bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
National Contingency Plan Phase II Activities: A Problem Analysis & Decision Framework for Understanding & Evaluating Oil Pollution Threats from Sunken Ships Off California
Authors: Stout Jordan , Rubini Jeff 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
The National Contingency Plan (NCP) provides an assessment framework through which to manage pollution threats in the United States. Although the NCP delivers an assessment framework for evaluating Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA) threats through formalized Site Assessments, Feasibility Studies, and Remedial Investigations, the NCP falls short of delivering a similar iterative process through which to evaluate non-emergent oil pollution threats. Recent experience with two historical wrecks in California (SS MONTEBELLO and M/V FERNSTREAM) suggest an opportunity to develop a problem analysis and decision framework enabling assessment/response (A&R) teams to evaluate more fully the nature of a problem, as well as the relative efficacy of alternative courses of action available to the Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC). Using those two experiences as case studies, promising practices are distilled and adapted thru a formal policy analytic process to develop a problem analysis and decision framework for non-emergent oil threats. The intent is to bolster the utility of the NCP's Operational Response Phases for Oil Removal with emphasis on Phase II activities, and to provide FOSCs, Area Committees and Regional Response Teams a more robust evaluation tool.
INTEGRATED APPROACH TO ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC RESEARCH TO SUPPORT THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY: THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH SCIENCE PROGRAM
Authors: Ward Tim M. , Smith David C. , Lukatelich Rod , Lewis Rob , Begg Gavin A. , Smith Rochelle 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
BP is investing $A1.43B and drilling four exploratory wells in the hope of discovering a new deep-water oil and gas province in the Great Australia Bight (GAB). The GAB is one of Australia's most valuable marine ecosystems. It supports globally significant populations of seabirds and marine mammals, diverse and endemic benthic assemblages and important fishing, aquaculture and ecotourism industries.
Two research agencies (CSIRO, South Australian Research and Development Institute) and two universities (University of Adelaide, Flinders University of South Australia) recently entered into a collaborative research partnership with BP Australia to undertake an integrated study of the ecological processes and socio-economic importance of the GAB. Uniquely, this four year $20M research program is being undertaken during the exploration phase and conducted as a single integrated program.
The Research Program is comprised of seven themes: physical oceanography; pelagic ecosystem and environmental drivers; benthic biodiversity; ecology of iconic and apex predators; petroleum geology and geochemistry; socio-economic values; and data integration and ecosystem modelling. Sixteen inter-related projects are being undertaken by some of Australia's leading marine scientists and will involve at least seven post-graduate Ph.D. students. Scientific quality assurance is provided by a review process that involves an Independent Science Panel and BP's international Subject Matter Experts. Ecological data collected during the study will be publically available. Findings will be presented to stakeholders and regulators and published in technical reports and scientific papers throughout the course of the program.
The program is one of the few whole of system studies ever undertaken in Australia and is the first large-scale, integrated study of the ecosystems, resources and socio-economic values of the GAB. The approach has several advantages over undertaking discrete projects on key issues near the start of the production phase.1)BP Australia's financial contribution has leveraged significant investment from the other partners.2)Establishing baseline environmental conditions during the exploration phase provides the opportunity to conduct temporally replicated analyses of the ecosystem prior to commencement of production, should it occur.3)Engaging with the local scientific community builds on the existing knowledge base and working relationships with stakeholders and will assist the development of relevant local scientific capability.4)An integrated program provides for efficient development and validation of whole of system (i.e. ecological and socio-economic) models that elucidate interconnections among components of the system and can inform decisions regarding future development and predict, monitor and assess potential future impacts.
A Model Based Approach to Radar Oil Spill Detection
Authors: Pedersen Torstein , Perez Javier , Van Heseen Jos 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
A typical oil spill recovery vessel has been historically outfitted with an oil spill detection (OSD) radar. During an oil spill recovery operation, there is a dedicated operator who is responsible for interpreting information from the radar image. Industry developments over the last several years now require that an OSD radar automatically detect and track an oil spill. There are two primary needs driving this development. The first is that OSD systems and operations are becoming more sophisticated; automatic OSD aids for a more efficient oil spill operation where an operator's attention may be directed to a potential spill. The automatic OSD also aids a multi-sensor system; one such example is where an OSD radar is used to steer an IR camera to a candidate spill for more detailed evaluation or validation. The other primary driver for automatic OSD is for monitoring systems, which serve for early warning. Monitoring systems may be found along coastal installations or oil platforms.
The automatic spill detection functionality of an OSD system may be implemented in different levels of sophistication. Perhaps the simplest configuration is one that uses fixed thresholds relative to the image for alarming whether a region in a radar image is a spill or not. The benefit of simple threshold detector is that it is easy to implement in software. The weakness is that it is prone to both lower overall detection rate and high false alarm rate. A more robust automatic spill detection method is one that treats it as an image-processing problem. The paper here presents a model based OSD.
Generation of confidence maps is central to the method and provides an indication of the likelihood of oil. Inputs to the confidence maps come from multiple sources, several of which are based on uniquely constructed models. Among these is a histogram comparator, which scans a radar image and compares the data to reference models from real oil spills.
A discussion of the methods used focuses on (a) the necessary steps prior to the confidence map construction, (b) how the confidence maps are layered with inputs, (c) how the information in the confidence maps is transitioned into the detection of oil, (d) and finally alarming.
A Consensus on the State of the Knowledge and Research Recommendations on the Fate and Effects of Deep Water Releases of Oil, Dispersants and Dispersed Oil
Authors: Broje Victoria , Gala Will , Nedwed Tim , Twomey Joe 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
American Petroleum Institute (API) and its member companies have initiated a multi-year research program to generate information that can be used in subsea dispersant application decision-making. An important part of this program is the evaluation of biodegradation and toxicity of oil, dispersants and dispersed oil in a deepwater environment. The available scientific literature was reviewed by a panel of international experts in deepwater ecology, toxicology, microbiology, and petroleum chemistry, who summarized the state of the knowledge on these topics and recommended additional studies that would inform subsea dispersants decision-making. The recommended research projects have been funded by API. This paper summarizes findings to-date on toxicity and biodegradation of oil, dispersants and dispersed oil in deep water environments.
Hurricane Isaac Post-Storm Response1
Authors: Talbot Kasey , Dauzat Jeff 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
Hurricane Isaac made landfall on August 29, 2012 over Louisiana, lingering overhead for more than 60 hours. While most were concerned with surviving the 80+ mph winds and ensuing storm surge and floods, Coast Guard members statewide knew there would be no calm after the storm; instead it would be a grueling fight to restore the port to normalcy. The slow moving storm caused grounded deep draft vessels and barges, spilled oil, releases of hazardous materials (HAZMAT), and damage to various buildings and infrastructures. U.S. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans integrated local, states, and federal agencies into a Unified Command structure to coordinate limited resources post-storm. Within Sector New Orleans, the Incident Management Division (IMD) made it their primary mission to mitigate any substantial threats of oil discharges or HAZMAT releases and ensure proper cleanup. On September 2, 2012, IMD utilized the Incident Command System (ICS) to establish a Marine Environmental Response (MER) Incident Management Team (IMT) to achieve their post storm mission. The MER IMT consisted of 200 personnel, of which 60 were Coast Guard members, and included representatives from the National Strike Force, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), and three Oil Spill Removal Organizations (OSROs); together the team collected 4500 barrels of oily water and 1200 HAZMAT containers, deployed over 11,000 feet of containment boom, and federalized three pollution projects. The MER IMT was disestablished on September 28, 2012 leaving Sector New Orleans IMD to maintain complete management of the ongoing federalized projects, “Fantome”, “Map Drilling”, and “Gulf South”. The projects included oil discharges in adjacent waterways of two oil production/storage facilities, oil discharges from fixed facility barges, and oil discharges from a storage platform along the marsh shoreline. Sector New Orleans executed $9.5 million in Oil Spill Liability Trust Funds towards emergency response efforts and successfully restored safety to the public health, welfare, environment, and maritime community.
KIS Approach to Data Management for Oil and Hazardous Material Response
Authors: Jozsef Aaron L. , Houle Scott R. , Hutley Tedd B. , Sawyer Justin M. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
On August 28th, 2012 Hurricane Isaac made landfall on the lower peninsula of the state of Louisiana near the mouth of the Mississippi River. A FEMA mission assignment under Emergency Support Function 10 (Oil and Hazardous Material Response) was issued to the U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to mitigate hundreds of orphaned containers deposited throughout a 3200 square mile area of coastal Louisiana by flood waters associated with Hurricane Isaac. A team comprised of U.S. Coast Guard, EPA, NOAA, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, local Oil Spill Response Organization, EPA contractors and other Federal, State and Local personnel was assembled to manage the response.
Beginning with the end in mind and understanding that a major challenge in oil or HAZMAT response is data management and timely collaboration of data, the team decided to “keep it simple” and leverage off-the-shelf, inexpensive and intuitive options to manage the response data.. The objective was to keep costs to a minimum while ensuring the average responder could use the systems selected. The Microsoft ACCESS and Google Earth platforms were selected and enabled the team to operate very efficiently. Ultimately the mission assignment was completed weeks ahead of schedule and several hundred thousand dollars under budget.
This paper describes a budget conscious response approach to a large and dynamic area of operation; specifically, the efficient and successful operations that were executed through novel use of free GIS software, COTS GPS equipment, readily available interagency digital information sources, and efficient aerial surveillance planning. The organizational concepts necessary to integrate these techniques into Incident Command System (ICS) and the logistical considerations of managing a response effectively with these tools with minimally staffed personnel are also addressed.
Ultrasonic Scattering Measurements of Dispersed Oil Droplets in the Presence of Gas
Authors: Panetta Paul D. , McElhone Dale , Winfield Kyle , Cartwright Grace 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
To help minimize the effects of oil spills on marine environments, chemical dispersants are used to disperse the oil in the water column so the oil can be consumed by naturally occurring bacteria. During the Deepwater Horizon incident, 1.1 million gallons of dispersant were injected directly into the flowing plume of oil and natural gas over 1500 meters deep. Dispersant's main effect is to decrease the surface tension at the oil-water interface causing the oil to form droplets smaller than ~70 microns so they can remain in the water column. Currently the efficacy of aerial applied dispersants on surface slicks is determined by measuring the droplet size decrease using a Laser In-Situ Scattering Transmissometer (LISST) or by detecting the oil in the water column using fluorometers. LISST instruments are limited to dilute mixtures, below ~500 ppm, because the LISST signal saturates for concentrated mixtures, and their windows can become occluded by oil and biofilms. Fluorometers only measure oil concentration; thus they cannot distinguish between naturally dispersed oil droplets, which can float back to the surface, from chemically dispersed oil droplets, which will remain in the water column to be naturally biodegraded. When gas is present as was the case in the Deepwater Horizon incident where it was estimated that the plume consisted of ~22% natural gas, the LISST cannot distinguish between oil droplets and gas bubbles and thus is not able to track the effectiveness of dispersants in the presence of gas. Acoustic measurements overcome the problems associated with the LISST and fluorometers and are ideal for applications subsurface near a blowout and for low ppm levels expected for surface slicks. One of the key features of the sound wave propagating through the water is the scattering at the interface between the water and object. In previous work we showed the proof of concept to measure the average oil droplet size using acoustic. We used the resonance behavior of the gas bubbles to identify them and separate their contribution to the measured acoustic scattering for various oil and dispersant combinations . We developed acoustic scattering and resonance measurements to track the size of oil droplets in the presence of gas during subsurface releases at SINTEF and in Ohmsett's large wave tank.
A Decision-making Process for the Election of a Tier II Oil Spill Response Mechanism
Authors: Rudder Marc M. R. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
Trinidad and Tobago has been involved in the oil industry for quite some time now. This twin-island Caribbean state recently celebrated 100 years of commercial oil production. The first Trinidad oil well was drilled in 1857, two years before the Drake well in Pennsylvania. With respect to oil spills, the largest vessel-related oil spill took place just off Tobago in 1979 as a result of a collision between two Very Large Crude Carriers. Fortunately, the first National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) was developed just two years prior and its activation assisted with Tier III management of this incident. This history surely warrants a robust in-country system for preparedness and response to oil spill events. The 1977 NOSCP instituted a system for the management of Tier II incidents based on assignment of Marine Areas of responsibility to oil companies and the Coast Guard. However, with the proliferation of operators since 1977, this system proved to be unsustainable. Alternative systems were evaluated in 2009 based on an environmental assessment tool known as Multi Attribute Utility Theory that enabled a level of objectivity. The process culminated with a recommendation of two possible systems that would be favorable to the Trinidad and Tobago context. One system was a Tier II system operated and controlled primarily by the Government and the other was a system operated by the oil and gas companies operating in Trinidad and Tobago. In the final analysis, and with counsel, the operator-led system was chosen as the most suitable system for Trinidad and Tobago. This upgraded Tier II system was incorporated in the revised Trinidad and Tobago NOSCP which was approved by Cabinet on January 31, 2013. This paper will present the process of decision-making employed in this matter by a committee composed of Government and energy sector companies in order to enable other countries in the Caribbean and beyond to employ a useful environmental assessment tool to assist in their own decision-making processes.
DEVELOPING A GUIDELINE FOR OIL SPILL RISK ASSESSMENT AND RESPONSE PLANNING FOR OFFSHORE INSTALLATIONS
Authors: Nissen-Lie Torild Ronnaug , Brude Odd Willy , Aspholm Ole Oystein , Taylor Peter Mark , Davidson David 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
Following the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico (Macondo) oil spill and the 2009 Montara incident in Australia, the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) formed the Global Industry Response Group. This Group identified nineteen oil spill response recommendations (OGP, 2011) that are being addressed via an Oil Spill Response Joint Industry Project (OSR-JIP) during 2012–2014. The OSR-JIP is managed by IPIECA on behalf of OGP, in recognition of IPIECA's long-standing experience with oil spill response matters.
One of the nineteen recommendations concerned the development of an international guideline for offshore oil spill risk assessment and a method to better relate oil spill response resources to the risk level. Consequently, the OSR-JIP has published a guideline covering oil spill risk assessment and response planning for offshore installations.
This paper describes the development and content of the guideline, including how the oil spill risk assessment process provides structured and relevant information to oil spill response planning for offshore operations. The process starts by defining the context of the assessment and describing the activity to be assessed. Thereafter it addresses a series of key questions:What can go wrong, leading to potential release of oil?What happens to the spilled oil?What are the impacts on key environmental - both ecological and socio-economic - receptors?What is the risk for environmental damage?How is the established risk utilised in oil spill response planning?
The guideline draws on existing good practices in the determination of oil spill response resources. It promotes consideration, in tactical and logistical detail, of the preferred and viable response strategies to address scenarios covering the range of potential oil spills up to the most serious. The methodology to evaluate the potential spill scenarios utilizes a series of questions:What are the viable techniques/strategies to deliver response with greatest net environment benefit?What are the tactical measures required to implement the identified response strategies, considering technical, practical and safety factors?What Tiered resources are required to mount the tactical measures and achieve effective response?
The paper summarizes the useful tools, key information and the necessary level of detail essential to perform an oil spill risk assessment for use in oil spill response planning.
Research to Advance Health, Environment, and Oil System Safety in the Gulf of Mexico and other Coastal Regions: An Update from the National Academy of Sciences
Authors: Elfring Chris , Waddell Kim 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire caused the release of approximately 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. As part of legal settlements with the companies involved, the federal government asked the National Academy of Sciences – an independent, non-profit organization chartered by Congress in 1863 to provide independent, expert, scientific, engineering, and healthcare advice to the nation – to establish a new $500 million, 30-year research program focused on human health, environmental protection, and oil system safety in the Gulf region. The new program, called the Gulf Research Program, is directed to work in three areas: research and development, education and training, and environmental monitoring. Activities will focus on the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) regions, but work that transfers knowledge to or from other offshore U.S. or international hydrocarbon-producing regions is allowed under the mandate. The program seeks to encourage communication and collaboration among industry, academia, and government, and will emphasize innovation, education, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary work. This paper introduces the program, summarizes program planning, outlines the program's mission and goals, and highlights first-year activities.
What has Europe learned after the Deepwater Horizon/Macondo Incident?
Authors: Bluhm Bernd , Xirotyri Lito 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) incident and the response thereto generated significant interest in Europe, in particular with regard to the safety of offshore oil and gas operations, existing oil spill response arrangements, and the potential impacts of surface and subsurface dispersant application. This paper will present the main relevant developments and actions undertaken in Europe in the years following the Macondo incident, focusing primarily on the work of the European Commission, European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), and European Union (EU) Member States, as well as the work undertaken within the established Regional Agreements in Europe.
The following topics will be addressed in more detail:1)It has been considered critically important to review and enhance the regulatory arrangements in Europe relevant to the safety of oil and gas operations and to strengthening the effective response to marine oil pollution. This is being implemented at the national level by several European countries. At the level of the EU Institutions, this is being addressed by:—Issuing the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on safety of offshore oil and gas operations and amending Directive 2004/35/EC. The main elements of this Directive will be presented.—Amending the Regulation (EC) 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) by Regulation (EU) 100/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The new Regulation expands EMSA's mandate to assist EU countries in the response to oil spills from oil and gas installations and to also support in such cases other countries sharing a regional sea basin with the EU. EMSA's Action Plan in implementing its newly assigned tasks will be presented.2)EMSA provides a forum at the EU level for Member States' experts to address issues contributing to the preparedness for and response to accidental and deliberate marine pollution, including the use of dispersants and the experience gained from the DWH incident. Actions undertaken in this regard and their outcome will be presented.3)The review of the potential oil spill response options and techniques has revitalised the discussion of mechanical recovery of oil versus the application of dispersants in such a way that nowadays more and more EU States consider the use of dispersants as a possible oil spill response option. The main elements of this discussion in Europe will be presented in more detail, also within the context of the multinational cooperation in Europe executed primarily by the Regional Agreements that are in place.