oil detection dogs (k9 scat)
TRANSCRIPT
Oil Detection Dogs (K9 SCAT)
OSPR/Chevron Response Technology Workshop
Ed Owens and friends
Oil Detection Dogs
• SINTEF research project
• April 2008 field test at Svea on Svalbard in winter with two trained dogs
• they successfully detected a very small oil sample on top of the ice buried under snow from a distance of 5 km (not a typo !)
• fitted with GPS transponders on their collars so able to map their search pattern that led to the oil
Detecting oil buried in ice/snow
GPS tracks of three dogs, all detecting oil
sample drilled down into the sea ice
Oil sample
Oil sample (400 mL) drilled
into the ice and left for a week
Oil in Ice JIP project - published AMOP 2010
American Petroleum Institute (API) Study: Subsurface Oil Detection and Delineation in
Shoreline Sediments
3 phase program:
Phase 1 (2012-2013): State of the Art Review
Phase 2 (2013-2014): Field Guide Recommendations
Phase 3 (2015): Oil Detection Canines Field Trials K9 SCAT Guide
API Report 1149-3 API Report 1149-4
WAS – Test Design
• Clearance: No targets placed
• Detection: Target tube placed in a large search area
Distances covered - 0.3 to 0.7 kmAverage speed - 6.4 to 11.2 km/hr
No target
Target
Wide Area Search – Off Leash
WAS - pipeline, straight beach
Straight forward grid pattern
Delineation Tests – On Leash
• Search pattern directed by handler with support from K9 SCAT Coordinator
Distances covered - 0.2 to 0.6 kmAverage speed - 1.5 to 3.5 km/hr
ResultsTARGETS 704
Targets correctly assessed 684
False Alerts 6
Explained (experimental procedure issue) 5
Unexplained 1
Missed Targets 14
Explained (experimental design issue) 4
Explained (search pattern issue) 9
Unexplained 1
Search pattern (survey) issue 1.3%
Experimental design issue 1.3%
Unexplained 0.3%
Canine success rate 99.7%
If take out procedural and search pattern issues, scored 702 out of 704
Surface Oil Survey Data
Response Total Shoreline
Surveyed (km)
Length with No
Observed Oil (NOO)
(km - %)
Source
Deepwater Horizon 7,058 5,285 - 75% Michel et al., 2013
T/V Exxon Valdez, AK 5,459 3,359 - 61% Owens, 1991
M/V Selending Ayu,
AK
763 345 - 45% Owens et al., 2008
M/V Cosco Busan, CA 379 232 - 61% Unpub. SCAT data base
K9 SCAT can reduce effort and allow ground survey teams to focus on higher probability target areas
Subsurface Oil Survey DataResponse/ Project Period Pits/
Trenches
Comment Source
Deepwater
Horizon: SCAT
May 2010 –
Dec 2012
>180,000 NOO in 67%
Deepwater
Horizon: LAASR
January-
June 2013
>32,000 NOO in 5 of the 15 selected
target areas
OSAT-3, 2014
Deepwater
Horizon: BOP
June-
August
2013
>8,000 NOO in 86% of the locations OSAT-3, 2014
Bouchard B-155
spill, Tampa Bay
FL
18-19
August
1993
964 1 team, 2 days: pits at a 1-m
interval on 119 transects
spaced at 160 m
Owens et al.,
1995
Refugio, CA 15 June
2015
360 4 teams: 1500’ x 30’ area
(4,000m2) with a 10’x10’ (3m
x 3m) grid in 6 hours
J. Michel,
pers. comm.
Current Subsurface Oil Detection Practices
Attributes
Current Practices
Excavation Cores JettingCanine
Detection
Horizontal Detection and Delineation
Vertical Delineation
Survey Speed
Oil Character
Why Use Dogs ?
Proven concept + SPEED and CONTINUOUS COVERAGE
– One day - manual digging - single team -maximum production of 200 pits (based on MC 252 field operations)
– Dogs provide virtually 100% coverage versus < 0.01% coverage by manual or auger spot sampling.
– High confidence-low risk tool
2016• Environment Canada – Chedabucto Bay shoreline
detection in June for subsurface oil from a 2015 “Arrow” spill concurrent with an ECCC beach sampling program
• Summer N. Saskatchewan River pipeline spill was the fits operational deployment of K9 SCAT: 2 teams active from 08 August through 13 October
Oil Detection Dogs (K9 SCAT)
• an example of confidence in the data– dogs are completely neutral
– they do not interpret or make choices, they simply analyze and report
– not just fun to work with …….
• a high-confidence/low-risk tool, and
• primarily for low oil concentrations and subsurface oil
• goodwill ambassadorsDeveloped more efficient survey techniques to work off-leash and with the handler on a boat
ApplicationsPipelines• leak or spill searches• smart pig inspection anomaly support• routine inspections• tracking subsurface migration of oil/gas
Oil in snow and under ice
Shorelines, River and Inland SCAT Support• Wide Area Search surveys to detect and/or clear areas with No Detectable Oil• delineation surveys for subsurface oil for:
- SCAT support during ground surveys,- reconfirmation before Operations implement an STR, and/or- confirmation after treatment.
• clearance as part of Shoreline Inspection Report (SIR) surveys.
Oil in Snow Detection
• SURFACE
SINTEF – found a larger oil deposit (400 L: 100 gallons) that had been laid down on top of ice and covered by snow, based on the triangulation of detected plume dimensions; with oil detected up to 5 km (3 miles) downwind of the spill location
• SUBSURFACEOn snow a detection canine can search one hectare (2.5 acres) in approximately 20 to 30 minutes and detect targets to depths of 2 - 4 m
Pipeline
stream
flowing river with ice
Knowledge Improvements
Maximum depths
tested up to 1m
Constraints due to environmental conditions e.g.
weather
environmental conditions
ice/snow
Distinction between target oil and background oiling
Effects of trace surface oiling when searching for subsurface oil
ComparisonsFACTOR Canines
GroundSurvey
Aerial Survey
sUASGas
Detection
AccuracyExcellent(99.7%)
Subsurface Poor Surface only Surface onlyExcellent: surface and surface
Effectiveness(area cover)
100% surface and subsurface
Surface: Poor -spot sampling
Surface - visualonly
Surface -visual only
100% surface and subsurface
SpeedRapid(15-25km/ day)
Slow Surface:very rapid
Surface :very rapid
Moderate to Rapid
Labor/ Equipment
K9-SCATTeam
SCAT Team plus shovels, mechanical equipment
Helo / fixed wing aircraft– visual or sensors
UAV and operators –visual or sensors
Gas detection equipment and operator
Cost
Maintenance costs low after set up
Relatively expensive (labour costs)
Relatively expensive (aircraft costs)
? Moderate – not much data
Maintenance costs low after set up
2017
• Proposed Prince William Sound AK subsurface oil survey
• North Saskatchewan River 2017 SCAT program
• Northern Alberta 2016 condensate spill delineation and clearance survey
SCAT dogs rock !!