Environmental Response Management Application

The Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), a partnership between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and NOAA\u27s Office of Response and Restoration (ORR), is leading an effort to develop a data platform capable of interfacing both static and real-time data sets accessible simultaneously to a command post and assets in the field with an open source internet mapping server. The Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA™) is designed to give responders and decision makers ready access to geographically specific data useful during spill planning/drills, incident response, damage assessment and site restoration. In addition to oil spill and chemical release response, this website can be relevant to other environmental incidents and natural disasters, responses and regional planning efforts. The platform is easy to operate, without the assistance of Information Technology or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialists. It allows users to access individual data layer values, overlay relevant data sets, and zoom into segments of interest. The platform prototype is being developed specifically for Portsmouth Harbor and the Great Bay Estuary, NH. The prototype demonstrates the capabilities of an integrated data management platform and serves as the pilot for web-based GIS platforms in other regions

Conservation science in NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries: description and recent accomplishments

This report describes cases relating to the management of national marine sanctuaries in which certain scientific information was required so managers could make decisions that effectively protected trust resources. The cases presented represent only a fraction of difficult issues that marine sanctuary managers deal with daily. They include, among others, problems related to wildlife disturbance, vessel routing, marine reserve placement, watershed management, oil spill response, and habitat restoration. Scientific approaches to address these problems vary significantly, and include literature surveys, data mining, field studies (monitoring, mapping, observations, and measurement), geospatial and biogeographic analysis, and modeling. In most cases there is also an element of expert consultation and collaboration among multiple partners, agencies with resource protection responsibilities, and other users and stakeholders. The resulting management responses may involve direct intervention (e.g., for spill response or habitat restoration issues), proposal of boundary alternatives for marine sanctuaries or reserves, changes in agency policy or regulations, making recommendations to other agencies with resource protection responsibilities, proposing changes to international or domestic shipping rules, or development of new education or outreach programs. (PDF contains 37 pages.

Developing a GIS-Database and Risk Index for Potentially Polluting Marine Sites

The increasing availability of geospatial marine data provides an opportunity for hydrographic offices to contribute to the identification of “Potentially Polluting Marine Sites” (PPMS). These include shipwrecks, oil rigs, pipelines, and dumping areas. To adequately assess the environmental risk of these sites, relevant information must be collected and converted into a multi-scale geodatabase suitable for site inventory and geo-spatial analysis. In addition, a Risk Index – representing an assessment of the magnitude of risk associated with any site – can be derived to determine the potential impacts of these PPMS. However, the successful collection and integration of PPMS information requires some effort to ‘normalize’ and standardize the data based on recognized international standards. In particular, there is benefit in structuring the data in conformance with the Universal Hydrographic Data Model (IHO S-100) recently adopted by the International Hydrographic Organization. In this paper, an S-100 compliant product specification for a PPMS geo-spatial database and associated Marine Site Risk Index is proposed which can be used by national hydrographic offices and marine protection agencies

Potentially Polluting Marine Sites GeoDB: An S-100 Geospatial Database as an Effective Contribution to the Protection of the Marine Environment

Potentially Polluting Marine Sites (PPMS) are objects on, or areas of, the seabed that may release pollution in the future. A rationale for, and design of, a geospatial database to inventory and manipu-late PPMS is presented. Built as an S-100 Product Specification, it is specified through human-readable UML diagrams and implemented through machine-readable GML files, and includes auxiliary information such as pollution-control resources and potentially vulnerable sites in order to support analyses of the core data. The design and some aspects of implementation are presented, along with metadata requirements and structure, and a perspective on potential uses of the database

Seafloor characterization using airborne hyperspectral co-registration procedures independent from attitude and positioning sensors

The advance of remote-sensing technology and data-storage capabilities has progressed in the last decade to commercial multi-sensor data collection. There is a constant need to characterize, quantify and monitor the coastal areas for habitat research and coastal management. In this paper, we present work on seafloor characterization that uses hyperspectral imagery (HSI). The HSI data allows the operator to extend seafloor characterization from multibeam backscatter towards land and thus creates a seamless ocean-to-land characterization of the littoral zone

Evaluation of the Wadden Sea Particularly sensitive Sea Area. On behalf of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat.

The purpose of this document is to present the high level outcomes for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Wadden Sea PSSA, seven years after its designation by the IMO. Key changes with regard to IMO and EU shipping policy are identified and described, followed by a review of ‘expert’ opinion focused on the issues relating to PSSAs. The development of an evaluative framework and the resulting findings are introduced and discussed in context. Using existing data against this evaluative framework we conclude that six key elements require action in order to fully describe the efficacy of the designation, and our recommendations to address these concerns are presented.<br/

Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Area to be Avoided (ATBA) Education and Monitoring Program

The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431, as amended) gives the Secretary of Commerce the authority to designate discrete areas of the marine environment as National Marine Sanctuaries and provides the authority to promulgate regulations to provide for the conservation and management of these marine areas. The waters of the Outer Washington Coast were recognized for their high natural resource and human use values and placed on the National Marine Sanctuary Program Site Evaluation List in 1983. In 1988, Congress directed NOAA to designate the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (Pub. L. 100-627). The Sanctuary, designated in May 1994, worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to request the International Maritime Organization designate an Area to be Avoided (ATBA) on the Olympic Coast. The IMO defines an ATBA as "a routeing measure comprising an area within defined limits in which either navigation is particularly hazardous or it is exceptionally important to avoid casualties and which should be avoided by all ships, or certain classes of ships" (IMO, 1991). This ATBA was adopted in December 1994 by the Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO, “in order to reduce the risk of marine casualty and resulting pollution and damage to the environment of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary”, (IMO, 1994). The ATBA went into effect in June 1995 and advises operators of vessels carrying petroleum and/or hazardous materials to maintain a 25-mile buffer from the coast. Since that time, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) has created an education and monitoring program with the goal of ensuring the successful implementation of the ATBA. The Sanctuary enlisted the aid of the U.S. and Canadian coast guards, and the marine industry to educate mariners about the ATBA and to use existing radar data to monitor compliance. Sanctuary monitoring efforts have targeted education on tank vessels observed transiting the ATBA. OCNMS's monitoring efforts allow quantitative evaluation of this voluntary measure. Finally, the tools developed to monitor the ATBA are also used for the more general purpose of monitoring vessel traffic within the Sanctuary. While the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary does not currently regulate vessel traffic, such regulations are within the scope of the Sanctuary’s Final Environmental Impact Statement/Management Plan. Sanctuary staff participate in ongoing maritime and environmental safety initiatives and continually seek opportunities to mitigate risks from marine shipping.(PDF contains 44 pages.

Spatial Information Technology for Disaster Management

Most major geohazards such as floods, forest fire and oil spills occur suddenly, and require an immediate response. This paper describes the development and establishment a spatial information technology and engineering system that uses GIS and Remote Sensing technologies to detect, monitor and assess geohazards, including floods, forest fire and oil spills. The potential application of Remote sensing and GIS techniques for floods and oil spills is discussed. The oil spill risk management system study was developed for coastal zone of Peninsular Malaysia. The development of GIS database used remotely sensed data from Landsat TM, SPOT Panchromatic and MSS, AVHRR and air-borne images. For the flood studies, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was created for Klang River Basin from the input data of contour lines. DEMs stored the data for the slope analysis, terrain analysis and also visualizing for the flood simulation. SCS TR-55 Model was used to predict the extent of inundation and depth of flooding. Parameters of rainfall, landuse and hydrological relief were adopted as the main input data. These two case studies will provide the technical guidelines for in-depth study in GIS and remote sensing for disaster managemen

Marine Ship Automatic Identification System (AIS) for Enhanced Coastal Security Capabilities: An Oil Spill Tracking Application

National and international trade via shipping is already significant, and expected to continue increasing rapidly over the next decade. Both more ships and larger ships will contribute to this trade, includingships from countries with less rigorous shipping maintenance and inspection standards than the United States, and less strict pollution monitoring regulations. Changes in ship traffic management protocols have been implemented in recent years in the U.S. to minimize damage to coastlines, particularly near sensitive or protected marine environments. For example, to reduce risk to coastal resources off central California, shipping lanes for larger vessels were moved further offshore to allow for additional response time in case of accidents before such vessels might drift into coastal areas. Similarly, shipsare now routed via specific approach channels when entering Boston Harbor to reduce impacts within adjacent National Marine Sanctuary resources. Several recent high profile cases have occurred where \u27mystery\u27 oil spills were found near shipping channels, but no vessel could be readily identified as their source. These incidents lead to extensive and expensive efforts to attempt to identify the shipsresponsible. As time passes in responding to these incidents, the likelihood of confirming the identity of the ships diminishes. Unfortunately, reports of vessels engaging in illegal oily waste discharge to reduce fees for offloading the waste in port are ongoing. We here discuss use of improved capabilities of near-continuous real-time position location monitoring of shipping traffic using marine AutomaticIdentification Systems (AIS) for ships that would facilitate identification of ships responsible for illegal oily waste discharge. The next phase of the National AIS, N-AIS Increment 2, can supply additional spatial coverage not currently included in the N-AIS Increment 1, which can provide an enhanced capability for monitoring shipping and improving managem- ent of coastal ship traffic and response to pollution incidents. These methods will not only improve response time, but reduce cost of response as well

Investigating SAR algorithm for spaceborne interferometric oil spill detection

The environmental damages and recovery of terrestrial ecosystems from oil spills can last decades. Oil spills have been responsible for loss of aquamarine lives, organisms, trees, vegetation, birds and wildlife. Although there are several methods through which oil spills can be detected, it can be argued that remote sensing via the use of spaceborne platforms provides enormous benefits. This paper will provide more efficient means and methods that can assist in improving oil spill responses. The objective of this research is to develop a signal processing algorithm that can be used for detecting oil spills using spaceborne SAR interferometry (InSAR) data. To this end, a pendulum formation of multistatic smallSAR carrying platforms in a near equatorial orbit is described. The characteristic parameters such as the effects of incidence angles on radar backscatter, which support the detection of oil spills, will be the main drivers for determining the relative positions of the small satellites in formation. The orbit design and baseline distances between each spaceborne SAR platform will also be discussed. Furthermore, results from previous analysis on coverage assessment and revisit time shall be highlighted. Finally, an evaluation of automatic algorithm techniques for oil spill detection in SAR images will be conducted and results presented. The framework for the automatic algorithm considered consists of three major steps. The segmentation stage, where techniques that suggest the use of thresholding for dark spot segmentation within the captured InSAR image scene is conducted. The feature extraction stage involves the geometry and shape of the segmented region where elongation of the oil slick is considered an important feature and a function of the width and the length of the oil slick. For the classification stage, where the major objective is to distinguish oil spills from look-alikes, a Mahalanobis classifier will be used to estimate the probability of the extracted features being oil spills. The validation process of the algorithm will be conducted by using NASA’s UAVSAR data obtained over the Gulf of coast oil spill and RADARSAT-1 dat