bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CANADA – UNITED STATES (SALISH SEA) SPILL RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONS: A COMPARISON
Authors: Knutson Scott , Dougans Craig , Reiter Gary , Rodden Don , Kidd Erik
Published: August 2014

The Salish Sea comprises the inland marine waters of Washington and British Columbia and is intersected by an international border between Canada and the United States. Planning for oil spills that threaten to cross the international border is under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Coast Guard and the United States Coast Guard as described in the Canada-United States Joint Marine Contingency Plan. As Canadian companies gain approval to construct new pipelines in order to move oil sands from Alberta, Canada, to Vancouver, British Columbia, and westward, governments, agencies and citizens are publicly questioning whether current levels of oil spill preparedness and response equipment will be adequate for the increased tanker traffic from Canadian ports. This paper will be a single document that contains a snapshot of regulations, actual inventories and current philosophies that make up the 2014 response picture for the Salish Sea. It does not seek to denigrate either nation's response posture but rather to provide hard numbers as a common foundation for future discussions.
Best Available Techniques Applied to the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Authors: Vandenbussche Valentin , Thylander Emma Karlstrøm , Millet Daniel
Published: August 2014

Best Available Techniques (BAT) is a principle originally defined in the EU directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC). The overall ambition of the directive is to reduce emissions and impacts on the environment as a whole. The purpose of a BAT assessment is to identify the technique with the best environmental performance among all available techniques for a certain industrial application. Such assessment should also take into account technical and economic constraints. A wide variety of industries fall under the scope of the IPPC requirement for BAT in Europe.

The BAT approach is more and more applied in countries outside of EU, and adopted by private organisations as a best practice. In the offshore Oil & Gas industry in Norway, for instance, the BAT approach is now applied to many systems, such as power generation, produced water management, VOC recovery, or, more recently, leak detection and remote sensing. The particularity of the site-specific constraints as well as a lifecycle perspective, typical of the offshore Oil & Gas industry, makes the application of the BAT approach challenging for this sector. Best Available Techniques for offshore applications are therefore site-specific, and require a case by case assessment. In addition, in countries such as Norway, there is no guideline or directive describing how to perform a BAT assessment, which hence needs interpretation and adjustment for each individual application.

DNV has developed a methodology for BAT assessments specifically for the offshore industry. This methodology is based on a ranking of the environmental performance as well as technical feasibility, reliability and costs of available industrial concepts. The approach is applicable to various stages of offshore Oil & Gas projects. This paper will describe the BAT methodology for the offshore Oil & Gas industry, and give relevant examples of its application to various systems commonly found on offshore facilities. Challenges and future opportunities will also be presented and discussed.
A LABORATORY MESOCOSM AS A TOOL TO STUDY PAH DEGRADATION IN A COASTAL MARSH WETLAND
Authors: Batubara Doorce S. , Adrian Donald D. , Miles Martin S. , Malone Ronald F.
Published: August 2014

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the contaminants of concern in coastal marsh environments which are subject to crude oil spills. A laboratory scale mesocosm can be used to complement field study of PAH degradation in coastal marshes. Coastal marsh wetland features, such as its soil, tidal cycles, and flushing, that may play roles in PAH degradation can be simulated in a laboratory mesocosm. The laboratory mesocosm tank is made of acrylic as the main construction material with an air chamber inside the tank which functions as a pneumatic system and tidal water storage compartment. Two trays filled with contaminated marsh wetland soil are situated at two different levels: the lower one is constantly submerged while the higher one is intermittently drained. When the air pressure inside the air chamber is high, the water will flow out from the air chamber to the tank to create high tide. When the air pressure inside the air chamber is low, the water will flow back from the tank to the air chamber to create low tide inside the tank. The tidal water sits in the air chamber until the next high air pressure. The cycles of air pressure inside the tank are controlled by an electrical air pump connected to a timer. The experimental setup can consist of several replicates with an air chamber inside each replicate is controlled by a master pneumatic tank. The model PAH contaminant used in the experiment was phenanthrene, a three-benzene-ring PAH, which was spiked to the wetland soil. The experimental results show that the phenanthrene degradation in the intertidal wetland soil is higher than that of in the subtidal wetland soil presumably due to the availability of oxygen in the intertidal wetland soil. The laboratory mesocosm developed in this study can be used as a tool for examining PAH degradation and other non-volatile organic contaminants.
25 years of collaboration: the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force 1989–2014
Authors: Brace Sarah
Published: August 2014

Two significant west coast spill incidents, the barge Nestucca spill in B.C. in 1988 and the tanker Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 catalyzed the formal creation of the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force, a union of Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Hawaii joined 12 years later and for the past 25 years the Task Force member organizations have collaborated on numerous projects and policy initiatives that have significantly influenced how the west coast prevents, prepares for and responds to oil spills. This paper will: 1) Provide an overview of how the Task Force functions and how it fosters collaboration between industry, agencies, and other stakeholders in the region; 2) Highlight key projects and accomplishments from the past two decades, including Transboundary coordination, vessel traffic risk studies, mutual aid agreements, and federal regulatory oversight; and how these projects were initiated and carried out; 3) Offer examples of how the Task Force is looking at challenges ahead, such as the shifting landscape of energy transportation and emerging fuels in the region, and what this means for spill prevention and response.
Research Overview of the Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbon in the Environment (CARTHE)
Authors: Özgökmen Tamay M. , Beron-Vera Francisco J. , Bogucki Darek , Chen Shuyi S. , Dawson Clint , Dewar William , Griffa Annalisa , Haus Brian K. , Haza Angelique C. , Huntley Helga , Iskandarani Mohamed , Jacobs Gregg , Jagers Bert , Kirwan A.D. , Laxague Nathan , Lipphardt Bruce , MacMahan Jamie , Mariano Arthur J. , Olascoaga Josefina , Novelli Guillaume , Poje Andrew C. , Reniers A.J.H.M. , Restrepo Juan M. , Rosenheim Brad , Ryan Edward H. , Smith Conor , Soloviev Alexander , Venkataramani Shankar , Zha Ge-Cheng , Zhu Ping
Published: August 2014

CARTHE (http://carthe.org/) is a Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) consortium established through a competitive peer-reviewed selection process. CARTHE comprises 26 principal investigators from 14 universities and research institutions distributed across four Gulf of Mexico states and other four states. It fuses into one group investigators with unique scientific and technical knowledge and extensive publications related to oil fate/transport processes, oceanic and atmospheric turbulence, air-sea interactions, tropical cyclones and winter storms, and coastal and nearshore modeling and observations.

Our primary goal is to accurately predict the fate of hydrocarbons released into the environment. Achieving this goal is particularly challenging since petroleum releases into the environment interact with natural processes across six orders of magnitude of time and space scales. We are developing a multi-scale modeling tool by incorporating state-of-the-art hydrophysical models, each applicable for a restricted range of scales, into a single, interconnected modeling system to predict the physical dispersal of hydrocarbons across scales ranging from the microscale at the wellhead to oceanic and atmospheric mesoscales. CARTHE is also conducting novel in-situ observations and laboratory experiments specifically designed for quantifying submesoscale dispersion as well as for both model validation and parameterization. Finally, we are providing a robust set of uncertainty metrics and analysis tools to assess model performance and quantify predictive uncertainty.
Testing of Oil Recovery Skimmers in Ice at Ohmsett The National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility
Authors: Schmidt Bill , Meyer Paul , Potter Steve
Published: August 2014

The mechanical recovery of oil in ice-infested water presents unique and difficult clean-up challenges. Ice can impede the movement of spilled oil making it less available for removal by the active components of oil recovery skimmers. Ice and slush that is recovered with oil can jam the skimmer, pump inlets and hoses and can provide an environment for enhanced emulsion formation. Low temperatures increase oil viscosity, further complicating processing and pumping of recovered product.

In response to these challenges, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) recognized the need for comprehensive programs of testing and research in the area of oil spill response in icy waters. BSEE has supported and sponsored a number of testing and research programs at the Ohmsett facility involving oil in cold water and ice. During the winter of 2013, BSEE sponsored an oil-in-ice spill test at Ohmsett titled Skimmer Tests in Drift Ice: Ice Month 2013 at Ohmsett. The tests involved ten commercially available skimmers that represented a range of skimmer types. Testing was done in the Ohmsett test basin using a controlled test area with fabricated ice. To the best extent possible, test variables such as water temperature, oil characteristics, oil slick thickness, ice coverage and size distribution, and skimmer operations were controlled. Performance determinations were made for oil recovery rate and oil recovery efficiency as per the general principles and guidelines of ASTM F2709. Tabulated results for the same are presented.

At lower ice coverage (30% ice), there was no significant mechanical impediment for most skimmers. However, ice can interfere with the flow of oil to the skimmer periodically even in this coverage. At higher ice coverage (70% ice), there was significant impediment to skimming, with most skimmers having dramatically lower rates and efficiencies. It was also observed that with longer exposure to skimming under these conditions, operators became more proficient with regard to recovery performance. This indicates the importance of training and practice for effective skimming operations.
Hoverspill: a new amphibious vehicle for responding in difficult-to-access sites
Authors:   The Hoverspill consortium
Published: August 2014

Oil spill experience often shows that response activities are hampered due to the absence of operative autonomous support capable of reaching particular sites or operate in safe and efficient conditions in areas such as saltmarshes, mudflats, river banks, cliff bottoms… This is the purpose of the so-called FP7 Hoverspill project (www.hoverspill.eu), a 3-year European project that recently reached completion: to design and build a small-size amphibious vehicle designed to ensure rapid oil spill response. The result is an air-cushion vehicle (ACV), known as Hoverspill, based on the innovative MACP (Multipurpose Air Cushion Platform) developed by Hovertech and SOA. It is a completely amphibious vehicle capable of working on land and on water, usable as a pontoon in floating conditions. Its compactness makes it easy to transport by road. The project also included the design and building of a highly effective integrated O/W Turbylec separator developed by YLEC. Spill response equipment will be loaded on-board based on a modular concept enabling the vehicle to carry out specific tasks with just the required equipment.
Tactical Predictions of Shoreline Oiling Probability via Machine Learning Models and Satellite-Derived Surface Oil Analysis Products
Authors: Nixon Zachary
Published: August 2014

For significant oil spills in remote areas with complex shoreline geometry, apportioning Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) survey effort is a complicated and difficult task. Aerial surveys are often used to select shoreline areas for ground survey after an initial prioritization based upon anecdotal reports or trajectory models, but aerial observers may have difficulty locating cryptic surface shoreline oiling in vegetated or other complex environments. In dynamic beach environments, stranded shoreline oiling may be rapidly buried, making aerial observation difficult. A machine learning-based model is presented for estimating shoreline oiling probabilities via satellite-derived surface oil analysis products, wind summary data, and shoreline habitat type and geometry data. These inputs are increasingly available at spatial and temporal scales sufficient for tactical use, enabling model predictions to be generated within hours after satellite remote sensing products are available.

The model was constructed using SCAT data from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, satellite-derived surface oil analysis products generated during the spill by NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) using a variety of satellite platforms of opportunity, and available shoreline geometry, character, and other preexisting data. The model involves the generation of set of spatial indices of relative over-water proximity of surface oil slicks based upon the satellite-derived analysis products. The model then uses boosted regression trees (BRT), a flexible and relatively recently developed modeling methodology, to generate calibrated estimates of probability of subsequent shoreline oiling based upon these indices, wind climatological data over the time period of interest, and other shoreline data. The model can be implemented via data preparation in any Geographic Information System (GIS) software coupled with the open-source statistical computing language, R. The model is entirely probabilistic and makes no attempt to reproduce the physics of oil moving through the environment, as do trajectory models. It is best used in concert with such models to make estimates at different spatial scales, or when time and data requirements make implementation of fine-scale trajectory modeling impractical for tactical use. The details of model development implementation and assessments of model performance and limitations are presented.
PRACTICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND STRATEGICAL EXPERIENCES FROM TWO SPILLS IN 2011 OF CRUDE OIL AND CTO ALONG THE SWEDISH COASTLINE
Authors: Holmström Katrin , Gyllenhammar Charlotte , Håstad Ingrid , Fogelberg Oscar , Törneman Niklas
Published: August 2014

In 2011, the Swedish coastline suffered two major oil spills. About 500 tonnes of bunker oil occurred in the marine waters of the west coast, in the waters of Skagerrak, on to the coastline of the Tjörn archipelago. The second spill, about 800 tonnes of CTO (crude tall oil) occurred from a land based tank farm on the east coast, into the Söderhamn archipelago in the brackish Baltic Sea. Both impacted areas exhibit a high ecological value and are frequently used for outdoor recreation. In Söderhamn, many private properties were impacted as opposed to Tjörn, where the archipelago is common land.

The affected coastal area at Tjörn comprise rocky beaches with varying degrees of cracks, bays, rock pools, etc. At Tjörn, remediation has been made through manual labor combined with experimental methods facilitating faster manual removal; such as mineral oil degreasers, coconut oil, rapeseed oil, and heating up the oil by means of a torch. Manual labor through scraping with various tools (e.g. spatulas, knives, cloths) has however been the main method. The remediation was difficult and dangerous due to the slippery rocks and tough weather conditions.

The shores of the Söderhamn Bay consist mainly of rocky beaches, large rocks as well as very small pebble stones. Since the oil also got into jetties, the entire clean-up process has been difficult and time consuming, also due to the cold weather conditions in the north. Remediation of the shores and stone coffins, inside the jetties, has been made through manual labor.

The impacts to the bird population were minimal in both incidents since most birds had migrated for the winter. At Tjörn, some short-term impact could be noted on indicator species like the Blue mussel. The incident happened during late fall, when the biological activity in marine organisms is low; hence low impact on the marine organism's active reproductive periods.

In Söderhamn, fatty acids, recin acids and sterols have been sampled in sediments, fish muscle, and mussels. Limited impact could be noted, however, established test methods are missing for CTO. Degradation time of the CTO was longer than expected.

Extensive and hardcore cleanup usually causes more damage to nature; removal of important microorganisms, increased soil erosion and diminishes the possibilities for the vegetation recovery. It is cucial to start the communication process with public and property owners as early as possible to set expectations on how clean is clean.
MANAGING THE RESOURCE CONSULTATION PROCESS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE JIREH GROUNDING RESPONSE
Authors: Preble Kristen , Benggio Bradford
Published: August 2014

The grounding of the 202-foot freight vessel JIREH, which occurred on June 21, 2012 on the Mona Island Natural Reserve in Puerto Rico, triggered a three month long response in what is arguably the most environmentally sensitive location in Puerto Rico and much of the Caribbean. Prior to, during, and after the response, the Federal On-Scene Coordinator worked closely with United States Government and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico agencies to ensure all natural and historic resource consultation mandates required under Federal law were initiated properly. This paper explores how the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and National Historic Preservation Act consultation requirements were applied before the JIREH response through development of the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Area Contingency Plan, during the response through multiple informal Emergency Consultations, and post-response through Formal Consultations. This examination will serve to highlight, through the lens of the JIREH response, the complexities of pre-planning for resource consultations, the challenges experienced by the Federal On-Scene Coordinator during an event, and provide recommendations to ensure resource consultation requirements are applied consistently and transparently in the future.
Disaster at Nightingale – The Wreck of the MS Oliva at the World's Remotest Island: Lessons Learned for Resource Managers in Remote Areas
Authors: Guggenheim David E. , Glass Trevor
Published: August 2014

The Tristan da Cunha island group represents the second largest concentration of sea birds in the world. More than 65 percent of the world's endangered Northern Rockhopper penguin population is found here. Nightingale Island holds more than 100,000 pairs of Northern Rockhopper penguins, 20,000 pairs of albatrosses including the yellow nose albatross, and 2,000,000 pairs of Broadbill prions. The island is also home to the highly-endangered Tristan Bunting. Only 50 pairs remain in the world, all of which are found on Nightingale Island.

On March 16, 2011 at 430am, the 75,300 ton Maltese freighter Oliva, en route from Santos, Brazil to China with a cargo of soybeans ran aground onto the rocks at Nightingale Island's northwestern corner. Less than 12 hours later, Oliva broke apart on the rocks and spilling more than 300,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil around Nightingale Island, resulting in the oiling of thousands of endangered Northern Rockhopper penguins.

A desperate rescue and rehabilitation effort followed, led by SANCCOB (the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds). However, the extreme remoteness of Tristan da Cunha – 1,500 miles from Cape Town South Africa with no airport or landing strip -- proved to be an insurmountable challenge.

An investigation report by the Maltese government released in late 2012 revealed the series of errors and procedure violations that led to the disaster. Global shipping has tripled since the 1970s and thousands of cargo ships like the Oliva traverse waters in close proximity to critically important habitat for many species. Cargo ships — bulk carriers, container ships and tankers — have a poor safety record and disasters like the Oliva as well as the Rena (New Zealand 2011), Treasure (South Africa 2000) and Selendang Ayu (Alaska, USA 2004), among many others have demonstrated that ordinary bulk carriers can cause serious environmental harm, especially in remote areas where response time and capacity are seriously limited.

The Oliva incident has shed light on the unique challenges faced by resource managers in remote areas, especially as marine transportation continues to grow with increasing coverage of the globe. Climate change is now allowing marine transportation corridors to expand to areas adjacent to previously inaccessible, remote, wildlife-rich areas where there is limited capacity to respond during an oil spill emergency, making the lessons learned in Tristan da Cunha especially relevant.
Fundamental Aspects of the Science and Engineering of Oil Spill Dispersant Systems: An Overview of Recent Research Activities of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative-funded CMEDS Project
Authors: Coolbaugh Tom , John Vijay , Johnston Keith , Valsaraj Kalliat T. , McCormick Alon , Bose Arijit , Krishnamoorti Ramanan
Published: August 2014

Upon consideration of dispersant-related research, both before and after the Macondo Well oil release, it can be divided into two general categories: (1) the fundamentals of how dispersants work and the effects that may result from their use (e.g., physicochemical and transport characteristics of drops, bubbles, hydrates, surfactants), and (2) an applied focus that has emphasized the design of new dispersants or an enhancement of the performance of those products that are currently available.

While there is an extensive amount of data relating to dispersants, a main focus has been on the demonstration of their effectiveness in bench tests and examination of the toxicity of dispersants and dispersed oil. As a result, there is a need for an enhanced understanding of dispersant and dispersed oil thermodynamics and their fate and transport, with a goal to translate the science and engineering to the development of new, effective dispersant systems. The focus of the work to be discussed addresses the following areas:

Formation of small oil droplets: Widely dispersed stable oil droplets in the water column are easily accessible to microbes and therefore highly susceptible to degradation. It is important therefore, to understand the fundamental mechanisms of oil breakup and colloidal stabilization in order to develop new and effective dispersants.

Dispersant-related processes under deep sea conditions: Current dispersants have been developed for surface spills. The efficacy of such formulations when applied at the high pressures and low temperatures representative of deep ocean release has not been systematically studied. Because of concomitant gas release at the discharge point, and the pressures involved, the liquid droplet is essentially a gas-expanded liquid which could behave quite differently when treated with dispersant components depending upon how they partition at the phase interfaces, i.e., gas/water, gas/oil, oil/water.

Fluid mechanics of stabilized oil droplets: Droplet transport, as influenced by all thermodynamic variables of relevance under deep sea conditions, is being studied.

Droplet interactions with solid particulates: A better understanding of these processes, either in marine sediments or in the water column, will help predict the environmental fate of the droplets.

Development of alternative dispersants: Based on the knowledge gained with respect to the fundamentals, a key goal is the systematic translation of that understanding to the development of new and improved materials.

This paper summarizes recent work of a collaborative research effort involving investigators from 22 universities, with particular emphasis on increasing the understanding of the science and engineering of oil spill dispersants.
DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF DTox: A QUANTITATIVE DATABASE OF THE TOXICITY OF DISPERSANTS AND CHEMICALLY DISPERSED OIL
Authors: Bejarano Adriana C. , Chu Valerie , Dahlin Jeff , Farr Jim
Published: August 2014

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill revived discussions on the use of dispersants as an oil spill countermeasure. One of the greatest concerns regarding the use of dispersants deals with potential exposure of water column organisms to high concentrations of oil. While toxicity data on dispersants and physically and chemically dispersed oil have been generated for decades under controlled laboratory conditions, the practical use of this information has been limited by the lack of a centralized data repository. As a result, the Dispersant and Chemically Dispersed Oil Toxicity Database (DTox) was created to address that shared need of unrestricted and rapid access to toxicity data. DTox is a quantitative database that gathers existing toxicity data through a careful review and compilation of data extracted from the peer-review and gray literature. Through a rigorously evaluation of the quality of each data source, this database contains pertinent information including species scientific name, life stage tested, dispersant name, exposure type, oil weathering stage, exposure duration, etc. More importantly, this database contains effects concentrations reported on measured or nominal basis. Within the database, each data source is assigned an applicability score based on their relevance to oil spills. Key criteria in the determination of source applicability include exposure type, reported effects concentrations, and reported analytical chemistry. Information in DTox has been further integrated into a user-friendly tool that allows for on-the-fly data searches and data plotting in the form of Species Sensitivity Distributions. To date, +400 papers have been evaluated for potential inclusion into the database, and data extracted from +170 sources. Despite inherent limitations, existing toxicity data are of great value to the oil spill scientific community. Although toxicity data will never be enough to answer all toxicity questions regarding the use of dispersants, this centralized data repository can help inform decisions on dispersant use and can help identify data needs and gaps. The ultimate goal of this tool is its contribution to a better understanding of the biological effects of dispersants and oil in the aquatic environment.
Does Wave Height Matter for Effective Surface Dispersant Application?
Authors: Huber Charles , Steen Alexis , Parscal Brian
Published: August 2014

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) crude oil release provided an occasion to test the delivery and effectiveness of dispersants on surface oil slicks to reduce the potential exposure of shoreline habitats and marine wildlife to spilled oil. In the beginning of the DWH response, there was concern that the calm sea conditions did not provide sufficient wave energy for dispersant action to occur. At one point a minimum 3-foot wave height requirement for dispersant application was set in an attempt to ensure sufficient mixing energy for dispersant activation was present at the time of application. Because of the ability of aerial dispersant application to rapidly treat large spatial areas and quantities of oil, there was a contrasting concern that a 3-foot (0.91 m) minimum wave height requirement was overly restricting dispersant operations; thereby, increasing environmental exposures.

To evaluate the wave heights that effectively dispersed the Macondo crude oil, the SMART (Special Monitoring of Applied Response Technologies) Tier II/III monitoring data of dispersant applications performed in low wave conditions, i.e., < 3 ft (0.91m) were analyzed. Of the 27 SMART Tier II/III monitoring operations conducted in significant wave heights (SWHs) of < 3 feet (0.91 m), 21 were reported as “effective,” 4 were reported as “inconclusive,” and only 2 were reported as “no observed dispersion.” These results demonstrate dispersants were effective in low wave conditions and on weathered Macondo crude oil as a function of distance from the spill site.

The paper then estimates the impact that setting wave height restrictions has on dispersant operations showing that a > 3 feet requirement could reduce surface dispersant operational days by as much as 67%. With the dispersant assets available during the DWH response, this could have resulted in leaving up to 700,000 gallons of oil per day on the water,a thus exposing shoreline habitat and offshore wildlife to an increased risk of oiling.

The paper concludes thatWave height should not be used as a criterion for approving or conducting surface dispersant application operations, becausewave heights as low as 0.5–1.0 feet were effective in immediately dispersing fresh and weathered Macondo crude oil, and may be sufficient to disperse other oils, andResearch on dispersant application in calm sea conditions has shown that oils would rapidly and almost totally disperse when exposed to breaking waves after being left on a calm water surface for prolonged periods.

The paper recommends that government and response organizations should review and consider revising their guidance and operational procedures for dispersant application approval in light of the analysis presented in this paper.
The Remediation of Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET) Risk Assessment for Potentially Polluting Shipwrecks in U.S. Waters
Authors: Symons Lisa , Michel Jacqueline , Delgado James , Reich Danielle , McCay Debbie French , Etkin Dagmar Schmidt , Helton Doug
Published: August 2014

Although there are approximately 20,000 shipwrecks in U.S. waters, we now know that most of them are unlikely to be substantial pollution threats. Using initial screening factors (age, location, construction material, propulsion type, type, and size), 573 wrecks were identified as potentially containing larger amounts of oil. Secondary screening factors that relied on archival research and original documents for details, such as structural integrity and potential cargo and bunker capacities, reduced the list to 87 wrecks known or suspected to pose a substantial pollution threat. The majority of these are associated with World War II casualties in the Battle of the Atlantic. As of 2013, the average age of each wreck is 83 years old, as many were built or retrofitted for service during WWII. A consequence analysis consisting of oil spill trajectory and fate modeling and an assessment of ecological and socio-economic resources at risk was conducted for the 87 wrecks. Based on vessel pollution potential factors and ecological/socio-economic impact scores, a final relative risk score was assigned to each. Further assessments to determine the vessel condition, amount of oil onboard, and feasibility of oil removal action were recommended for seventeen vessels with known locations. Other recommendations included surveys of opportunity to identify the actual or best-guess location of each wreck in applicable oil spill contingency plans (so that if a mystery spill occurs, the wreck(s) can be investigated as a possible source), monitoring the condition of known wrecks, surveys to locate wrecks with unknown locations, and outreach to local communities. Recent surveys leveraged assets engaged in other activities, yielding additional information on a number of the high and medium priority targets. Although, this process has validated the existence of vessels of concern in U.S. waters that need to be reflected in area spill contingency plans, NOAA can now state that the coastline of the U.S. is not littered with “ticking time bombs” as previously believed. This assessment puts reliable bounds on the potential oil pollution threats from wrecks and helps delineate a path for determining risk for wrecks with as yet unconfirmed locations. The USCG can plan accordingly for monitoring, in-water assessments, and pollution recoveries as appropriate, rather than waiting for the potential harm these wrecks could cause to coastal areas. These findings are reassuring in light of earlier global analyses with much higher estimates such as that of the IOSC 2005 white paper (Michel et al., 2005).
Potential Impacts from a Worst Case Discharge from an United States Offshore Wind Farm
Authors: Gunter CDR Tim
Published: August 2014

The main purpose of this research is to explore potential environmental impacts of a worst case discharge (WCD) from an offshore commercial wind farm electric service platform (ESP) in the Northeast United States. Wind farms in the continental United States are a growing industry as an energy alternative to traditional oil, coal, and natural gas energy sources. While many offshore wind farms already exist in Europe and around the world, the Cape Wind Project in New England received the first federally approved lease for an offshore wind energy production facility in the United States. While offshore wind energy is a green source of energy, wind driven energy has its own set of environmental risks, including the risks of an oil spill. A systematic review of scholarly journals, federal government websites and other academic resources was conducted to identify previous spills in the Northeast with the closest match in volume and location to the Cape Wind Project. The oil spills from the barge North Cape in 1996 near Point Judith, Rhode Island and from the barge Florida in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, in 1996, had the most similarities to a potential WCD spill from the Cape Wind Project. Both of these spills adversely impacted the environment, and provide useful information that can be used for the planning efforts surrounding a WCD event from the Cape Wind Project.
Effect of Well Capping as a Blowout Risk Reduction Measure
Authors: Vandenbussche Valentin , Brude Odd Willy , Tvedt Harald
Published: August 2014

Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (Macondo) oil spill incident it became clear that further focus is required in order to understand and control blowout risks. The control measures are also essential in reducing potential environmental consequences given a blowout event.

The latest development in well capping techniques indicates that this might be a viable technical solution for controlling subsea oil and gas well blowouts. The limited field experience with this technology makes it however difficult to presume the effectiveness of the technology as an environmental risk reducing measure. It is assumed that successful implementation of a capping device, given a subsea blowout, would reduce the blowout duration, and thereby limit the total amount of hydrocarbons released into the environment.

By combining OPERAto, a dynamic tool for assessing environmental risks from offshore oil and gas activities, and an in-house blowout duration model, the authors have evaluated the use of capping as an environmental risk reduction measure. Uncertainties related to capping used as a solution for subsea blowouts are also discussed.
BUILDING A LEGACY OF RESEARCH COORDINATION: A HISTORY OF THE ICCOPR FROM EXXON VALDEZ TO PRESENT DAY
Authors: Vocke William T.
Published: August 2014

The response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill revealed a need for the federal government to take a new approach to oil pollution research. At the time of Exxon Valdez, at least seven departments and agencies were conducting research on different aspects of oil pollution preparedness, prevention, and response. However, these agencies lacked a consistent forum for coordinating their research. Section 7001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) changed that with the creation of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR). ICCOPR has continued functioning since 1991 but a lack of funding after the turn of the century reduced its effectiveness at coordinating research. After being reinvigorated in 2009, the ICCOPR has once again taken a leadership role in coordinating our Nation's oil pollution research investments.

This paper discusses the history of oil pollution research leading up to the Exxon Valdez spill and how the ICCOPR member agencies came together to meet the mandates of OPA 90 and identify research needs in the wake of the Exxon Valdez and other spills. ICCOPR's approach to coordination among the ICCOPR members and collaborating with states, industry, and academia are described. ICCOPR's current status and initiatives are discussed.
The Fate of Dispersed Oil Under Ice: Results of JIP Phase 1 Program
Authors: Beegle-Krause CJ , McPhee Miles , Simmons Harper , Daae Ragnhild Lundmark , Reed Mark
Published: August 2014

Ice infested waters pose unique challenges to preparedness and response for potential oil spills. An international team of researchers are working together to create a model to aid in evaluating use of dispersants in ice. The model will be designed to evaluate whether or not dispersed oil droplets formed under continuous or concentrated ice could resurface under the ice to form a significant accumulation within two days. The goal is to develop a tool to support contingency planning decisions with respect to dispersant use.

Phase I of the project was to perform a literature review to develop recommendations to fill data gaps in the ice, current, and turbulence data needed to run a model. Phase II will include field work to collect data and model development and testing. The model will require information about the oil and dispersed oil droplet size distribution and water column information to predict mixing energy that could keep the oil droplets suspended. Droplet size distributions can be easily measured. The challenge is to provide representative information about the water column. We are evaluating several types of oceanographic observational technologies to collect data on under ice mixing energy such as fluorescent dyes, Turbulent Instrument Clusters (TICs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (UAVs), and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs). From our review, we expect to be able to collect the required environmental parameters within reasonable cost and time.

There are a variety of ice formation mechanisms and ice types in the Arctic and Antarctic. Bottom roughness and ice concentration play keys rolls controlling the amount of mixing energy available under the ice. Heavier ice concentrations absorb surface wave energy, which provides the mixing energy for open water dispersant operations. The literature review indicates that good measurements and a good turbulence closure model are key to obtaining good predictions.

We are interested in feedback from the IOSC audience regarding our vision of framing the predictive model as an appropriate decision support tool for the Planning and Response Communities.
Towards a Tier 3 Infrastructure for Oiled Wildlife Response
Authors: Kelway Paul , Holland Rob , Sessions Saskia , Nijkamp Hugo
Published: August 2014

With increased international shipping, offshore oil exploration, and interest in remote regions and challenging environments, there is growing recognition within government and industry of the need to improve global oiled wildlife preparedness as part of oil spill prevention and response planning. In early 2012, an international gathering of industry, government and non-governmental stakeholders gave their support to further integrate oiled wildlife planning and to develop a Tier 3 wildlife response capacity; currently the biggest gap in wildlife preparedness. The Tier 3 system will utilise the expertise and track record of the world's leading oiled wildlife response organisations. Since 2012, discussions have continued and a process for developing and implementing a global oiled wildlife response system has been established and will be initiated in late 2014. This paper will explain the steps towards developing a multi-stakeholder global infrastructure for wildlife preparedness and share updates on the timeline and progress of the project to date.
Effect and Mechanism of Electroshock Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of (TiB+TiC)/Ti–6Al–4V Composite
Authors: Wu Yaya , Miao Run , Huang Changlin , Wen Yan , Wang Zhou , Wang Liqiang , Lu Weijie , Zhang Lai‐Chang , Xie Lechun , Hua Lin
Published: August 2024

Herein, electroshock treatment (EST) is used to tailor the microstructure and mechanical properties of (TiB + TiC)/Ti–6Al–4V titanium matrix composite (TMC). Microstructural characterization results indicate that short‐time EST can promote β phase transition, thereby refining the α phase in the matrix. EST with 0.06 s leads to significant change in morphology of TMC; the matrix is transformed to basketweave structure and the acicular secondary α and martensite phase are precipitated. The yield strength and hardness of TMC are improved by fine grain strengthening. Under EST, the distribution of texture becomes uniform and the texture intensity of α phase is reduced. The microstructural changes are mainly attributed to the thermal and athermal effects of EST, which facilitates phase transformation and grain refinement. This work indicates that EST is an efficient way to manipulate the microstructure and mechanical properties for strengthening TMCs.
Interfacial Passivation of Kesterite Solar Cells for Enhanced Carrier Lifetime: Ab Initio Nonadiabatic Molecular Dynamics Study
Authors: Xiang Huiwen , Zheng Zhenfa , Zhao Ke , Liu Chengyan , Zhao Jin
Published: August 2024

Nonradiative recombination at the front contact interface of kesterite solar cells hinders the extraction of photo‐generated carriers, significantly restricting the efficiency enhancement. However, identifying the recombination centers and proposing effective passivation strategies remain open questions. First‐principles calculations combining with nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) simulations unveil that the interfacial translational symmetry breaking in elemental valence states leads to a detrimental donor‐like Cu2ZnSnS4/CdS interface with deep states originating from the interfacial Sn‐5s orbital, which serve as significant nonradiative recombination centers. Here, two mechanisms are proposed for eliminating the deep interface states: 1) directly replacing Sn‐5s with higher outer orbital levels by substituting group IIIA elements (In and Ga) for the interfacial Sn atom; 2) introducing an extra defect‐level coupling with Sn‐5s by substituting group VA elements (N, P, and As) for the S atoms bonded with the interfacial Sn atom. The representative InSn and PS acceptor defects, which are energetically favorable at the detrimental donor‐like interface, effectively passivate the deep interface states, markedly improving the carrier lifetimes by weakening nonadiabatic coupling between the band edge and the interfacial states. This study reveals the origin of the interfacial nonradiative recombination of kesterite solar cells and offers insights into interfacial passivation in semiconductor devices.
Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Machine Learning for Internet of Things
Authors: Yang Jiayi , Hong Keke , Hao Yijun , Zhu Xiaopeng , Qin Yong , Su Wei , Zhang Hongke , Zhang Chuguo , Wang Zhong Lin , Li Xiuhan
Published: August 2024

The development of the Internet of Things (IoT) indicates that humankind has entered a new intelligent era of the “Internet of Everything”. Thanks to the characteristics of low‐cost, diverse structure, and high energy conversion efficiency, the self‐powered sensing systems, which are based on the Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG), demonstrate great potential in the field of IoT. In order to solve the challenges of TENG in sensing signal processing, such as signal noise and nonlinear relations, Machine Learning (ML), which is an efficient and mature data processing tool, is widely applied for efficiently processing the large and complex output signal data generated by TENG intelligent sensing system. This review summarizes and analyzes the adaptation of different algorithms in TENG and their advantages and disadvantages at the beginning, which provides a reference for the selection of algorithms for TENG. More importantly, the application of TENG is introduced in multiple scenarios, including health monitoring, fault detection, and human‐computer interaction. Finally, the limitations and development trend of the integration of TENG and ML are proposed by classification to promote the future development of the intelligent IoT era.
A Pyrazinyl Wide‐Bandgap Polymer Donor Yields 19.35% Efficiency in Tandem Organic Solar Cells
Authors: Liang Huazhe , Ma Kangqiao , Ding Shuhui , Zhao Wenkai , Si Xiaodong , Cao Xiangjian , Yao Zhaoyang , Duan Tainan , Long Guankui , Li Chenxi , Wan Xiangjian , Chen Yongsheng
Published: August 2024

In series‐connected tandem organic solar cells (TOSCs), various light‐harvesting molecules with complementary absorptions are explored with the aim of collaboratively utilizing solar light to the maximum extent. In sharp contrast to the small molecular acceptors that possessing almost the successively tunable bandgaps, high‐performance wide‐bandgap (WBG) polymer donors in TOSCs are quite scarce, with only PM6 (optical bandgaps, Egopt = 1.80 eV) and D18 (Egopt = 1.98 eV) being widely used. Herein, to develop WBG polymer donors with large open‐circuit voltages (VOC) and high‐energy photon absorption, two pyrazinyl polymer donors, PPy1 and PPy2, are synthesized with branched 2‐butyloctyl and n‐dodecyl chains on polymeric backbones, respectively, demonstrating the downshifted highest occupied molecular orbital energy levels of ≈−5.60 eV and thus afford Egopt over 2.0 eV. Consequently, when blending with a WBG acceptor F‐ThCl, PPy2:F‐ThCl‐based devices exhibit a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.50% and fill factor of 77.66%. In light of its large VOC of 1.07 V, TOSCs based on PPy2 are further fabricated and exhibit an impressive PCE of 19.35% by using a narrow bandgap blend of PM6:CH1007:F‐2F as a rear cell. This work demonstrates the great potential of pyrazine units in constructing WBG polymer donors for achieving record‐breaking TOSCs.