MOSR - Marine Oil Sensitivity Rating

MOSR - Ranking of areas of the Tasmanian coastline for likelihood and severity of oil spill and the prioritisation of areas having ‘Very High’ natural, commercial, social and heritage values for oil spill sensitivity.
This dataset was developed for inclusion in the Oil Spill Response Atlas (OSRA) to prioritise areas for planning activities on the basis of oil spill likelihood and severity, and sensitivity of natural, commercial, social and heritage values on the coast to oil spills. The dataset is an extension of the Marine Ecological Prioritisation Project (MEPP), which divided the Tasmanian coastline into 20 km segments and prioritised these segments on the basis of marine ecological values. The current dataset prioritised the same set of coastal segments on the basis of oil spill likelihood and oil spill severity for floating and dissolved oil. Segments identified as having an elevated oil spill likelihood (11 of the 137 segments) were subsequently prioritised on the basis of sensitivity of natural, commercial, social and heritage values on the coast to floating and dissolved oil spills. Segments previously rated as having a ‘Very High’ natural conservation value by the MEPP (30 segments, with 3 overlapping with the 11 above) were also prioritised on the basis of the sensitivity of natural values to floating and dissolved oil spills. 
The likelihood of an oil spill was rated using five categories - very high, high, moderate, low and very low - reflecting very high through to very low oil spill likelihood. Oil spill severity was rated using three Tiers – Tier 0, Tier 1 and Tier 2, reflecting very small through to larger potential spill volumes. Both likelihood and severity were mapped for floating oil and dissolved oil, resulting in four separate categorical data fields and associated maps. 
A total of 17 criteria, including 11 within a ‘species’ resource category and 6 within a ‘habitat/protected site’ resource category, were developed to prioritise the sensitivity of natural values to floating and dissolved oil. An additional 7 criteria prioritised the sensitivity of commercial values, 5 criteria prioritised social values and 2 criteria prioritised heritage values. The rating scale for all sensitivity criteria included five categories - very high, high, moderate, low and very low - reflecting very high through to very low sensitivity respectively. Data from a range of existing spatial and non-spatial sources were used to determine segment ratings for each criterion. The previous MEPP data provided the primary input for the assessment of natural values sensitivity, supplemented by additional information on oil spill impact and sensitivity of individual natural values. 
Segment ratings for each sensitivity type (natural, commercial, social and heritage) were determined by the criterion within each type which recorded the highest sensitivity rating. Data were subsequently amalgamated across sensitivity types, with segment ratings determined by the criterion from any type that had recorded the highest sensitivity rating. Mapping data included categorical data fields for each sensitivity type and for sensitivity amalgamated across all types, including floating oil ratings, dissolved oil ratings and amalgamated floating/dissolved oil ratings. The natural values sensitivity data included additional fields amalgamated across the ‘species’ and ‘habitat/protected site’ resource categories both for floating and dissolved oil. A total of 19 categorical fields were therefore mapped, while additional descriptive fields provided support data for the sensitivity ratings.    
Segments were colour coded based on their rating, and thematic maps were produced for each oil spill likelihood/severity and sensitivity categorical field. Two reports were produced in relation to this dataset: one documenting the methods and results of the oil spill likelihood and severity assessment; and the other describing the methods and results of the sensitivity assessment, and including an integrated assessment of the segments prioritised on the basis of both oil spill likelihood and sensitivity.

Tags: ECOLOGY-Any
Organization: Tasmania Government's The List Data