Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment (2014) / Chapter Skim
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3 Arctic Oil Spill Response Research
3 Arctic Oil Spill Response Research
Pages 67-104
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From page 67... ...
. In 2012, an Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology JIP,2 with nine participating companies, launched a range of research projects on all aspects of responding to oil spills in the Arctic.
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From page 68... ...
The probability of a spill is related to the type and condition of a vessel, pipeline, rig, or storage facility; the accuracy and availability of maps and charts; season, weather conditions, and presence or absence of ice; the behaviors, decisions, and levels of experience of key personnel; and the availability of infrastructure to support spill response (avail 68 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 68 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 69... ...
The structural failure of a land-based oil tank would be relatively low impact because of the limited spill size, existing spill response equipment, and ability to reach the site with existing onshore resources. OIL PROPERTIES Crude oil is composed of a complex mixture of paraffinic, naphthenic, and aromatic hydrocar bons.
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From page 70... ...
The development of biofuels has somewhat complicated this scheme, as they represent a class of materials that does not readily fit into the categories developed for petroleum products. While the viscosity and relative density of biofuels may be similar to crude oils and petroleum-based fuels, other properties may be quite different, especially as they relate to effectiveness of oil spill response methods.
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From page 71... ...
. Changes in an oil due to weathering affect spill response options and oil interactions with organisms and ecosystems.
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From page 72... ...
72 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 72 Oil migration up Multi-year First-year Absorption brine channels ice ice by snow Photolysis Evaporation Oil in melt water Wind Snow Lead pools in spring Water in oil Brash Ice emulsion Drifting Spreading Dissolution of Encapsulated Dispersion Resurfacing of water soluble oil larger oil droplets components Dissolution of Adsorption Oil pool water soluble Oil trapped to particles components in ice rubble Pockets of Horizontal static oil being diffusion Uptake by biota encapsulated Vertical in growing ice Sedimentation diffusion Uptake & release from sedimentation Figure 3.2 Environmental processes that affect oil behavior and weathering in open water and in ice. SOURCE: Modified from Daling et al.
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From page 73... ...
In the event that a crude oil released into the environment is not known completely, the use of another with similar characteristics may be used to gain an approximation of its behavior.8 OIL BEHAVIOR IN ICE The presence of sea ice, discussed in Chapter 2, affects oil weathering processes and the overall behavior of oil in Arctic waters. In many cases, processes that affect traditional oil behavior in open water like evaporation, emulsification, and natural dispersion are slowed down or eliminated for extended periods of time.
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From page 74... ...
The evaporation rate is partially controlled by oil slick thickness -- thicker oil slicks will evaporate more slowly than slicks in open water. Cold temperatures reduce evaporation rates, as would snow forming a thin film on 74 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 74 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 75... ...
) crude oil spill on open water, under ice, and on smooth sea ice with and without snow.
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From page 76... ...
. In an experiment that was part of the 1974-1975 Beaufort Sea Project, over 80% of spilled oil migrated to the ice surface and floated on melt pools by early summer (NORCOR Engineering & Research Ltd., 1975)
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From page 77... ...
A number of successful projects over the past four decades have demonstrated that having the ability to conduct deliberate and controlled releases of oil into the marine environment provides an important opportunity to advance the state of knowledge in all aspects of Arctic spill response. When done carefully, these field releases have few or no discernible negative environmental impacts.
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From page 78... ...
In practice, a successful well-capping operation could halt or significantly slow the flow of oil into the marine environment earlier than the time needed to drill a relief well. Many types of ships have recently been utilizing the Arctic marine environment, including government vessels and icebreakers, container ships, general cargo ships, bulk carriers, tanker ships, passenger ships, tugs and barges, fishing vessels, and vessels related to oil and gas exploration (Arctic Council, 2009)
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From page 79... ...
Although a number of new research developments are discussed in the following sections, this is not a comprehensive account of all ongoing efforts in the field of oil spill response. An extensive list of recent Arctic oil spill research can be found in Oil Spills in Arctic Waters (USARC, 2012)
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From page 80... ...
and their existence has been reported in high latitude marine environments (Butinar et al., 2011) , there have been no studies to evaluate their potential to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons in Arctic marine waters.
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From page 81... ...
The nonpolar compounds of the water-soluble fraction of crude oils are gener ally considered to be rapidly biodegraded in the marine environment (Brakstad and Faksness, 2000) 81 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 81 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 82... ...
. Oil spill trajectory models currently used to predict the fate of oil spills have not been calibrated for the full range of environmental factors encountered in the Arctic.
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From page 83... ...
Considering the logistical needs in mounting an Arctic spill response, bioremediation may be a very effective countermeasure as it does not require contaminated waste transport and disposal, large numbers of personnel to apply, or specialized equip ment. In addition, it is considered by many to be a more environmentally friendly technology than some other responses.
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From page 84... ...
While primarily used on surface oil spills, in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill dispersant was applied via subsurface injection to the plume of oil released from the wellhead into 4 oC waters at 1,500 m depth (Atlas and Hazen, 2011; Kujawinski et al., 2011)
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From page 85... ...
. Chemical dispersants do more than facilitate the transport of oil from surface oil slicks to the water column. ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Prince et al.
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From page 86... ...
A major benefit of direct sub 86 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 86 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 87... ...
Mullin (2012) summarized a number of dispersant research studies undertaken by the current Arctic Response Technology JIP, while API and its industry companies have established a large-scale, multiple-year Subsea Dispersant Program, whose goal is to conduct controlled experiments on the effectiveness of subsea injection over various conditions, the effects of dispersed oil on deepwater marine environments, and numerical modeling needs for better prediction of oil fates.12 This program recently released an initial report summarizing the status of dispersant regulatory approval and condi tions on the application of dispersants in different Arctic nations (SEA Consulting Group, 2013)
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From page 88... ...
. In 1993, a U.S.-Canada experiment off Newfoundland burned crude oil in fire-resistant booms in the open ocean and monitored a large suite of environmental parameters including smoke composition, 88 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 88 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 89... ...
. The concept of using chemical herders to burn free-drifting oil slicks in pack ice was successfully field tested for the first time in the Norwegian Barents Sea in 2008 as part of a JIP on Oil Spill 89 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 89 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 90... ...
While the casing of any wells drilled in the Chukchi or Beaufort OCS should extend below the shallow permafrost zones that could contain gas hydrates, ISB response strategies generally involve collecting and burning oil a 90 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 90 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 91... ...
Even though there were very good conditions for mechanical containment in the Deepwater Horizon spill, only an estimated 2% to 4% of the oil volume discharged was collected (Federal Interagency Solutions Group, 2010)
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From page 92... ...
However, very large oil spills require a response approach that does not solely depend on mechanical recovery. The use of booms and skimmers during the Arctic summer months, with open water, follows the same procedures practiced for decades in more temperate regions.
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From page 93... ...
Net environmental benefit analysis (NEBA) can help responders, regulators, and stakeholders decide which oil spill response options could be recommended or advised against in a given situation.
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From page 94... ...
. First-generation SAR satellites mapped several large marine oil spills, including the Prestige, Nakodka, and Sea Empress (Hodgins et al., 1996; Lunel 94 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 94 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 95... ...
. The ability of SAR satellites to detect and map oils slicks in the ocean with moderate wind conditions is likely to be practical for well-defined oil spills that spread in very open to open pack ice, where capillary waves can develop on the surface (Babiker et al., 2010)
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. 96 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 96 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 97... ...
Not likely Likely* Not likely Not likely 97 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 97 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 98... ...
, a variety of remote sensing systems that operate directly from the ice surface or from a nearby vessel could be deployed. As part of the SINTEF JIP, trained dogs on the ice tracked and located small oil spills buried under snow from a distance of 5 km and also determined the approximate dimensions of a larger oil spill (Brandvik and Buvik, 2009)
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From page 99... ...
. Both earlier and more recent reviews recognize the challenges associated with oil spills in Arctic conditions -- the presence of sea ice, cold and darkness in the winter, sparse observational networks for meteorological and oceanographic conditions, and a limited ability to respond to and monitor the physical and chemical evolution of a spill.
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From page 100... ...
Advancement in this direction is needed for both sea ice and oil spill models, although neither is likely to be able to reliably perform at this level of detail in the near future. The Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology JIP has recently initiated a research effort to improve oil spill trajectory modeling capability within the Arctic, with plans to develop new sea ice models related to ice dynamics.
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From page 101... ...
Their efforts are intended to complement the work being done by others, including the Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology JIP. Promising New Concepts in Trajectory Modeling Promising advances in sea ice modeling in the past decade include detailed models of brine channel formation and drainage by Petrich et al.
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From page 102... ...
and is most useful when there are multiple available models of similar complexity and focus. Uncertainty in oil spill trajectory forecasting for open water conditions has been a recognized 102 R02581 -- Oil Spills.indd 102 7/17/14 11:16 AM
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From page 103... ...
. CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS C onclusion: Arctic oil spill research and development needs for improved decision support include: • Determining and verifying biodegradation rates for hydrocarbons in offshore environments, in order to establish potential and capacities for natural attenuation or recovery and to determine which strategies can accelerate oil biodegradation; • Improving technologies for dispersant application and induction of turbulence for oil spills in ice; • Evaluating the toxicity of dispersants and chemically dispersed oil on key Arctic marine species, with appropriate experimental design and incorporation of real-world conditions and concentrations; • Identifying and understanding ecosystem responses associated with changes in microbial biomass and species alterations; • Further understanding of biogeochemical cycles, including particulate matter–petroleum chemical interactions; • Improving ignition methods for in situ burning, focused specifically on the Arctic; • Mapping the usefulness of chemical herders at different spatial scales, oil types, and weath ered states, and in conjunction with other response options such as in situ burning; • Understanding the limitations of mechanical recovery in both open water and ice, which will improve decision making regarding possible implementation of other response strategies; • Investing in under-ice detection and response strategies, including remote sensing technol ogy that will reliably detect oil in different ice conditions; • Integrating remote sensing and observational techniques for detecting and tracking ice and oil, including UAVs, AUVs, SAR, and drifting buoys; • Additional research into the physics of oil incorporation into developing ice; • Establishing robust operational U.S.
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From page 104... ...
The program should focus on understanding oil spill behavior in the Arctic marine environment, including the relationship between oil and sea ice formation, transport, and fate. It should include assessment of oil spill response technologies and logistics, improvements to forecasting models and associated data needs, and controlled field releases under realistic conditions for research purposes.
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