by up to ~500, 700, and 2500% at 5°, 20°, and 35°C, respectively, during the first 10 min of the experiment, which is on a par with the current best chemical herders in practice.

  15. Sacrificial amphiphiles: Eco-friendly chemical herders as oil spill mitigation chemicals

    PubMed Central

    Gupta, Deeksha; Sarker, Bivas; Thadikaran, Keith; John, Vijay; Maldarelli, Charles; John, George

    2015-01-01

    Crude oil spills are a major threat to marine biota and the environment. When light crude oil spills on water, it forms a thin layer that is difficult to clean by any methods of oil spill response. Under these circumstances, a special type of amphiphile termed as “chemical herder” is sprayed onto the water surrounding the spilled oil. The amphiphile forms a monomolecular layer on the water surface, reducing the air–sea surface tension and causing the oil slick to retract into a thick mass that can be burnt in situ. The current best-known chemical herders are chemically stable and nonbiodegradable, and hence remain in the marine ecosystem for years. We architect an eco-friendly, sacrificial, and effective green herder derived from the plant-based small-molecule phytol, which is abundant in the marine environment, as an alternative to the current chemical herders. Phytol consists of a regularly branched chain of isoprene units that form the hydrophobe of the amphiphile; the chain is esterified to cationic groups to form the polar group. The ester linkage is proximal to an allyl bond in phytol, which facilitates the hydrolysis of the amphiphile after adsorption to the sea surface into the phytol hydrophobic tail, which along with the unhydrolyzed herder, remains on the surface to maintain herding action, and the cationic group, which dissolves into the water column. Eventual degradation of the phytol tail and dilution of the cation make these sacrificial amphiphiles eco-friendly. The herding behavior of phytol-based amphiphiles is evaluated as a function of time, temperature, and water salinity to examine their versatility under different conditions, ranging from ice-cold water to hot water. The green chemical herder retracted oil slicks by up to ~500, 700, and 2500% at 5°, 20°, and 35°C, respectively, during the first 10 min of the experiment, which is on a par with the current best chemical herders in practice. PMID:26601197

  16. [Identification of spill oil species based on low concentration synchronous fluorescence spectra and RBF neural network].

    PubMed

    Liu, Qian-qian; Wang, Chun-yan; Shi, Xiao-feng; Li, Wen-dong; Luan, Xiao-ning; Hou, Shi-lin; Zhang, Jin-liang; Zheng, Rong-er

    2012-04-01

    In this paper, a new method was developed to differentiate the spill oil samples. The synchronous fluorescence spectra in the lower nonlinear concentration range of 10(-2) - 10(-1) g x L(-1) were collected to get training data base. Radial basis function artificial neural network (RBF-ANN) was used to identify the samples sets, along with principal component analysis (PCA) as the feature extraction method. The recognition rate of the closely-related oil source samples is 92%. All the results demonstrated that the proposed method could identify the crude oil samples effectively by just one synchronous spectrum of the spill oil sample. The method was supposed to be very suitable to the real-time spill oil identification, and can also be easily applied to the oil logging and the analysis of other multi-PAHs or multi-fluorescent mixtures.

  17. Initial Results from the UAVSAR Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Campaign

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jones, C. E.; Minchew, B. M.; Holt, B.; Hensley, S.

    2010-12-01

    In June 2010, the UAVSAR platform was deployed to the Gulf of Mexico in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in order to collect fully-polarimetric L-band radar data over the open water and along Gulf coastlines. The data from the 2-day campaign is now being used to study the extent and impact of the oil spill, both in the open water and within the coastal ecosystems. The UAVSAR campaign was initiated with three primary goals: (1) Develop and validate algorithms for improved discrimination of oil slicks on water and identification of oil properties from radar backscatter; (2) study the use of radar for determining the extent of oil penetration into sensitive coastal ecological zones, in particular, to map the spread of oil from the coastline into coastal wetlands; and (3) study the use of radar in identifying and monitoring the recovery of vegetation affected by oil. In addition, we intend for the information from this study to inform and enable use of high-resolution radar imagery in future emergency response efforts. A second flight in October 2010 is planned to repeat the collection of marshland and coastal data for the impact and recovery studies. The first deployment occurred while oil was still leaking from the Deepwater Horizon spill site. UAVSAR data was collected over the ocean along 22-km wide swaths covering the rig site and the area around it. Additional data was collected over the gulf extending ocean data extending east from the rig site to an area south of Pensacola, Florida; over the Franklin Eddy in the east-central Gulf of Mexico, and directly east of the Florida Keys. The processed data has a resolution of 7 m x 7 m. We are now using this data to study oil identification and characterization using polarimetric decomposition techniques. The UAVSAR instrument has a noise floor (noise-equivalent σ0) of ~-50 dB, at least 20 dB below that of most radars imaging the oil spill. The radiometric sensitivity of the instrument is allowing us to

  18. 75 FR 36773 - Pipeline Safety: Updating Facility Response Plans in Light of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-28

    .... PHMSA-2010-0175] Pipeline Safety: Updating Facility Response Plans in Light of the Deepwater Horizon Oil... 194. In light of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which has resulted in the... Systems. Subject: Updating Facility Response Plans in Light of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Advisory...

  19. 75 FR 62132 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; GuLF Worker Study: Gulf Long-Term Follow-Up Study for Oil...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-07

    ... developed as appropriate) who performed oil-spill clean-up- related work (``exposed'') and similar persons... heat, and possibly to stress due to widespread economic and lifestyle disruption. Exposures range from...

  20. Development and test of video systems for airborne surveillance of oil spills

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Millard, J. P.; Arvesen, J. C.; Lewis, P. L.

    1975-01-01

    Five video systems - potentially useful for airborne surveillance of oil spills - were developed, flight tested, and evaluated. The systems are: (1) conventional black and white TV, (2) conventional TV with false color, (3) differential TV, (4) prototype Lunar Surface TV, and (5) field sequential TV. Wavelength and polarization filtering were utilized in all systems. Greatly enhanced detection of oil spills, relative to that possible with the unaided eye, was achieved. The most practical video system is a conventional TV camera with silicon-diode-array image tube, filtered with a Corning 7-54 filter and a polarizer oriented with its principal axis in the horizontal direction. Best contrast between oil and water was achieved when winds and sea states were low. The minimum detectable oil film thickness was about 0.1 micrometer.