Arctic Standards: Recommendations on Oil Spill Prevention, Response, and Safety in the U.S. Arctic Ocean

Oil spilled in Arctic waters would be particularly difficult to remove. Current technology has not been proved to effectively clean up oil when mixed with ice or when trapped under ice. An oil spill would have a profoundly adverse impact on the rich and complex ecosystem found nowhere else in the United States. The Arctic Ocean is home to bowhead, beluga, and gray whales; walruses; polar bears; and other magnificent marine mammals, as well as millions of migratory birds. A healthy ocean is important for these species and integral to the continuation of hunting and fishing traditions practiced by Alaska Native communities for thousands of years.To aid the United States in its efforts to modernize Arctic technology and equipment standards, this report examines the fierce Arctic conditions in which offshore oil and gas operations could take place and then offers a summary of key recommendations for the Interior Department to consider as it develops world-class, Arctic-specific regulatory standards for these activities. Pew's recommendations call for improved technology,equipment, and procedural requirements that match the challenging conditions in the Arctic and for full public participation and transparency throughout the decision-making process. Pew is not opposed to offshore drilling, but a balance must be achieved between responsible energy development and protection of the environment.It is essential that appropriate standards be in place for safety and for oil spill prevention and response in this extreme, remote, and vulnerable ecosystem. This report recommends updating regulations to include Arctic specific requirements and codifying temporary guidance into regulation. The appendixes to this report provide substantially more detail on the report's recommendations, including technical background documentation and additional referenced materials. Please refer to the full set of appendixes for a complete set of recommendations. This report and its appendixes offer guidelines for responsible hydrocarbon development in the U.S. Arctic Ocean

Development of a computer model to predict platform station keeping requirements in the Gulf of Mexico using remote sensing data

Offshore operations such as oil drilling and radar monitoring require semisubmersible platforms to remain stationary at specific locations in the Gulf of Mexico. Ocean currents, wind, and waves in the Gulf of Mexico tend to move platforms away from their desired locations. A computer model was created to predict the station keeping requirements of a platform. The computer simulation uses remote sensing data from satellites and buoys as input. A background of the project, alternate approaches to the project, and the details of the simulation are presented

From Offshore Operation to Onshore Simulator: Using Visualized Ethnographic Outcomes to Work with Systems Developers

This paper focuses on the process of translating insights from a Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)-based study, conducted on a vessel at sea, into a model that can assist systems developers working with simulators, which are used by vessel operators for training purposes on land. That is, the empirical study at sea brought about rich insights into cooperation, which is important for systems developers to know about and consider in their designs. In the paper, we establish a model that primarily consists of a ‘computational artifact’. The model is designed to support researchers working with systems developers. Drawing on marine examples, we focus on the translation process and investigate how the model serves to visualize work activities; how it addresses relations between technical and computational artifacts, as well as between functions in technical systems and functionalities in cooperative systems. In turn, we link design back to fieldwork studies

Sustainable seabed mining: guidelines and a new concept for Atlantis II Deep

The feasibility of exploiting seabed resources is subject to the engineering solutions, and economic prospects. Due to rising metal prices, predicted mineral scarcities and unequal allocations of resources in the world, vast research programmes on the exploration and exploitation of seabed minerals are presented in 1970s. Very few studies have been published after the 1980s, when predictions were not fulfilled. The attention grew back in the last decade with marine mineral mining being in research and commercial focus again and the first seabed mining license for massive sulphides being granted in Papua New Guinea’s Exclusive Economic Zone.Research on seabed exploitation and seabed mining is a complex transdisciplinary field that demands for further attention and development. Since the field links engineering, economics, environmental, legal and supply chain research, it demands for research from a systems point of view. This implies the application of a holistic sustainability framework of to analyse the feasibility of engineering systems. The research at hand aims to close this gap by developing such a framework and providing a review of seabed resources. Based on this review it identifies a significant potential for massive sulphides in inactive hydrothermal vents and sediments to solve global resource scarcities. The research aims to provide background on seabed exploitation and to apply a holistic systems engineering approach to develop general guidelines for sustainable seabed mining of polymetallic sulphides and a new concept and solutions for the Atlantis II Deep deposit in the Red Sea.The research methodology will start with acquiring a broader academic and industrial view on sustainable seabed mining through an online survey and expert interviews on seabed mining. In addition, the Nautilus Minerals case is reviewed for lessons learned and identification of challenges. Thereafter, a new concept for Atlantis II Deep is developed that based on a site specific assessment.The research undertaken in this study provides a new perspective regarding sustainable seabed mining. The main contributions of this research are the development of extensive guidelines for key issues in sustainable seabed mining as well as a new concept for seabed mining involving engineering systems, environmental risk mitigation, economic feasibility, logistics and legal aspects

Applications of satellite and marine geodesy to operations in the ocean environment

The requirements for marine and satellite geodesy technology are assessed with emphasis on the development of marine geodesy. Various programs and missions for identification of the satellite geodesy technology applicable to marine geodesy are analyzed along with national and international marine programs to identify the roles of satellite/marine geodesy techniques for meeting the objectives of the programs and other objectives of national interest effectively. The case for marine geodesy is developed based on the extraction of requirements documented by authoritative technical industrial people, professional geodesists, government agency personnel, and applicable technology reports

Real-Time Economic Analysis and Policy Development during the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill posed near-term economic risks to the Gulf of Mexico region and raised questions about appropriate policies to mitigate catastrophic oil spill risks. This essay reviews the Obama Administration's assessment of the economic vulnerabilities to the spill, the Administration's May 12, 2010 legislative proposal focused on minimizing the adverse economic impacts to workers and small businesses in the Gulf of Mexico, and the effort to secure an agreement with BP to ensure that those harmed by the spill will receive full compensation. Then, the essay discusses several of the policy reforms advanced by the Administration to reduce the risks of future catastrophic oil spills, including the value of an industry consortium to provide deepwater well containment resources and the need to remove the arbitrary limit on liability for economic damages from offshore drilling. The essay closes with a few policy lessons learned from the spill.

Estimating oil concentration and flow rate with calibrated vessel-mounted acoustic echo sounders

As part of a larger program aimed at evaluating acoustic techniques for mapping the distribution of subsurface oil and gas associated with the Deepwater Horizon-Macondo oil spill, observations were made on June 24 and 25, 2010 using vessel-mounted calibrated single-beam echo sounders on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Thomas Jefferson. Coincident with visual observations of oil at the sea surface, the 200-kHz echo sounder showed anomalously high-volume scattering strength in the upper 200 m on the western side of the wellhead, more than 100 times higher than the surrounding waters at 1,800-m distance from the wellhead, and weakening with increasing distance out to 5,000 m. Similar high-volume scattering anomalies were not observed at 12 or 38 kHz, although observations of anomalously low-volume scattering strength were made in the deep scattering layer at these frequencies at approximately the same locations. Together with observations of ocean currents, the acoustic observations are consistent with a rising plume of small (\u3c 1-mm radius) oil droplets. Using simplistic but reasonable assumptions about the properties of the oil droplets, an estimate of the flow rate was made that is remarkably consistent with those made at the wellhead by other means. The uncertainty in this acoustically derived estimate is high due to lack of knowledge of the size distribution and rise speed of the oil droplets. If properly constrained, these types of acoustic measurements can be used to rapidly estimate the flow rate of oil reaching the surface over large temporal and spatial scales

Preliminary assessment of industrial needs for an advanced ocean technology

A quick-look review of selected ocean industries is presented for the purpose of providing NASA OSTA with an assessment of technology needs and market potential. The size and growth potential, needs and problem areas, technology presently used and its suppliers, are given for industries involved in deep ocean mining, petrochemicals ocean energy conversion. Supporting services such as ocean bottom surveying; underwater transportation, data collection, and work systems; and inspection and diving services are included. Examples of key problem areas that are amenable to advanced technology solutions are included. Major companies are listed

An analysis of the planning horizon for logistics activities at the Heidrun Offshore Installation

Condidential until 28 May 201