science & technology committeeoilspilltaskforce.org/docs/nrt_st_annual_report_2008.pdfin...

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 i

NRT Science & Technology Committee

Annual Report 2008

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 3

2008 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE ............................................................................. 1

OIL SPILL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS .............................................. 2

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CENTER, US COAST GUARD ..................................................................... 2 OIL SPILL RESPONSE RESEARCH, MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE ..................................................... 2 NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT RESEARCH LABORATORY, US EPA ....................................................... 2 COASTAL RESPONSE RESEARCH CENTER, NOAA/UNH ......................................................................... 2 OFFICE OF RESPONSE & RESTORATION, NOAA ..................................................................................... 3

APPENDIX A: RESEARCH DESCRIPTIONS AND ABSTRACTS .................................................... 1

ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES .............................................................................................................. 1 Mitigating Oil Spills from Offshore Oil and Gas Activities by Enhancement of Oil-Mineral Aggregate

Formation ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Effects of Dispersants on Oil-SPM Aggregation and Fate in US Coastal Waters ............................... 1 Use of Natural Oil Seeps for Evaluation of Dispersant Application and Monitoring Techniques ....... 3 Dispersant Effectiveness as a Function of Energy Dissipation Rate and Particle Size Distribution .... 3 Dispersant SMART Protocol Update ................................................................................................ 4 Upgrade of SMART Dispersant Effectiveness Monitoring Protocol ................................................... 5 Employing Chemical Herders to Improve Oil Spill Response Operations .......................................... 7 Literature Review on Chemical Treating Agents in Fresh and Brackish Water .................................. 8 Characteristics, Behavior and Response Effectiveness of Spilled Dielectric Insulating Oil in the

Marine Environment ........................................................................................................................ 9 Acute and Chronic Effects of Oil, Dispersant and Dispersed Oil to Symbiotic Cnidarian Species .... 11 Dispersant Effectiveness as a Function of Energy Dissipation Rate and Particle Size Distribution .. 12 Dispersion of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products in Freshwater .................................................... 13 Development of a Protocol for Testing the Efficacy of Surface Washing Agents in Removing Oil

Contaminating the Surfaces of Shorelines ...................................................................................... 14 Aerobic Biodegradability and Toxicity of Non-Petroleum Oils........................................................ 15 Effect of Particle Size, Oil Contamination, and Water Table Level on the Effectiveness of Sorbents in

Wicking Oil from the Subsurface .................................................................................................... 15 Anaerobic Biodegradability and Toxicity of Non-Petroleum Oils .................................................... 16 Optimization of Nutrient Application for Oil Bioremediation on Beaches........................................ 17 Biodegradability and Toxicity of Biodiesel Blends .......................................................................... 18

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND FINGERPRINTING ........................................................................................ 19 COLD WEATHER & OIL-IN-ICE RESEARCH ........................................................................................... 19

Arctic Operations Research ........................................................................................................... 19 Oil-in-Ice: Transport, Fate, and Potential Exposure....................................................................... 19 Research at Ohmsett on the Effectiveness of Chemical Dispersants on Alaskan Oils in Cold Water . 22 Oil Recovery with Novel Skimmer Surfaces under Cold Climate Conditions ................................... 24 Cold Climate Research .................................................................................................................. 25

COMMAND, CONTROL & COMMUNICATIONS ........................................................................................ 26 DISPERSANTS ..................................................................................................................................... 26

Development of a Training Package on the Use of Chemical Dispersants for Ohmsett - The National

Oil Spill Response Test Facility ..................................................................................................... 26 Chemical Dispersant Research at Ohmsett ..................................................................................... 27 Chemical Dispersant Research at Ohmsett: Phase 2 ...................................................................... 30

FATE & BEHAVIOR MODELING & ANALYSIS ........................................................................................ 32

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 ii

Oil Spill Training and Response (STAR) Calculator Program ........................................................ 32 Validation of the Two Models Developed to Predict the Window of Opportunity for Dispersant Use in

the Gulf of Mexico ......................................................................................................................... 33 HAZMAT Spill Behavior and Trajectory Modeling ......................................................................... 35 Improvements to the Work on Integration of NOAA's GNOME Model with CDOG (Clarkson

Deepwater Oil and Gas) Blowout Model ........................................................................................ 35 Measurements and Modeling of Size Distributions, Settling and Dispersions Rates of Oil Droplets in

Turbulent Flows ............................................................................................................................ 36 GNOME2 ...................................................................................................................................... 36 A Module for NOAA's GNOME Model to Provide Capability to Simulate Deepwater Oil and Gas

Spills ............................................................................................................................................. 37 Fate and Effects of Emulsions Produced After Oil Spills in Estuaries ............................................. 39 Mitigating Oil Spills from Offshore Oil and Gas Activities by Enhancement of Oil-Mineral Aggregate

Formation ..................................................................................................................................... 40 Development of a Numerical Algorithm to Compute the Effects of Breaking Waves on Surface Oil

Spilled at Sea: Dispersion and Submergence/Over-washing as Extremes of a Theoretical Continuum

..................................................................................................................................................... 40 Delivery and Quality Assurance of Short-Term Trajectory Forecasts from HF Radar Observations. 41 Measurements and Modeling of Size Distributions, Settling and Dispersions (turbulent diffusion)

Rates of Oil Droplets in Turbulent Flows ....................................................................................... 42 Identification of Window of Opportunity for Chemical Dispersants on Gulf of Mexico Crude Oils .. 43 Understanding the Effects of Time and Energy on the Effectiveness of Dispersants ......................... 44 Changes with Dispersant Effectiveness with Extended Exposure in Calm Seas ................................ 45

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE RESPONSE ................................................................................................... 47 CAMEO Chemicals: NOAA’s New Online Tool for Hazardous Materials Responders..................... 47 River Dilution Calculator for Chemical Spills ................................................................................ 47

HUMAN DIMENSIONS & RISK COMMUNICATIONS ................................................................................. 48 Integrating demographic and physiological parameters in NRDA .................................................. 48 Social disruption from oil spills and spill response: Characterizing effects, vulnerabilities, and the

adequacy of existing data to inform decision-making ...................................................................... 49 MECHANICAL RECOVERY & TREATMENT ............................................................................................ 51

Investigation of the Ability to Effectively Recover Oil Following Dispersant Application ................ 51 NATURAL RESOURCE INJURY ASSESSMENT & RESTORATION ............................................................... 52

Ecology and Economics of Restoration Scaling .............................................................................. 52 Establishing Performance Metrics for Oil Spill Response, Recovery and Restoration ...................... 52 Monetary Values and Restoration Equivalents for Lost Recreational Services on the Gulf Coast of Texas Due to Oil Spills and Other Environmental Disruptions........................................................ 54 Developing a Method for Estimating Injury and Risk to a Major NOAA Trust Resource (Finfish) due

to Persistent Bioaccumulative chemicals: Mercury......................................................................... 55 Using Benefit Transfer to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Restoration Projects .................................. 56

OIL TOXICITY & EFFECT ..................................................................................................................... 57 A Knowledge-Based Reasoning for the Interpretation of PAH Data ................................................ 57 Utility of Meiobenthos for Risk Assessment of Low-Level Crude Oil WSFs: Rapid Copepod-Based

Approaches for Evaluating Reproductive and Population-level Toxicity ......................................... 59 The relationship between acute and population level effects of exposure to dispersed oil, and the

influence of exposure conditions using multiple life history stages of an estuarine copepod,

Eurytemora affinis, as model planktonic organisms. ....................................................................... 60 Acute and Chronic Effects of Crude Oil and Dispersed Oil on Chinook Salmon Smolts

(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) ......................................................................................................... 61 Studies Using an Estuarine Turtle (the Diamondback Terrapin) to Assess the Potential Longterm

Effects of Oiling of Nests during Early Embryonic Development..................................................... 61 Survival time models quantitatively predict lethal effects of pulsed, short- and long-term exposure to water-soluble oil spill fractions ...................................................................................................... 63 Impacts of Low Level Residual Oils on Toxicity Assessments of Oil Spills ....................................... 63 Guidance for Dispersant Decision Making: Potential for Impacts on Aquatic Biota ........................ 64

OUTREACH & TRAINING TOOLS .......................................................................................................... 66

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 iii

Tools for Preparedness .................................................................................................................. 66 REMOTE SENSING & AERIAL OBSERVATION ........................................................................................ 67

Detection of Oil on and Under Ice - Phase 3 .................................................................................. 67 Development of a Portable Multispectral Aerial Sensor for Real-time Oil Spill Thickness Mapping in Coastal and Offshore Waters ......................................................................................................... 69 Field Verification of SINAP Oil Spill Fate and Transport Modeling and Linking CODAR Observation

Systems Data with SINAP Predictions ............................................................................................ 70 Delivery and Quality Assurance of Short-Term Trajectory Forecasts from HF Radar Observations 72

SHORELINE ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................................... 73 A System for Integrated SCAT Data Collection and Management: .................................................. 73 eSCAT, SCATdb, and Photologger ................................................................................................. 73

SUBMERGED, SUNKEN & HEAVY OILS ................................................................................................. 74 Recovery of Heavy Oil ................................................................................................................... 74 Development of a Predictive Bayesian Data-Derived Multi-Modal Gaussian Maximum-Likelihood

Model of Sunken Oil Mass ............................................................................................................. 75 Investigation of Physical and Chemical Causes of Heavy Oil Submergence .................................... 76

APPENDIX B: FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AS OF DECEMBER 2007 ......................................... 1

PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE COASTAL RESPONSE RESEARCH CENTER (CRRC) BASED ON 2007 RFPS ....... 1

APPENDIX C: SCHEDULED 2008 RESEARCH WORKSHOPS ...................................................... 1

APPENDIX D: SCHEDULED 2008 CONFERENCES ....................................................................... 1

APPENDIX E: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE CHARTER........................................ 1

APPENDIX F: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE 2008 WORK PLAN ........................... 1

S&T Committee’s Annual Report to the NRT .................................................................................... 1 Response Research Clearinghouse - Design & Feasibility Study ...................................................... 1 “Selection Guide for Oil Spill Applied Technologies” Field Test Report ........................................... 2 Selection Guide Review & Update ................................................................................................... 3

Introduction

This report covers the period from January 2008 to December 2008. In an attempt to

better agree on our shared mission, our relationship to the National Response Team

(NRT) and our path forward, the Committee continues to follow its charter and an annual

work plan (see Appendixes F and G). As the Committee’s membership is strictly

voluntary and is an adjunct to members’ official duties, these tools have helped focus the

energies of the Committee and assist in setting attainable objectives in light of time and

budget constraints.

This core mission, in the opinion of the Committee, has been overlooked in past and it is

the Committee’s desire to rectify this through annual reporting to the NRT and related

projects (see: Response Research Clearinghouse and Small Science Protocols Database).

In addition, the S&T Committee hopes to increase its membership with international

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 Page 2

partners (e.g.: Environment Canada, SINTEF, CEDRE), if only on an association basis.

By expanding our reach, we hope to increase the general understanding of response-

related research and development through the industry.

This 2008 Annual Report to the NRT will serve to keep the NRT and its constituent

teams, the 13 Regional Response Teams, informed as to the state of federal research and

development in the field of oil and hazardous substance response. Note that several

sections, most importantly, “Recommendations for Future Research” are incomplete in

this report. Unfortunately, this has fallen casualty to time constraints. Our foremost goal

was to develop a format for the report and inventory on-going research and development.

Subsequent Science & Technology Committee Annual Reports will examine

redundancies and gaps in federal research by means of a subcommittee or review board.

We believe that a critical examination of research and development activities will serve

to better focus scarce research funds and improve research design.

National Response Team

Science & Technology Committee

Stephen Lehmann, Chair

Lisa DiPinto, Alternate Cha


2008 Science & Technology Committee

NOAA/Office of Response & Restoration

o Steve Lehmann (chair)

o Lisa DiPinto (alternate chair)

US EPA

o Leigh Dehaven

o Nick Nichols

o Al Venosa

US Coast Guard

o Karin Messenger (Headquarters)

o Kurt Hansen (R&D Center)

o Kelly Dietrich

Minerals Management Services

o Joe Mullin

Department of Labor

o John Koerner (OSHA)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

o Mike Allred

Department of Energy

o Jim Powers

Department of Homeland Security

o Tom Smith (FEMA)

Department of Defense (US Navy)

Contract Support

o Sara Walker (SRA)

Ex Officio Members

CRRC

o Amy Merten (co-director for CRRC)

API

o Marc Hodges


Oil Spill Research and Development Organizations

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CENTER, US COAST GUARD

The Center is the Coast Guard's sole facility for performing research, development,

test and evaluation in support of the Coast Guard's major missions.

http://www.rdc.uscg.gov/

OIL SPILL RESPONSE RESEARCH, MINERALS MANAGEMENT

SERVICE

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is the principal United States federal

agency that through the Oil Spill Response Research (OSRR) Program, funds oil spill

response research. For more than 25 years, MMS has maintained a comprehensive,

long-term research program to improve oil spill response technologies. The major

focus of the program is to improve the knowledge and technologies used for the

detection, containment and cleanup of oil spills that may occur on the U. S. Outer

Continental Shelf.

http://www.mms.gov/taroilspills/

NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT RESEARCH LABORATORY, US

EPA

The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) is responsible for

providing credible research and technology information needed to advance the goals

of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in improving public

health and the environment. It plans, implements, and manages research,

development, and demonstration programs to provide an authoritative, defensive

engineering basis in support of the policies, programs, and regulations of the EPA

with respect to drinking water, wastewater, pesticides, toxic substances, solid and

hazardous wastes, oil and chemical spills, and Superfund-related activities. The lab’s

Strategic Plan is one of the products of that research and provides a vital

communication link between the researcher and the user community.

http://ciord1nd/NRMRL/Intranet/webfiles.nsf/Files/NRMRLStratPlan2006.pdf/

$file/NRMRLStratPlan2006.pdf

COASTAL RESPONSE RESEARCH CENTER, NOAA/UNH

The Coastal Response Research Center was established as a partnership between the

National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the Office of

Response and Restoration (OR&R), and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in

2004. The Center is administered by and located at the UNH campus in Durham, NH.

http://ciord1nd/NRMRL/Intranet/webfiles.nsf/Files/NRMRLStratPlan2006.pdf/$file/NRMRLStratPlan2006.pdf

http://ciord1nd/NRMRL/Intranet/webfiles.nsf/Files/NRMRLStratPlan2006.pdf/$file/NRMRLStratPlan2006.pdf


This partnership stimulates innovation in spill preparedness, response, assessment,

and implementation of optimum spill recovery strategies. The primary purpose of the

Center is to bring together the resources of a research-oriented university and the field

expertise of OR&R to conduct and oversee basic and applied research, conduct

outreach, and encourage strategic partnerships in spill response, assessment and

restoration.

The Center involves individuals and institutions, public and private, at local, regional,

national and international levels in identifying needs, evaluating and demonstrating

promising technologies, and fostering their use as part of new, integrative approaches

to response and restoration.

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/

OFFICE OF RESPONSE & RESTORATION, NOAA

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) protects coastal and marine

resources, mitigates threats, reduces harm, and restores ecological function. The

Office provides comprehensive solutions to environmental hazards caused by oil,

chemicals, and marine debris.

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/

Oil Spill Response Research, Minerals Management Service

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is the principal United States federal agency

that through the Oil Spill Response Research (OSRR) Program, funds oil spill response

research. For more than 25 years, MMS has maintained a comprehensive, long-term

research program to improve oil spill response technologies. The major focus of the

program is to improve the knowledge and technologies used for the detection,

containment and cleanup of oil spills that may occur on the U. S. Outer Continental Shelf.

Current OSRR projects cover a wide spectrum of oil spill response issues and include

laboratory, meso-scale and full-scale field experiments. Major topic areas include:

Remote sensing and detection

Physical and chemical properties of crude oil and oil products

Mechanical containment and recovery

Chemical treating agents and dispersants

In situ burning

Deepwater operations

The MMS operates Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility. Ohmsett is

a unique oil spill response research test facility located at the U.S. Naval Weapons

Station Earle, Leonardo, New Jersey (www.ohmsett.com). Ohmsett plays an essential

role in developing the most effective response technologies, as well as preparing

responders with the most realistic training available before an actual spill. The facility

directly supports the MMS goal of ensuring that the best and safest oil spill detection,

http://www.ohmsett.com/


containment and removal technologies are available to protect the United States coastal

and oceanic environments.

Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility

Ohmsett (an acronym for Oil and Hazardous Materials Simulated Environmental Test

Tank), is the only facility in the world that allows for full-scale oil spill response testing,

training and research can be conducted with a variety of oils in a marine environment

under controlled conditions.

The heart of the facility is the large outdoor, above ground concrete test tank which

measures 203 meters (667 feet) long (the approximate length of two football fields) by 20

meters (65 feet) wide, by 3.3 m (11 feet) deep. It is filled led with 9.84 million liters (2.6

million gallons) of crystal clear salt water, and is maintained at oceanic salinity (35ppt.),

through the addition of salt. Water clarity is maintained by the filtration and chlorinating

systems in order to permit the use of a sophisticated underwater photography and video

imaging system during testing. Spanning the tank are three bridges that move back and

forth along the length of the tank on rails. The main bridge moves along the tank towing

full-size spill response equipment through the water to simulate actual towing at sea or

deployment in current. The towing bridge is capable of exerting a force of 151

kilonewtons (34,000 pounds) while towing equipment at speeds up to 3.3 meters/sec (6.5

knots). The bridge includes an oil distribution system that allows test fluids to be

deposited on the water in front of equipment being tested, to simulate a spill at sea. In

this way, reproducible thicknesses and volumes of oil can be achieved for multiple test

runs.

Conditions simulating ocean wave conditions are created with a wave generating system

and a wave dampening artificial beach. Waves up to one meter (3 feet) in height as well

as a simulated harbor chop can be generated. Tests can be viewed from travelling

bridges, the control tower, or underwater viewing windows on the side of the tank. The

data collection and video systems record test results in real-time both above and below

the water’s surface. The facility also has a meteorological station for continuous weather

measurements, a complete industrial shop and welding area for special fabrication

requirements and a newly constructed and fully equipped chemistry laboratory.

Ohmsett is a government owned, contractor operated facility; and is available for use by

state, federal, and foreign government agencies, industry and academia. The Ohmsett

facility represents a necessary intermediate step between small scale "laboratory testing"

and open water testing of equipment. Without Ohmsett, the testing and evaluation of

equipment, systems and methodologies as well as responder training would have to be

conducted during actual oil spills where conditions cannot be repeated and would

interfere with response operations.

In the past, Ohmsett was used almost exclusively to test and evaluate oil spill skimmers

and containment booms. However, new types of research are being conducted at

Ohmsett to increase facility utilization.


MMS has upgraded the testing capabilities at Ohmsett to provide a controlled

environment for cold water testing and training (with or without ice). The facility

is now able to simulate realistic broken ice conditions. These upgrades enable the

Ohmsett facility to remain open year round offering cold water testing and

training during the winter months.

We have the ability to test and evaluate fire resistant containment booms using an

air-injected propane burner system that realistically simulates in situ burning at

sea.

Ohmsett facility is rapidly becoming a world leader in dispersant effectiveness

testing through the design and development of a calibrated, referenced and

realistic test protocol and subsequent testing under cold and temperate conditions

using fresh and weathered crude and fuel oils.

The Ohmsett facility allows for testing and evaluation of remote sensing

instruments under a wide range of conditions. Sensors can be mounted on the

Ohmsett Bridge or on the tower above the tank. The tank is also large enough

that aircraft and helicopters can fly over a test oil slick to evaluate sensor

performance.

The facility has recently developed the capability to conduct sunken and

submerged oil testing.

Ohmsett is also the premier training site for spill response personnel from state

and federal government agencies, private industry and foreign countries.

The Ohmsett facility is developing the capability to conduct independent and

objective performance testing of emerging marine renewable energy devices. The

aim is to provide as realistic conditions in the model scale as possible including

realistic parameters for wave heights, wave periods, directional spreading water

depth etc. The program will include design and survival testing.

Results from Ohmsett testing are used by local, state and federal regional response teams

and regulators to make scientific decisions on the use of oil spill response tools in their

jurisdictions. Funds to operate Ohmsett are appropriated from the Oil Spill Liability

Trust Fund (OSLTF) which was established under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA-

90).

Appendix A

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 A-1

Appendix A: Research Descriptions and Abstracts

ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Subject Mitigating Oil Spills from Offshore Oil and Gas Activities by Enhancement of Oil-

Mineral Aggregate Formation Principal Investigator Dr. Ken Lee, Department of Fisheries and Oceans – Center for Offshore Oil and Gas Environmental

Research (COOGER).

Contracting Agency Minerals Management Service

Estimated Completion April 30, 2009

Description or

Abstract

To assess the feasibility of a marine oil spill countermeasure strategy based on the stimulation of oil-

mineral aggregate (OMA) formation. Experiments will be conducted on both laboratory and wave tank

systems under controlled conditions to evaluate its potential effectiveness for the treatment of oil spills

from ships, facilities or pipelines. Conceptual mathematical models will be developed from the data to

identify the fundamental processes affecting operational effectiveness as a means to provide guidance

for field operations. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/585.htm. This project is co-funded with the

Department of Fisheries and Oceans – Center for Offshore Oil and Gas Environmental Research

(COOGER).

Progress The test oils and minerals have been selected for this project. The test plan and test matrix for

laboratory testing and wave tank testing has been developed and wave tank testing has commenced.

The period of performance for this research contract has been extended until April 2009. Laboratory

experiments were conducted with three crude oils (ANS, MESA and Heidrun) under a variety of

different treatment conditions. The effects of different mineral fines and absorbents (Kaolin,

Diatomite, Fly Ash, Graphite, Modified Kaolin #1, Modified Kaolin #2, and Miracle Sorb NE) on the

formation of OMA. Wave tank studies will be conducted on the formation of OMA.

Reports

Key Word Oil-Mineral Aggregate

Subject Effects of Dispersants on Oil-SPM Aggregation and Fate in US Coastal Waters Principal Investigator Ali Khelifa (Environment Canada)

http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/585.htm

Appendix A


Contracting Agency UNH/NOAA: Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC)

Estimated Completion Completed report available on website www.crrc.unh.edu

Description or

Abstract

During marine oil spills, physically-dispersed oil droplets aggregate readily with suspended particulate

matter (SPM) such as clay minerals or organic matters to form oil-SPM aggregates (OSA). The

simplest aggregate consists of an oil droplet coated with micron-sized solid grains. This process

enhances dispersion of spilled oils by preventing the droplets from sticking to each other and reforming

oil slicks, and by enhancing their density to make them nearly neutrally buoyant. However, this is not

verified with chemically-dispersed oil. Chemical dispersants both reduce the size of oil droplets and

alter their surface chemical properties.

Thus, application of chemical dispersants in areas of high SPM concentrations is expected to have

significant effects on formation and fate of OSA and may be operationally problematic. As SPM are

typically 2 to 3 times denser than most crude oils, a major concern is that chemically-dispersed oil

droplets in the water column may aggregate with SPM and settle to the seafloor. Because of difficulties

in cleaning up sunken oil, transferring oil from the surface to the seafloor can result in long-term

environmental impacts to marine life. The dearth of process-based knowledge regarding OSA

formation with chemically-dispersed oil has left decision makers and end users lacking scientific

information on factors affecting this phenomenon.

We propose to study the OSA formation process in the laboratory using various natural

sediment/oil/dispersant mixtures so that factors controlling formation and fate of chemically-dispersed

oil droplets in coastal environments can be better understood and modeled. We also propose to

integrate the results into the MCOSA model (Monte Carlo model for OSA formation). As such, this

project will address at least four priority areas for spill research and development identified in the RFP

and in the newly released National Research Council report: Understanding Oil Spill Dispersants:

Efficacy and Effects (NRC 2005). These priority areas are: 1) Oil-Suspended Particle Matter

interactions, 2) Fate of chemically dispersed oil droplets in coastal environments with high suspended

solids, 3) Improvement of oil spill fate and transport models, and 4) Natural recovery of oiled aquatic

systems

Progress

Reports


Appendix A


Subject Use of Natural Oil Seeps for Evaluation of Dispersant Application and Monitoring

Techniques Principal Investigator James R. Payne, Ph.D. (Payne Environmental Consultants, Inc.) Alan A. Allen (Spiltec) William

Driskell, Ph.D. (Consultant)



Description or

Abstract

Utilizing the natural seeps of Santa Barbara, California, this project has three primary objectives: 1) to

demonstrate the NEAT SWEEP boom and dispersant application technology under full-scale field

conditions as a follow-up to its successful OHMSETT trails, 2) to continuously monitor dispersant

effectiveness in real-time using NOAA SMART Protocols, and 3) for the first time, to calibrate the

SMART Protocol results with discrete large volume sampling of dissolved and dispersed oil-droplet

phase hydrocarbons. The resulting data can enhance oil spill response decisions, through improved and

validated monitoring methods and more efficient dispersant application techniques. This project is a

cooperative effort between two private consulting firms (PECI and Spiltec), the developers of the

NEAT SWEEP technology (Elastec American Marine), the Clean Seas Santa Barbara Oil-Spill

Response Cooperative, and So Cal Ship Services. Personnel from the UCSB Natural Hydrocarbon

Seep Project, the USCG, NOAA, CA Fish and Game OSPR, and other state and federal agencies have

also been invited to participate. As such, this project fulfills several of the main operating principles of

both CICEET and OR&R to "foster collaboration between academia, government, and the private

sector" through commitment to interdisciplinary work." All parties agree that this project represents an

advance in dispersant technology and a unique opportunity to intercalibrate monitoring procedures.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Dispersant Effectiveness as a Function of Energy Dissipation Rate and Particle Size

Distribution Principal Investigator Dr. Kenneth Lee (Bedford Institute of Oceanography)

Key Word


Appendix A



Estimated Completion 2009

Description or

Abstract

A recent investigation by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Science

concluded that in the area of dispersant effectiveness, the two most important factors that need to be

addressed and fully characterized in terms of efficacy are energy dissipation rate and particle size

distribution. In addition, the committee recommended more definitive toxicological studies to assess

the risk of detrimental ecological effects associated with chemical oil dispersant use. A wave tank

facility was designed and constructed last year at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) in

collaboration between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) to specifically address these factors in controlled oil dispersion studies. This project

directly addresses the NRC recommendations in all three areas, namely, measuring dispersant

effectiveness at different sea state conditions (turbulence), measuring particle size distribution and

relating it to mass balance, and defining the induced toxic response to pelagic fish species in flow-

through operation. The wave tank at BIO is able to produce breaking waves at precise locations in the

tank reproducibly and is fully equipped to enable measurements of dispersed oil in the water column. A

laser in-situ scattering and transmissometry (LISST-100X) particle size analyzer will be used to

measure particle size distribution. In support of operational use of dispersants, the application of a

multiple simultaneous scattering and fluorescence sensor technology will be developed under this

program to provide real-time field data on the concentration and 3-dimensional profile of dispersed and

non-dispersed oils at sea. In addition, for ecological risk assessments, this study will provide much

needed insight on long-term chronic toxic threshold limits for oil dispersants on pelagic species of fish

under dilution regimes expected at sea. In summary, this project fulfills the multiple goals defined by

the CRRC as specified in its original RFP.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Dispersant SMART Protocol Update Principal Investigator Dr. Ken Trudel and Mr. Randy Belore, SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd.

Contracting Agency USCG Research and Development Center

Appendix A


Estimated Completion Completed 2008

Description or

Abstract

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Since the SMART (Special Monitoring of Applied Technologies)

protocol was developed, new sampling equipment has come on the market and OHMSETT data

indicates that some of the assumptions underlying the protocol may be incorrect. The SMART protocol

requires updating to better support dispersant usage decisions. As the CG is the FOSC (Federal On-

Scene Coordinator) for the Coastal Zone and as the National Strike Force (NSF) is the primary

resource for coordinating and employing the SMART protocol, the CG has a major stake in ensuring

the protocol is current, represents a defensible process, and can be efficiently implemented.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES: This project will evaluate existing data to determine the best

measures/indicators/processes by which to determine dispersant effectiveness. The primary data source

will be the results of dispersant testing at the Oil and Hazardous Materials Simulated Environmental

Test Tank (OHMSETT). Additionally, measurement devices as represented by those currently in use

at OHMSETT and other locations will be evaluated for suitability. Follow-on efforts will expand the

test and evaluation of sampling devices in real-world settings. The results from the data analysis and

equipment evaluation will then be used to modify the SMART protocol for oil dispersants

(instrumentation, procedures, data requirements) to better support decision-making.

Progress The initial efforts have been completed but additional funding was not available in FY08 to continue

the project. An interim report is being compiled that will contain a summary of the findings and

recommendations for future efforts if funds become available.

Reports Final report published on MMS Internet Site, September, 2008

Key Word

Subject Upgrade of SMART Dispersant Effectiveness Monitoring Protocol Principal Investigator Mr. Mark VanHaverbeke


Estimated Completion Completed 2008

Description or

Abstract

The objectives of this research project are three-fold:

1. To conduct an analysis of monitoring data (visual and instrumental monitoring) collected

during Ohmsett dispersant experiments completed between 2003 through 2007, for the

Appendix A


purposes of verifying the reliability of existing SMART effectiveness monitoring protocols and

recommending changes to improve monitoring methods;

2. Obtain input from end-users of the SMART protocol regarding past experience with the

protocol and instrumentation, as well as their needs for upgrading the effectiveness and

operational utility of the protocol; and

3. To review the commercially available off-the-shelf instruments that might fit the needs of the

USCG Strike Teams for monitoring the effectiveness of oil spill dispersant operations.

This project is co-funded with the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center, Groton, CT.

http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/598.htm.

Progress Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for the project was assembled and has representatives from the

USCG, EPA, MMS and NOAA. A two-day meeting was held September 19-20 at the U.S. EPA in

Edison NJ to conduct a Wants/Needs Analysis. More than 25 attendees from federal agencies and

private industry participated in the workshop. The workshop had two breakout focuses the Operations

Group and The Interpretation Group. The workshop laid the groundwork for updating the SMART

protocol for dispersants. Guidance was developed for the technical evaluation of the existing data and

the user wants/needs analysis will guide in the selection of instruments for evaluation. The workshop

was not intended to come up with the answers but to make sure that we understand the issues. The final

reports have been accepted by MMS. This project is complete.

Reports Update SMART Protocol for Monitoring Efficacy of Oil Spill Dispersant Operations: Proceedings of

the Stakeholders Workshop, S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd., Ottawa, ON Canada, 21 pp.,

August 1008.

Updating the SMART Dispersant Monitoring Protocol: Review of Commercial off the Shelf

Instruments, S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd., Ottawa, ON, Canada, 19 pp., August 2008.

Updating the SMART Dispersant Monitoring Protocol: Review of Ohmsett Results from 2001-2007,

S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd., Ottawa, ON, Canada, 45 pp., August 2008.

Key Word Dispersants, SMART Protocol, Ohmsett


Appendix A


Subject Employing Chemical Herders to Improve Oil Spill Response Operations Principal Investigator Mr. Ian Buist, SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd.


Estimated Completion February 27, 2009

Description or

Abstract

The objective of this research program is to extend the research on herders in pack ice conditions, in

open water and in salt marshes. This proposed project is a continuation of TAR Project 554 “Mid-Scale

Test Tank Research on Using Oil Herding Surfactants to Thicken Oil Slicks in Broken Ice”. There are

two tasks in this project. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/617.htm.

Task 1: Using Herders to Enhance Mechanical Recovery of Oil in Pack Ice

Field deployment tests of booms and skimmers in broken ice conditions in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea

highlighted the severe limitations of conventional containment and recovery equipment in even trace

ice (Bronson et al. 2002). The main problem is that booms, deployed to collect and concentrate oil for

effective skimming, also collect and concentrate ice pieces that quickly render the skimmers

ineffective. The research on using herding agents to thicken slicks for in situ burning has shown that

they can significantly contract and thicken oil among ice, without concentrating the surrounding ice.

This could be beneficial to mechanical recovery. In fact, as a skimmer removes oil from the center of a

herded slick, the action of the herding agent may cause the slick to continuously contract towards the

skimmer, eliminating the need to move the skimmer around to contact all the oil. However, it has been

observed that the active ingredient in herding agents (the surfactant) renders sorbent pads less

hydrophobic and their water retention increases considerably. This could be a significant detriment to

oleophilic skimmers such as drums, discs and rope mops whose recovery surfaces contact herding

agent. This should not be an issue with other skimmers types such as weirs and vacuums.

Experiments will be conducted in the laboratory and at Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response

Test facility to explore the capabilities and limitations of using herding agents to thicken oil in loose

pack ice for recovery by skimmers.

Task 2: Using Herders to Clear Oil Slicks in Salt Marshes


Appendix A


A parallel to the situation in pack ice exists in salt marsh environments: access for mechanical recovery

equipment is almost non-existent due to concerns over damaging the marsh substrate. This task will

involve preliminary laboratory experiments in small-scale simulated marshes to determine if chemical

herders might play a role in clearing spilled oil from the marsh.

Progress The experiments associated with Task 1: Using Herders to Enhance Mechanical Recovery of Oil in

Pack Ice will be conducted at Ohmsett in February 2009.

Small scale experiments associated with Task 2: Using Herders to Clear Oil Slicks in Salt Marshes

were conducted in Ottawa, ON the last two weeks of September 2008.

Reports

Key Word Chemical Herders, Mechanical Recovery, Ice

Subject Literature Review on Chemical Treating Agents in Fresh and Brackish Water Principal Investigator Mr. Randy Belore, SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd.


Estimated Completion December 31, 2009

Description or

Abstract

Chemical treating agents and chemical dispersants are designed to work effectively in salt water (35ppt

salinity). Near shore environments are seasonally influenced by significant freshwater outfalls (i.e.

Mississippi River) and northern marine areas where melting sea ice poses unique situations where the

use of dispersants might be used. The water in these areas will be fresh (0% salinity) and brackish (10-

15% salinity) and this may alter the effectiveness of chemical treating agents and dispersants and thus

alter the treating agents and dispersant use decision.

The three regional representatives on the MMS oil spill response research team identified an

information gap and requested a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of chemical treating

agents, including dispersants in fresh and brackish water. The information is required to assist the

regional offices in making science based regulatory decisions on the use of chemical treating agents

under these conditions. This research information would be useful to the to the oil spill planning and

response community and will assist those making dispersant use decisions in variable seasonal

Appendix A


conditions. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/635.htm.

Objective: The objective of this research project is to conduct a comprehensive literature review and

technical evaluation on the use of on chemical treating agents in fresh and brackish water.

Task 1. Literature Search and Document Retrieval Deliverable: Comprehensive literature review on the

use of on chemical treating agents in fresh and brackish water.

Task 2. Technical Assessment of Relevant Literature Deliverable: Technical assessment of the

literature acquired under Task 1.

Task 3. Final Technical Report Deliverable: Final Technical report.

Progress This project has recently been initiated.

Reports

Key Word Chemical Treating Agents, Fresh Water, Brackish Water

Subject Characteristics, Behavior and Response Effectiveness of Spilled Dielectric Insulating

Oil in the Marine Environment Principal Investigator Dr. Edward Overton, Louisiana State University



Description or

Abstract

Planned wind projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf could consist of wind turbine generators

connected to a centralized electrical service platform (ESP). The ESP could contain approximately

40,000 gallons of dielectric insulating oil and approximately 2,000 gallons of assorted oil-based fluids

(diesel fuel, lubricating oils, etc.) stored on site for facility maintenance. In addition, each wind

turbines could have several hundred gallons of lubricating fluid. The dielectric insulating fluid used in

the ESP is typically a mineral oil, but vegetable based oils (soybean oil) may also be used. Several

concerns have been raised by regulatory agency and environmental conservancy groups as to the

environmental effects of a possible oil spill due to accidental vessel collision or natural catastrophe.


Appendix A


The two main concerns addressed were probability of oiling and the minimum transit time of the oil to

area and resources at risk.

Numerous toxicological studies have been performed on mineral and vegetable-based oils over the last

decade. Mineral and vegetable-based oils display low direct toxicity because they do not contain the

water soluble and multi-ringed poly-nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons typically found in petroleum-based

oils. Due to their low toxicity and usage, little research has been performed on the response options

available to cleanup a spill of dielectric fluids on the marine environment. In the unlikely event of a

spill, how would the dielectric insulating oil be removed from our oceans and shorelines? How

persistent are these oils in the marine environment?

To provide a comprehensive analysis of the possible fate and effects of spilled dielectric insulating oil,

LSU and MMS will conduct a collaborative one (1) year project to provide a detailed literature review

and scientific information on the characteristics, weathering behavior, and window of opportunity for

using short-term response options for removal of spilled dielectric fluids in the marine environment.

The goals of this project will be achieved through a series of laboratory and field-scale studies

conducted at research facilities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (LSU) and Leonardo, New Jersey

(Ohmsett). The results from this project will have a direct effect on the spill response policies and

decision-making of federal and state agencies when dealing with accidental releases of dielectric

insulating fluids in the marine environment. Results from this study will aide planning and

management personnel when designing coastal use permits for future offshore wind generation

systems. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/636.htm.

Objectives: The goals of this one (1) year scientific project are to provide detailed literature review and

produce valid data and results on the characteristics, weathering behavior, and window of opportunity

for using short-term response options for removal of spilled dielectric fluids in the marine environment.

The goals of the proposed project will be achieved through a series of six (6) tasks:

1. An intensive literature review of US and European sources

2. A series of laboratory flask studies to determine weathering characteristic, product


Appendix A


dispersibility, and accurate analytical methodology

3. A field study to accurately determine applicability of in-situ burning as a response tool

4. A laboratory flask study to measure the affects of long-term weathering and biodegradation on

dielectric insulating fluid in the marine environment

5. A series of field studies to accurately determine capabilities/limitations of conventional

response tools for removal of dielectric fluids from the marine environment

6. Preparation and submittal of a final draft and report to MMS

All tasks, except task No. 5, will be performed at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Task No. 5 will be

completed at the Ohmsett facility in Leonardo, New Jersey.


Reports

Key Word Dielectric Fluids, Ohmsett

Subject Acute and Chronic Effects of Oil, Dispersant and Dispersed Oil to Symbiotic

Cnidarian Species Principal Investigator Carys Louise Mitchelmore, Ph.D. and Joel Eric Baker, Ph.D. (University of Maryland, Center for

Environmental Studies, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory)



Description or

Abstract

Cnidarian-algal symbioses exist as a sensitive balance between the two partners (cnidarian host and

symbiont algae). Chemical contaminants can disrupt this balance resulting in symbiosis breakdown and

loss of algae from the host cnidarian (e.g. coral and anemone species). This phenomenon known as

bleaching can result in death of the species and is particularly important in tropical regions where

corals form the trophic and structural foundation of the ecosystem. In temperate coastal communities

Appendix A


symbiotic anemones, such as Anthopleura elegantissima, are important members of the rocky intertidal

community and are also at risk for chemical contaminant driven bleaching events. It has been reported

that chronic, sub-lethal, possibly delayed reactions to oil exposure are more detrimental to coral reefs

compared with acute exposures. Therefore, for oil spill responders to decide upon appropriate response

strategies it is important that decisions are based on sound scientific data. There is little data regarding

the effects (particularly chronic, sub-lethal effects) of oil, dispersants and dispersed oil on these

sensitive cnidarian-algal species using realistic exposure regimes in combination with extensive

chemical characterization of the exposure media and bioaccumulated fractions in these organisms. This

project will address this data gap by providing quantitative chemical analysis, bioaccumulation and

injury data in representative temperate and tropical symbiotic cnidarians using realistic short-term (8

hour) acute laboratory exposures followed with a recovery period for up to one month to assess

delayed effects. Cnidarians will be exposed to various dilutions of wateraccommodated fractions

(WAF) and chemically-enhanced WAF (CEWAF) of oil using standard (CROSERF) techniques. The

possibility of enhanced toxicity via the physical coating of oil droplets on these organisms will be

assessed by using filtered/non-filtered WAF and CEWAF preparations. Extensive chemical analysis on

test waters (before and after exposures) and cnidarian tissues will be carried out by quantifying 53

PAHs and TPH. Injury will be determined using a multi-tired approach employing an array of metrics

from acute endpoints (e.g. mortality) to sub-organismal biomarkers from the molecular through

behavioral levels. By linking measured exposure levels to a series of endpoints over different time

scales, this study will support predictive models and will aid in the decision-making on dispersant use

in areas with coral reefs and in temperate rocky intertidal zones.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Dispersant Effectiveness as a Function of Energy Dissipation Rate and Particle Size

Distribution Principal Investigator Dr. Kenneth Lee (Bedford Institute of Oceanography)

Dr. Michel C. Boufadel, Temple University

Contracting Agency U.S. EPA, NRMRL-Cincinnati

Appendix A



Description or

Abstract

The overall goal of this research is to conduct scientific studies addressing the following objectives: (1)

to quantify the natural rates of dispersion for multiple crude oils over a range of sea states (wave

energies); (2) to quantify the effectiveness of multiple representative oil dispersant formulations on

different types of reference crude oils; (3) to define the sea states (wave energies) over which current

commercial dispersant formulations are most effective by quantifying the degree of dispersion

expected under varying wave energies; and (4) to conduct toxicological analyses of exposed organisms

to determine if dispersed oil provides a toxic exposure to the test species. All of these studies will be

done under both batch and continuous flow conditions to accommodate sea currents that further dilute

the dispersed oil over time. To achieve the stated objectives, pilot-scale wave studies will be conducted

in a fabricated wave tank that will simulate different wave conditions including periodic breaking

waves amid regular, non-breaking waves. The wave tank measures 32 m long, 0.6 m wide, and 2.0 m

deep. The tank is equipped with a flap-type wavemaker that generates waves with periods varying from

about 0.5 to 3 seconds.

Progress

Reports

Key Word Dispersants, energy dissipation rate, dispersion effectiveness, wave tanks

Subject Dispersion of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products in Freshwater Principal Investigator Dr. Brian A. Wrenn

Washington University, St. Louis



Description or

Abstract

Dispersants are not used to treat oil spills in freshwater in the U.S. This is partly due to the absence of

dispersants that are effective in freshwater on the NCP Product Schedule and partly due to the

perception that dispersion of oil in freshwater would cause unacceptable harm to valuable resources

(e.g., public water supplies, endangered species). In addition, there appears to be a perception that

dispersants cannot work in freshwater, but this may be due (at least in part) to attempts to use

dispersants that were optimized for use in seawater. At least six commercial dispersants have been

approved for freshwater use in France. So, it may be possible to optimize dispersant formulations to

Appendix A


promote effectiveness in freshwater. The environmental consequences of oil-spill dispersion will be

determined in part by the dilution potential of the affected water body and partly by the long-term fate

of the dispersed oil (e.g., stability of the dispersed oil droplets, biodegradation rate, and tendency to

interact with sediments and other surfaces). Since several important water bodies (e.g., the Mississippi

River, the Great Lakes) have sufficient dilution potential to accommodate dispersion of relatively large

oil spills, a blanket prohibition against the use of dispersants in freshwater may be ill advised. The

objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between dispersant composition and

effectiveness of dispersion of fresh and weathered crude oil in freshwater. The effectiveness of several

commercial dispersants that are purported to be effective in freshwater will be evaluated and compared

to mixtures of surfactants with known composition.

Progress

Reports

Key Word Dispersants, freshwater

Subject Development of a Protocol for Testing the Efficacy of Surface Washing Agents in

Removing Oil Contaminating the Surfaces of Shorelines Principal Investigator Dr. Albert D. Venosa

U.S. EPA, NRMRL-Cincinnati

Contracting Agency EPA, NRMRL-Cincinnati


Description or

Abstract

NRMRL-Cincinnati is conducting research to develop a testing protocol to evaluate the effectiveness

of surface washing agents (SWAs) in the laboratory. The purpose of the research is to determine the

contribution of several variables on the performance of SWAs to remove crude oil adhered to surfaces

such as sand and/or gravel. Variables being considered include substrate type (sand and gravel), SWA

concentration, SWA:oil ratio (SOR), contact time between the SWA and the oil, rotational speed of the

mixing apparatus, and mixing time. Fixed variables include substrate moisture, drain time, oil volume,

oil and SWA application pattern, weathering time, seawater volume, oil type, and temperature. The

experiments will be done to test which factors are the most important affecting oil recovery in the

presence of surface-washing agents.

Appendix A


Progress

Reports

Key Word Surface washing agents, protocols

Subject Aerobic Biodegradability and Toxicity of Non-Petroleum Oils Principal Investigator Makram T. Suidan, Pegasus Environmental Services, Inc.



Description or

Abstract

The overall objective of this project is to quantify the oxygen depletion and aqueous toxicity in oil-

impacted water columns that are poorly, moderately, and fully mixed because depletion of oxygen in

such water columns and release of toxic intermediates can lead to severe toxic impacts on the receiving

water body. This evaluation will be performed on canola oil with and without the presence of butylated

hydroxytoluene (BHT), the most commonly used antioxidant in the vegetable oil industry. Future

research beyond completion of the canola oil study will take place for other types of vegetable oils

and/or animal fats.

Progress

Reports

Key Word Vegetable oil, aerobic biodegradation

Subject Effect of Particle Size, Oil Contamination, and Water Table Level on the

Effectiveness of Sorbents in Wicking Oil from the Subsurface Principal Investigator Dr. Makram T. Suidan

Pegasus Environmental Services, Inc.



Description or

Abstract

This project emanated directly from another project conducted in 2000-2001 entitled “Ecosystem

Restoration of Oil-Contaminated Coastal Salt Marshes: Field Study”. In that study, we found that if oil

has penetrated into the anaerobic zone of a saturated wetland or salt marsh, bioremediation is inhibited

Appendix A


no matter how much fertilizer one adds for biostimulation. This is because petroleum hydrocarbons are

best degraded under aerobic conditions. Tilling was attempted in the aforementioned project to aerate

the rhizosphere, but this caused more damage than the original oil spill. Rhizosphere root systems were

disrupted, preventing recovery of the contaminated vegetation. Since it is clear that oxygen cannot be

delivered to the subsurface harmlessly, the next question is, can the oil be brought to the surface where

aerobic conditions will allow normal biodegradation to take place? Various types of sorbents are being

investigated to determine if oil in the wetland subsurface can be wicked to the surface where aerobic

biodegradation can take place.

Progress

Reports

Key Word Sorbents, wicking, wetlands

Subject Anaerobic Biodegradability and Toxicity of Non-Petroleum Oils Principal Investigator Dr. Brian A. Wrenn

Washington University, St. Louis

Dr. Makram T. Suidan

Pegasus Environmental Systems, Inc.

Dr. Kenneth Lee

Fisheries and Oceans Canada



Description or

Abstract

Because the most damaging effects of vegetable oil spills occur while the oil is floating on the water

surface, rapid response is critical to minimizing the harmful effects of vegetable oil spills.

Conventional oil-spill response techniques, such as booming and skimming operations, are used for

vegetable oil spills, but these procedures are labor intensive, expensive, and may require substantial

time to mobilize a response. Previous research investigated the feasibility of an alternative spill

response that is expected to be faster, less expensive, and easier to implement than traditional

technologies. The proposed spill response alternative involves sedimentation of floating vegetable oil

by addition of a dense mineral, such as clay, that will interact with the oil to form negatively buoyant

oil-mineral aggregates (OMAs) that will settle out of the water column. The oil that is transported to

Appendix A


the sediment compartment by this process is expected to be degraded to harmless products, especially

methane and carbon dioxide, by indigenous anaerobic microorganisms. Laboratory investigations of

this strategy have been completed and were successful. The next step is to design field experiments for

testing the strategy under real world conditions. The Canadian Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) is

ideally suited to conduct such experimental spill studies. Work is planned for FY 08 and 09 to begin

research on field-testing this strategy in the ELA.

Progress

Reports

Key Word Vegetable oil, anaerobic biodegradation

Subject Optimization of Nutrient Application for Oil Bioremediation on Beaches Principal Investigator Dr. Michel C. Boufadel

Temple University



Description or

Abstract

Biostimulation (addition of nitrogen and phosphorus to stimulate bacteria to degrade the contaminant)

is a viable technology for restoration of oil-contaminated shorelines. Biodegradation studies recently

completed by ORD in the lab and in the field have demonstrated that nitrogen concentrations ranging

from approximately 2 to 10 mg/L in the interstitial pore water are sufficient for near-maximum growth

of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms. The effectiveness of biostimulation depends on continuous

contact between the added nutrients and the oil within the contamination zone. Maximizing the

residence time of nutrients in this zone is the key to achieve rapid and cost-effective cleanup. Design of

effective nutrient delivery systems requires an understanding of the transport and persistence of water-

soluble nutrients through the contaminated matrix. From ORD-supported nutrient transport studies on

coastal beaches in the mid-1990s, we know that water flow through the porous matrix of a beach is

driven by a combination of four main factors: (1) wave action, (2) the presence of a saltwater wedge

below incoming freshwater flow from behind the beach, (3) tidal action, and (4) the density differences

between the nutrient solution and the ambient water. We also know from wetland/marsh studies in

1999-2001 that nutrient recycling occurs in these environments from accumulation of detrital matter

from decaying vegetation. The missing factor from these studies is guidance for spill responders on

Appendix A


how to select the optimum nutrient application strategy based on these interacting nutrient-transport

factors. This study will fill that gap and provide design nomographs to facilitate decisions on how best

to implement bioremediation on tidally inundated beaches.

Progress

Reports

Key Word Biostimulation, nutrient application, nomographs

Subject Biodegradability and Toxicity of Biodiesel Blends Principal Investigator



Description or

Abstract

While there are great benefits to using biodiesel as a fuel, its environmental fate and effects need to be

evaluated and the risks associated with their use understood. There is a dearth of information on the

states and conditions biodiesel and its blends have in the environment, their fate, and their effects on

aquatic organisms. The current understanding of the fate and effects of biodiesel and its various blends

is inadequate to evaluate environmental risks from its use. Furthermore, unlike petroleum diesel,

biodiesel fuels are made from many sources, including soy oil, rapeseed/canola oil, reclaimed

restaurant grease, fish oil, and rendered animal fats, each having different chemical compositions. This

wide variability of biodiesel formulations may result in very different toxicological and environmental

fates depending on the feedstock. The objective of this work is to determine the biodegradability and

biodegradation kinetics of three different commonly used biodiesel blends (B0, B20, and B100,

corresponding to 100% petroleum diesel, 20% soybean oil fatty acid methyl esters and 80% petroleum

diesel, and 100% soybean oil fatty acid methyl esters, respectively). The second objective is to quantify

the toxicity of the water accommodated fraction of the three biodiesel blends as measured by the

Microtox assay, which uses the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri as the test species.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Appendix A


CHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND FINGERPRINTING

COLD WEATHER & OIL-IN-ICE RESEARCH

Subject Arctic Operations Research Principal Investigator Mr. Kurt Hansen

Contracting Agency USCG Research and Development Center (RDC)

Estimated Completion FY 2009

Description or

Abstract

PROBLEM STATEMENT: The CG currently has no equipment, aircraft, or vessels stationed north

of the Arctic Circle. As the ice cover recedes, more fishing, commercial, research and tourist vessels

are expected to transit this area. The CG must begin to plan on how all of its missions can be executed

in this environment. It is expected that oil spill response will be high on the priority list as multiple

companies push to begin drilling.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE: The goal for this RDC project is to become the CG’s main source for (a)

CG-specific, Arctic information, and (b) objectively-based analyses in support of the definition and

development of appropriate CG capabilities and CONOPS for Arctic operations. Progress This is primarily an internal CG effort and initial efforts started February, 2008 to identify sources of

information and data. A mission analysis has been started to identify the needs for CG missions in the

Arctic.

Reports

Key Word

Subject Oil-in-Ice: Transport, Fate, and Potential Exposure Principal Investigator Whitney Blanchard

(Coastal Response Research Center, University of New Hampshire and SINTEF

Appendix A


Marine Environmental Technology), Odd Gunnar Brakstad (SINTEF Marine Environmental

Technology), Hajo Eicken (Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks), Liv-Guri Faksness

(SINTEF Marine Environmental Technology), Per Johan Brandvik (SINTEF Marine Environmental

Technology), Øistein Johansen (SINTEF Marine Environmental Technology), Nancy E. Kinner

(Coastal Response Research Center, University of New Hampshire), Rainer Lohmann (Graduate

School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island), Amy Merten (Coastal Response Research

Center, University of New Hampshire and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Scott

Pegau (Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute), Chris Petrich

(Geophysical Institute,

University of Alaska Fairbanks), and Mark Reed (SINTEF Marine Environmental Technology)



Description or

Abstract

Oil spilled in the arctic marine environment can be rapidly frozen into the ice sheet. The oil will in this

way be to some extent preserved, in the sense that evaporation, dissolution, and degradation are

expected to be reduced. This implies that the oil will retain much of its potential toxicity upon release

from the ice, either via transport in brines channels and/or eventual breakup and melting of the ice

sheet. Being able to estimate the pathways, release rates, and chemical characteristics of the remaining

oil will provide the basis for eventual environmental risk and impact assessments. The purpose of this

project is to provide a basis and methodology for estimating routes and magnitudes of potential

environmental exposures and concentrations of oil components migrating through the ice regime as the

oil is subjected to a freezing-thawing cycle.

A transport/exposure laboratory study is suggested to determine how ice growth conditions affect the

transport and fate of entrapped oil in ice. Quantitative data on the partitioning of oil (dissolved,

particulate oil) components (bioavailable fractions) into brine inclusions and channels, and rates of

vertical transport, will be collected. Since biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at subzero

temperatures has not yet been shown, it will be essential to determine if crude oil biodegradation takes

place in marine sea ice within a defined span of time and to what extent. If so, the contribution of

biodegradation to the depletion of hydrocarbons in comparison to other depletion processes will be

quantified.

The study directly addresses the need for exposure and injury assessment tools for oil spills in cold

climates. The use of passive samplers is a fast and cheap method to detect polycyclic aromatic

Appendix A


hydrocarbons (PAHs), the most toxic group of all the compounds present in oil. In this proposal, we

suggest advancing the use of two different passive samplers as a tool to detect PAHs from oil spills in

ice cores. The two types of passives samplers being considered are polyethylene (PE), and solid-phase

micro-extraction (SPME) fibers. They will be used to detect the transport and fate of oil-derived PAHs

in ice cores.

In a combination of laboratory and field studies, performance reference compounds will be included in

the polyethylene matrix to enable their use as kinetic samplers and shorten deployment time in the

field. In flow-through exposures using Narragansett Bay water, deployment will be undertaken to

verify the use of the passives samplers to reflect dissolved concentrations as either equilibrium or

kinetic samplers. Finally, in simulated oil spills in ice cores in the laboratory, dissolved concentrations

of oil components will be detected using the passive samplers. The developed passive samplers will

enable the oil spill community to deploy passive samplers to measure baseline conditions before a spill,

as kinetic samplers during a spill and during the recovery phase of the natural ecosystem.

The findings from the laboratory experiments will be used in the development of an oil-in-ice sub-

model. In contrast to most other recent and on-going work at the macro-scale, this project will start at

the micro- and meso-scale (roughly mm to cm and cm to m or greater, respectively), to build up an

understanding and a dynamic model from basic principles, to the maximum extent possible. Other

experimental and model development work at this scale will contribute to the technical basis for the

proposed model development.

The development of the numerical model associated with this project will integrate knowledge,

understanding, and data derived from other tasks within this project and from earlier work by other

investigators, into an internally consistent and relatively comprehensive numerical framework. The

goal is to produce a dynamic module focused on micro- and macro- physical scales, built up as much

as possible from first principles, to serve as a building block in an eventual large scale model of ice

dynamics. The available level of funding is insufficient to complete the modeling work, in addition to

all the necessary laboratory work. We therefore propose to produce a prototype model at the end of the

first year, and seek additional funding to complete the model calibration, testing and documentation

during the second year.

Appendix A


Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Research at Ohmsett on the Effectiveness of Chemical Dispersants on Alaskan Oils in

Cold Water Principal Investigator Mr. Randy Belore, S. L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd.



Description or

Abstract

The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) funded and conducted two series of large-scale

dispersant experiments in very cold water at Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility,

located in Leonardo, New Jersey in February-March 2006 and January-March 2007. Alaska North

Slope, Endicott, Northstar and Pt. McIntyre crude oils and Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527 dispersants

were used in the two test series. The crude oils were tested fresh, weathered by removal of light ends

using air sparging and weathered by placing the oils on water in both breaking wave and non-breaking

wave conditions.

In February-March 2006, a total of twenty-five large-scale DE experiments were successfully

completed at the Ohmsett facility. Ten control experiments (no dispersant) and fifteen Corexit 9527

dispersant application experiments were completed in the test program. The total quantity of crude oil

used in the 2006 test program was approximately 1,600 liters and between 65 and 80 liters of oil were

used in each experiment. In a few cases where a limited amount of oil was available, smaller volumes

were discharged. The estimated average oil thickness for the oil slicks was 1 to 4 mm depending on

the experiment being conducted. The total quantity of dispersant used in the 2006 test program was

approximately 150 liters and between 4 and 16 liters of dispersant (including overspray) was used in

each experiment.

In January-March 2007, a total of twenty-one large-scale DE experiments were successfully completed

at the Ohmsett facility. Nine control (no dispersant applied), ten Corexit 9500 dispersant applied

Appendix A


experiments and two Corexit 9527 dispersant applied experiments were completed in the test program.

Thirteen of the experiments were conducted between January 30 and February 6 and the remaining

eight experiments were completed between March 13 and March 15, 2007. The air temperature at the

end of the first week of testing dropped dramatically and the tank surface water froze. The ice was

broken up using wave action but a layer of frazil ice built up in the tank and the main test program had

to be suspended until the onset of warmer weather. One test (No.13) was completed in the frazil ice

conditions to investigate the use of dispersants in these conditions while the opportunity presented

itself.

The total quantity of oil used in the 2007 test program was approximately 1,560 liters and between 70

and 85 liters of oil were used in each experiment. The estimated average oil thickness for the slicks

was 1-2 mm depending on the experiment being conducted. The total quantity of dispersant used in

the 2007 test program was approximately 90 liters and between 7 and 12 liters of dispersant was used

in each experiment (including overspray).

Progress Results from the 2006 and 2007 Ohmsett test series demonstrated that both Corexit 9500 and Corexit

9527 dispersants were 85 to 99% effective in dispersing the fresh and weathered crude oils

tested. There were no significant differences found in the oil drop size distributions measured in the

dispersions generated by the two dispersants. The volume median diameters of the oil drop

distributions generated by these dispersants were less than 50 microns indicating that the majority of

the oil in these dispersions would persist in the water column and not rise to the surface in moderate

sea states. All of the experiments were videotaped from the observation tower located on the main

bridge. The video was edited to show the progression of the test from the beginning to the end.

The final reports from both test series have been accepted by MMS. This project is complete. There are

film clips embedded into both final reports.

Reports Report AA - Dispersant Effectiveness Testing in Cold Water on Four Alaskan Crude Oils. SL: Ross

Environmental Research and MAR, Inc., 59 pp. July 2006.

There are twenty-five (25) film clips associated with the final report AA that are available free of

charge on the MMS website.

Appendix A


Report AB - Corexit 9500 Dispersant Effectiveness Testing in Cold Water on Four Alaskan Crude

Oils. SL: Ross Environmental Research and MAR, Inc., 35 pp. May 2007. There are twenty-one (21)

film clips associated with the final report AB that are available free of charge on the MMS website.


Key Word

Subject Oil Recovery with Novel Skimmer Surfaces under Cold Climate Conditions Principal Investigator Dr. Arturo Keller, Victoria Broje and Kristin Clark, University of California, Santa Barbara, Bren

School of Environmental Science and Management



Description or

Abstract

The objective of this project is to perform a comprehensive analysis of the adhesion processes between

oil or ice-in-oil mixtures and various surface patterns and materials that are being used or proposed for

use in oil skimmers, under cold climate conditions. This knowledge will help develop mechanical

response equipment that can be efficiently used under these conditions. The work will include bench

scale studies in our laboratory as well as field testing.

Following the laboratory tests, we will select the materials and surface patterns that performed best

under cold climate conditions, and perform a full scale oil spill recovery test at the U.S Army Corps of

Engineers, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, in Hanover, NH. This will provide

valuable information about the correlation between the laboratory tests and full scale experiments, as

well as demonstrate the potential of the proposed skimmer modifications under conditions similar to

response operations.

Progress Oil adhesion experiments to novel skimmer surfaces under cold climate conditions were conducted at

the University of California, Santa Barbara to examine surface geometry and materials tailored to

conditions present in cold climates. A series of full-scale oil spill recovery experiments were conducted

February 26-March 9, 2007 at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and

Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Lebanon, NH. The goal of the experiments is to provide actual

data as to the effects of oil adhesion on different drums on oil skimmers under varying conditions (oil

types, ice/no ice, drum rotation speed, etc.).


Appendix A


The final project report has been accepted by MMS. This project is complete.

Reports AA – Oil Recovery with Novel Skimmer Surfaces under Cold Climate Conditions, A. Keller, K. Clark,

Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA,

51 pp., August 1, 2007. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/573.htm

Key Word

Subject Cold Climate Research Principal Investigator Mr. Kurt Hansen (USCG Research and Development Center)


Estimated Completion FY 2009

Description or

Abstract

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Existing systems (CG and commercial) are inadequate to detect, track,

contain, recover or abate oil spills in most icing conditions.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE: Identify techniques to detect, track and remediate oil spills in ice in waters

of the United States, focusing on the Beaufort Sea (Alaska) and Southern Alaska. Evaluate equipment

in CG and commercial inventories, determine recovery limits and develop/recommend

modifications/additions to meet spill response needs. Develop CG or industry capability to detect and

remediate oil-in-ice.

BENEFITS: A set of internationally accepted procedures and equipment will be developed that can

contain and recovery oil-in-ice under the conditions expected, thus minimizing environmental damage.

Providing this capability would decrease the impact on the environment by providing better tools. This

is a low frequency scenario; therefore, commercial responders have no incentive to develop this

capability. The CG is in a unique position to develop this capability with national and international

partners.

TECHNICAL APPROACH: Evaluate current oil response techniques through workshops in Alaska

in October 2007.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH: Work with partners through contracts, Memorandum of

Understandings or MIPRs to conduct studies, workshops and tests. Leverage funding for mesoscale

and larger field tests.


Appendix A


Progress Planning was started

Reports

Key Word

COMMAND, CONTROL & COMMUNICATIONS

DISPERSANTS

Subject Development of a Training Package on the Use of Chemical Dispersants for Ohmsett -

The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility Principal

Investigator

Dr. Ken Trudel, SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd.

Contracting

Agency

Minerals Management Service

Estimated

Completion

February 27, 2009

Description or

Abstract

This research project will fill an existing gap in oil spill response in the United States by providing hands on

training in chemical dispersants for first responders, planners and government agencies by utilizing the

unique capabilities of Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility. This project will develop a

chemical dispersant training course to be conducted at Ohmsett that includes practical hands-on experience

with handling, safety, application, monitoring, efficacy and recovery in breaking wave environments. The

Appendix A


contractor will develop training materials and exercises for conducting the class and will provide them to

MMS in digital and hard copy formats. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/613.htm.

Progress The course curriculum has been approved by the MMS. The PI is has submitted the final draft of the

teaching curriculum and teaching materials. MMS has provided suggested changes. The PI is developing the

final instructor guide and student handbooks.

Reports

Key Word Dispersants, Training, Ohmsett

Subject Chemical Dispersant Research at Ohmsett Principal

Investigator

Mr. Randy Belore and Dr. Ken Trudel, SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd., Dr. Alun Lewis, Alun Lewis

Consulting.

Contracting

Agency


Estimated

Completion

Complete

Description or

Abstract

The objective of this research program is to continue research and development on the use of chemical

dispersants. The program contains three separate tasks. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/615.htm.

Task 1: Calm Seas Application and Dispersant Wash-Out

The Petroleum Environmental Research Forum (PERF) funded a research project conducted by SINTEF in

Norway and Cedre in France that has looked at the same issue of dispersant wash out but at laboratory

bench scale. The Oseberg crude oil used in the PERF study was shipped to Ohmsett and was used in the

2007 study (TAR Project 563). To date no comparison of the findings from these two studies has been

made. The first item to be addressed in Task 1 will be to complete such a comparison to determine what can

be learned from the different test methods and scales.

In the testing phase of Task 1 we will implement a similar test protocol to that used in the spring 2007

testing. Multiple test rings will be deployed across in the Ohmsett test tank so a range of slick thickness



Appendix A


and/or oil types can be monitored in one test sequence. Dispersant wash out rates will be monitored

throughout the test period by sampling the surface oil and testing dispersant effectiveness (DE) using a

bench-scale test such as the WSL rotating flask method, as was done successfully in the 2007 testing, as

well as by measuring the interfacial tension of the sampled oil with fresh sea-water. A two-week testing

program was conducted May 19-30, 2008 at Ohmsett to test oil thickness and oil type effects on dispersant

wash-out.

Task 2: Surface Wave Energy Characterization for the Ohmsett Test Tank

The objective of this project would be to measure the surface turbulence at Ohmsett under various wave

configurations and compare these energies to those encountered in the field at specific sea-states. There are

three basic mixing energies of primary significance in the dispersion process. These include the process that

mixes dispersant into the oil, the energy that breaks the treated oil into small droplets and the larger scale

energy that mixes the droplets of oil down into the water column. The proposed work will focus on the

quantification of the surface turbulence available to break the treated slick into a fine-drop, oil-in-water

dispersion. Because of the shallow depth of the Ohmsett tank the third mixing process cannot be fully

simulated at Ohmsett. The mixing of applied dispersant into the oil versus water is an important short-term

process but it is not the critical component except where viscous oils or emulsions are involved. A two-

week testing program was conducted August 18-29, 2008 at Ohmsett.

Task 3: Dispersant Effectiveness on Heavy California Oils

Dispersant effectiveness (DE) experiments were conducted on six viscous Californian Outer Continental

Shelf (OCS) crude oils in April of 2005 at Ohmsett to gather data on this subject. (TAR Project No. 514).

The crude oils tested with viscosities lower than 6500 cP were dispersible to a significant degree whereas

the oils with viscosities of 33,000 cP and greater were not. Oils with similar viscosities yielded similar DE

results suggesting that viscosity alone was a good measure of likely DE, at least in this test series.

Unfortunately oils with viscosities between 6500 and 33,000 cP were not available for testing during the

2005 study.

The objective of this project will be to obtain California OCS crude oils with viscosities between 6,500 and

Appendix A


25,000 cSt and conduct large-scale experiments at Ohmsett to determine the DE of dispersants in this

viscosity range to fill in the knowledge gap. A one-week testing program was conducted June 2-6, 2008 at

Ohmsett.

Progress Task 1. Calm Seas Application and Dispersant Wash-Out

A two-week testing program was successfully conducted May 19-30, 2008 at Ohmsett to test oil thickness

and oil type effects on dispersant wash-out. The test protocol used was similar to the used in the Spring

2007 calm seas test series. Multiple test rings were deployed across in the Ohmsett test tank so a range of

slick thickness and/or oil types could be monitored in one test sequence. Dispersant wash out rates were

monitored throughout the test period by sampling the surface oil and testing dispersant effectiveness using a

bench-scale test such as the WSL rotating flask method, as was done successfully in the 2007 testing, and

by measuring the interfacial tension of the sampled oil with fresh sea-water. The draft final report for this

Task is being developed.

Task 2. Surface Wave Energy Characterization for the Ohmsett Test Tank

A one-week testing program was successfully conducted August 18-22, 2008 at Ohmsett. The final report

for this task is being developed.

Task 3. Dispersant Effectiveness on Heavy California Oils

A one-week DE testing program was successfully conducted June 23-27, 2008 at Ohmsett. The U.S. Coast

Guard Atlantic Strike Team, EPA Emergency Response Team and Clean Islands Council participated in the

exercise as an operational training exercise for the SMART dispersant monitoring protocol. MMS also

conducted a visitor's day on June 25, 2008. Visitors observed dispersant effectiveness testing, saw the

dispersant test protocol in action and demonstrations of the SMART dispersant monitoring protocol, and

toured the Ohmsett facility. The final report for this task has been accepted by MMS.

Reports

Key Word Dispersants, Ohmsett

Appendix A


Subject Chemical Dispersant Research at Ohmsett: Phase 2 Principal

Investigator

Mr. Randy Belore and Dr. Ken Trudel, SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd.

Contracting

Agency


Estimated

Completion

December 31, 2009

Description or

Abstract

There is a need for research information and data on the effectiveness of chemical dispersants to answer

questions and data gaps posed by MMS regional offices, regulators and decision makers. A review of oil

spill dispersants, their efficacy and effects, recently completed by the U.S. National Research Council (NRC

2005), recommended that research on chemical dispersants be conducted in several different areas. In FY-

2008, the MMS received a research proposal that identified a multi-year dispersant research program to

answer the questions and address the data gaps in the efficacy of dispersants identified in the NRC report.

There were seven distinct tasks or projects proposed in this two-year dispersant research programs. In FY-

2008, the MMS funded Tasks 1, 2 and 5. These three tasks were completed in TAR project 615.


In FY-2009, the MMS Oil Spill Response Research Team requested a technical and cost proposal update of

Task 4 Evaluation of Dispersant Effectiveness in Low-Dose, Repeat Applications and Task 6 Validation of

Small-Scale Laboratory Test Dispersant Effectiveness Ranking. The objective of this research program is to

continue research and development on the use of chemical dispersants. Two tasks will be addressed. The

period of performance would be one year. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/638.htm.

Task 4. Evaluation of Dispersant Effectiveness in Low-Dose, Repeat Applications

Conventional wisdom and usual practice for the application of dispersant to large oil spills is through large,

fixed-wing aircraft spraying. However, the spray from a single pass from such spray systems can treat a

slick of only about 0.15 mm thick at the normal design application ratio of one part dispersant to 20 parts of

oil. Thick oil patches accounting for 80 to 90 % of the total oil volume can easily be 10 to 100 times thicker

than this. The application rate of dispersant from an aircraft application hitting the thick oil could be in the

range of 1:200 to 1:2000 under such conditions. The question to be answered in this project is: Does



Appendix A


dispersant applied in very low doses (1:1000 to 1:200) disperse a small fraction of an otherwise dispersible

oil or is it simply ineffective until a minimum threshold concentration of dispersant in the oil is achieved,

possibly through repeated spray passes?

The answer to this question has significant ramifications with respect to operational decisions in dispersant

application on thick oil slicks. For example, if a test spray were completed on a thick oil slick and no

dispersion was observed the dispersant might be considered to be in-effective, whereas multiple applications

of the dispersant might be necessary to achieve a dosage sufficient to generate dispersion. This work will be

completed at two test scales. Initial work will be completed at a laboratory test tank scale to assess the effect

of low-dose application on a number of oils. Once trends have been determined in the laboratory testing will

be completed at Ohmsett to verify similar behavior at full-scale.

Task 4 involves three tasks.

1. Small Scale Tests

2. Large Scale Ohmsett testing

3. Data Analysis and Technical Report

Validation of Small-Scale Laboratory Test Dispersant Effectiveness Ranking

Bench scale dispersant effectiveness tests are routinely used around the world to rank the potential

effectiveness of a dispersant product on standard oils or to study the effect of oil and dispersant type and

environmental parameters on dispersant effectiveness. In the United States oils must achieve a measured

effectiveness of 45% or greater in the swirling flask to be placed on EPA’s NCP Product Schedule as an

approved dispersant. But, what do the effectiveness values recorded in these laboratory tests mean with

respect to likely effectiveness in the field and do the bench scale tests fairly evaluate dispersant products?

Attempts have been made to correlate the results of bench scale tests to one another with mixed success thus

suggesting that few, if any, of the tests are representative of real-world situations.

Very limited field data is available to allow the comparison of bench scale test results to field success and so

this has also not been adequately done. It is proposed that the Ohmsett test facility be used as a surrogate to

Appendix A


the field to provide “field” effectiveness estimates on a select number of oils for a select number of

dispersants. Bench-scale tests would be conducted using the same dispersant and oil combinations and the

results compared to establish if the bench-scale test results can be used to provide reasonable estimates of

field performance. The EPA Baffled Flask Test (BFT) and the WSL Laboratory test (WSL) will be the

bench-scale test methods used in the study. The BFT is being proposed as the new EPA standard and the

WSL test has been shown to be more representative of field.

Task 6 involves three tasks:

1. Large Scale Ohmsett Testing

2. Bench Scale DE Testing

Data Analysis and Technical Report


Reports

Key Word Dispersants, Ohmsett

FATE & BEHAVIOR MODELING & ANALYSIS

Subject Oil Spill Training and Response (STAR) Calculator Program Principal Investigator Mr. Dean Dale, Genwest Systems, Inc.


Estimated Completion May 31, 2009

Description or

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to improve the industry’s ability to respond to oil spills. Specifically, the

project will develop a software-based tool that can be used to guide in the selection and assessment of

response countermeasures during spill events and exercises. The objectives of this project are to

Appendix A


standardize the existing software packages; to enhance their utility, user-interface and output; and, to

integrate all three response options (mechanical, burning & dispersants) using improved algorithms for

their efficient use under a variety of spill scenarios. The project will standardize and unify the three

NOAA Spill Tools and combine them with weathering algorithms to better estimate oil

recovery/treatment during exercises and actual oil spill events. The STAR Calculator will be in the

public domain; all of the algorithms used will be documented and will be freely available with the

software.

This project will be conducted as a Joint Industry Project (JIP) with the American Petroleum Institute

(API) and Shell International Exploration and Production, Inc. (Shell) as the other two funding

partners.

Progress Project scoping, database research and the detailed specification development is complete. The oil

weathering algorithms are complete and in for peer review. Algorithms are being developed for Burn

Efficiency and Dispersant Efficiency.

Reports

Key Word Mechanical Recovery, Dispersants, In Situ Burning

Subject Validation of the Two Models Developed to Predict the Window of Opportunity for

Dispersant Use in the Gulf of Mexico Principal Investigator Dr. Ali Khelifa, Environment Canada



Description or

Abstract

In a previous MMS-funded research project entitled: Identification of Window of Opportunity for

Chemical Dispersants on Gulf of Mexico Crude Oils http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/595.htm, two

correlation models were developed to predict the window of opportunity (or time-window) for

successful chemical dispersant use in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The models consist of correlation

relationships established using best-fit correlation between readily available fresh oil properties and the

window of opportunity for successful chemical dispersant use estimated using data from GOM crude

oils and spill volumes of 1,000 and 10,000 barrels. The study showed that combination of Sulfur,


Appendix A


Saturate and Wax contents of the fresh oils correlated best with the time-window for dispersant use.

This project aims to validate and improve the two correlation models using a well know oil spill model

OILMAP, adding crude oils from outside the GOM for which physical and chemical properties are

available, introducing ten new crude oils from the GOM for which physical and chemical properties

will be measured in this study, considering existing data from large tank tests and field trials/spills, and

using data from new small tank tests. The project also aims to evaluate the sensitivity of the models to

water temperature, wind speed and the oil viscosity with the aim to include effects of these parameters

into the models. http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/637.htm. Objectives: the goals of the one-year

research project are:

1. To validate the time-window predicted by SL Ross for the 24 crude oils selected from the

Environment Canada’s oil propriety database and using the SLROSM oil spill model.

2. To validate and to improve the two correlation models proposed by SL Ross using 24 or more

additional crude oils outside the GOM for whish physical and chemical properties are available in the

Environment Canada’s oil property database or provided by the MMS;

3. To validate and to improve the two correlations models using ten new crude oils from the GOM.

Physical and chemical properties of these new oils will be measure in this study;

4. To perform sensitivity analysis of the correlation models to show how the time-window varies with

temperature, wind speed, viscosity cutoff (threshold) and the spill volume;

5. To validate and to improve the correlation models using existing data from large tank tests and field

spills;

6. To validate and to improve the correlation models using new experimental data from small tank

tests. The new dispersion experiments will be conducted in this project.

7. Data Analysis and Final Report Preparation.


Appendix A



Reports

Key Word Oil Spill Modeling

Subject HAZMAT Spill Behavior and Trajectory Modeling Principal Investigator Mr. Kurt Hansen


Estimated Completion 3RD Quarter, FY2008

Description or

Abstract

PROBLEM STATEMENT: On-scene coordinators cannot quickly predict the real geographic extent

of hazards (e.g., explosion, fire, toxicity) in order to make appropriate decisions regarding hazardous

materials (HAZMAT) response. More recently, this is particularly important for classic warfare and

WMD agents where environmental models do not exist in the public domain.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE: Provide an enhanced CG standard model suite (CAMEO or equivalent),

able to handle more sophisticated spill scenarios, especially those caused by intentional hazardous

material spills. This enhanced model would include a broad range of HAZMAT and be able to handle

all types of environments. Training and supportability issues will also be considered.

Progress Work has been completed and the Internet Site has been launched. Final efforts are providing initial

training and working with CG-533 to incorporate future training.

Reports Chemical Response Tool at http://chemresponsetool.noaa.gov/

CAMEO at http://www.cameochemicals.noaa.gov/

Upgraded ALOHA Air Dispersion Model

Chemical Trajectory Analysis Planner (TAP) User Analysis

Key Word

Subject Improvements to the Work on Integration of NOAA's GNOME Model with CDOG

(Clarkson Deepwater Oil and Gas) Blowout Model Principal Investigator Poojitha D. Yapa, Ph.D. (Clarkson University - Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering)



Description or This is a continuation of the previous project. The current work will incorporate the new version of

http://chemresponsetool.noaa.gov/

http://www.cameochemicals.noaa.gov/


Appendix A


Abstract CDOG into GNOME. During the integration, improvements will be made to error messages and

modifications will be made to the file structure as identified during the previous version. A design

strategy will be developed to maintain backwards compatibility of CDOG to ensure that future CDOG

versions can maintain compatible I/O formats with present versions. This will ensure that investments

made to enhance CDOG can be incorporated into GNOME without major efforts. Sensitivity testing is

also planned for issues such as plume height and initial droplet size distribution.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Measurements and Modeling of Size Distributions, Settling and Dispersions Rates of

Oil Droplets in Turbulent Flows Principal Investigator Joseph Katz (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University)


Estimated Completion December 2008

Description or

Abstract

The objective of this proposal is to measure and parameterize the effects of turbulence and oil

properties on the mean settling velocity, dispersion (turbulent diffusion) rate, and characteristic size

distributions of oil droplets in sea water.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject GNOME2 Principal Investigator CJ Beegle-Krause, Ph.D., NOAA/ORR/ERD

Contracting Agency NOAA/ORR/ERD

Estimated Completion This is a long term project. The current version of GNOME took 3 years to design and code. This will

take longer due to fewer coding resources

Description or Rewrite of GNOME. New functionality to support chemical pollutants in the water column.

Appendix A


Abstract We want a single code base to support Mac, Windows, and Linux. We want to have new and

better display options.

This upgrade of GNOME will transition from 3D (x,y,t) to 4D (x,y,z,t). The desire is to add trajectory

functionality to support spills that begin or go below the surface, either through dissolution or by

having a density greater than the ambient water. ADIOS2 is expected to be integrated into the new

framework so that more chemical information related to oils is available for trajectory predictions. A

new source module will be required that contains chemical information for trajectory prediction

modeling and a variety of spill scenarios, similar to ADIOS for oils. New visualization capabilities

will be developed to allow the trajectory modelers to visualize and interact with the trajectory

prediction, and for development of new trajectory products from the Unified Command. The GNOME

code base will be improved to support cross platform (Macintosh, Windows, Linux) development from

a single code base.

Currently development is focusing on functionality requirements for the design, including revisiting

functionality from OSSM that was not brought forward, dispersed oil GNOME, and user experience

and "wish lists". GNOME2 will be designed as a piece within a larger risk assessment framework for

future tool development in order ensure cohesive development of future risk assessment tools.

Following recommendations of the Ocean.us Data Management and Access Committee (DMAC) we

expect GNOME2 to be OPeNDAP enabled.

Progress By end of 2007 operator interface features (look and feel) should be complete

Reports

Key Word

Subject A Module for NOAA's GNOME Model to Provide Capability to Simulate Deepwater

Oil and Gas Spills Principal Investigator Poojitha D. Yapa, Ph.D. (Clarkson University - Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering)



Description or General NOAA Oil Modeling Environment (GNOME) is a publicly available modeling tool developed


Appendix A


Abstract by the NOAA/HAZMAT in Seattle, Washington. GNOME can be used and is being used in real time

during emergencies as well as for contingency planning. It has easy to use interfaces and a wide variety

of databases. Clarkson Deepwater Oil and Gas Model (CDOG) is a 3-D model that simulates the

behavior of deepwater or shallow water jets and plumes that consist of oil, gas or an oil and gas

mixture. CDOG takes into account unsteady-state 3- D variation of ambient currents and density

stratification. CDOG can simulate jets and plumes even in the presence of strong currents, where the

phase separation may occur. CDOG can simulate well or pipeline blowouts, as well as an oil leak from

a sunken ship. CDOG was recently verified using data from the large-scale field experiment

"Deepspill" conducted in the North Sea. CDOG has many capabilities that GNOME does not have.

However, CDOG does not have a user interface nor does it simulate the fate and transport of oil once it

reaches the water surface.

While CDOG is a powerful tool with the ability to comprehensively simulate a well blowout scenario,

two minor modifications are needed to make it useful as a practical tool. These are: i) Linking CDOG

to a widely available oil spill modeling tool, GNOME, developed by NOAA/HAZMAT; ii)

Establishing an improved method to calculate the oil droplet size distribution within the plume due to

the blowout. The oil droplet size determines how soon and how much oil will surface as a result of the

blowout. The larger droplets will surface faster but the smaller ones will remain dispersed in water for

a very long time. With the two modifications suggested above, CDOG will become a model/tool with

immense practical value in real emergencies and contingency planning involving oil well blowouts or

other underwater discharges like a sunken ship. CDOG is not site specific and can be used in any

location through the change in input data. Therefore, it can be used to both at national and regional

levels. This proposal is to implement the two point improvement. The finished product will be

available to the GNOME users as an add-on tool through the NOAA distribution system. The finished

product will be useful at a minimum to several government agencies and oil companies.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Appendix A


Subject Fate and Effects of Emulsions Produced After Oil Spills in Estuaries Principal Investigator Richard Lee, Ph.D. and Keith A. Maruya (Skidaway Institute of Oceanography)



Description or

Abstract

Emulsions often form after oil spills and their persistence, along with increased density and viscosity,

makes for difficult cleanup operations. The fate and effects of emulsions after they enter salt marsh

estuaries is the focus of the proposed study. The contribution of solar radiation to emulsion effects, i.e.

phototoxicity, is an important aspect of the study. Specific studies to address these broad objectives

include the following: (1) determine stability and properties of water-in-oil emulsions and clay oil-in-

water emulsions formed by five different crude oils; (2) determine the concentrations of polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their photo-oxidation products in emulsion water before and after

exposure to solar radiation; (3) determine effects on grass shrimp embryos exposed to solar irradiated

oil emulsion water; (4) determine degradation rates and biological effects of an oil emulsion and a non-

emulsion forming oil in estuarine mesocosms. To carry out these studies we will analyze emulsion

water and sediments for PAHs and their oxidation products by gas chromatography- mass

spectrometry. The toxicity of photo-oxidation products from oil emulsions to grass shrimp embryos, as

well as the toxicity due to a combination of bioaccumulated PAHs and solar exposure, will be

determined. After the addition of emulsions to sediments in estuarine mesocosms, changes in PAH and

oxidized PAH profiles and concentrations over one year will be determined. Changes in the toxicity of

oiled sediments over time will be determined by testing the sediments with the grass shrimp bioassay.

This bioassay produces data on the percent of females, which reach full maturity, the percent of

embryos which reach the zoea stage and the DNA damage (comet assay) in produced embryos.

Oil spill models and ecological risk assessment of oil spills require information on the extent of the

emulsion formation by particular oil, the degradation rates of the emulsion and the effects of the

emulsion on biota. In addition, information on emulsion formation, prominent photo-oxidation

products and degradation and biological effects will be useful in designing studies to test the

effectiveness of de-emulsifiers and whether they cause change to the biota.

Progress

Reports

Key Word


Appendix A


Subject Mitigating Oil Spills from Offshore Oil and Gas Activities by Enhancement of Oil-

Mineral Aggregate Formation Principal Investigator Dr. Ken Lee, DFO Canada - Center for Offshore Oil and Gas Environmental Research (COOGER)


Estimated Completion 12/1/2007

Description or

Abstract

To assess the feasibility of a marine oil spill countermeasure strategy based on the stimulation of oil-

mineral aggregate (OMA) formation. Experiments will be conducted on both laboratory and wave tank

systems under controlled conditions to evaluate its potential effectiveness for the treatment of oil spills

from ships, facilities or pipelines. Conceptual mathematical models will be developed from the data to

identify the fundamental processes affecting operational effectiveness as a means to provide guidance

for field operations.

Progress This project has just been initiated. Reports

Key Word

Subject Development of a Numerical Algorithm to Compute the Effects of Breaking Waves on

Surface Oil Spilled at Sea: Dispersion and Submergence/Over-washing as Extremes of a

Theoretical Continuum Principal Investigator Mark Reed, Ph.D., Per S. Daling, and Øistein Johansen, Ph.D. (SINTEF Materials and Chemistry,

Norway)



Description or

Abstract The objective of this project is to develop a set of algorithms for modeling natural dispersion of spilled oil

at sea, with an eye towards unifying real oil-in-water dispersion (i.e. clouds of droplets being driven into

the water column by breaking waves) with submergence, under a single concept. Submergence can be

viewed as "dispersion of non-dispersible oil", resulting in the over-wash of near-neutrally buoyant “blobs”

or "patches" or "carpets" of non-Newtonian oils such that they may be submerged for long periods of

time, given sufficient surface turbulence. Such oil mats are probably subject to breakdown into tar balls,

Appendix A


but over a time scale that is poorly known.

The methodology proposed will carry the experimental work started by Delvigne and Sweeney (1988,

1993, 1994) into higher viscosity, non-Newtonian regions in the parameter space of the problem. The

dimensions of the parameter space will also be increased to include emulsification, interfacial tension and

rheological characteristics, in addition to viscosity and turbulent energy, as parameters in the equations.

The outcome or end product will be a publication of the algorithms developed during the study, such that

the results are available to the international scientific community. It is anticipated that these algorithms

will also provide an eventual basis for including chemical dispersion, sediment interactions, and actual

sinking of oil in the future.

The model algorithms can be implemented in NOAA’s, as well as other, oil spill weathering and

trajectory simulation models with applicability to spill response preparedness and decision-making, and

implementation of optimum spill recovery strategies.

The proposed CRRC project will also receive additional data input from other completed and on-going

projects funded by industry. The purpose of these other projects is generally to develop data on

weathering of crude oils of interest to the respective companies. Such data are used as input to the

SINTEF oil weathering model, whereas the CRRC project has the primary purpose of developing new

algorithms spanning a range of oil types over a longer time frame. The projects are thus complimentary.

To the extent that other projects can supply sufficient data for “typical” crude oils, this project will focus

on heavy oils and petroleum products.

Progress

Reports

Key Words

Subject Delivery and Quality Assurance of Short-Term Trajectory Forecasts from HF Radar

Observations. Principal Investigator Garfield, N. (San Francisco State University), J. Paduan (U.S. Naval Postgraduate School), and C.

Ohlmann (UC Santa Barbara)


Appendix A



Description or

Abstract

The project is proposing to develop, assess, and document the use of real-time ocean surface current

maps from high frequency (HF) radar installations. Specifically, we will evaluate the use of these data

in support of oil spill response activities. An extensive test of these capabilities was conducted in

connection with the NOAA Safe Seas 2006 oil spill exercise offshore San Francisco in August, 2006.

We intend to conduct a systematic post-exercise evaluation and to document lessons learned. We also

intend to quantitatively assess the performance of the short-term (24-hour) surface current prediction

methodology that was developed for the Safe Seas 2006 exercise by comparing observed and predicted

currents under a wide range of environmental conditions. To aid that assessment, we will conduct a

multi-day, multi-deployment field experiment using an array of GPS-tracked surface drifters. Finally,

we intend to document our results in the form of a package of recommendations and procedures for the

integration of HF radar-derived products into real-time spill response protocols..

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Measurements and Modeling of Size Distributions, Settling and Dispersions

(turbulent diffusion) Rates of Oil Droplets in Turbulent Flows Principal Investigator Joseph Katz and B. Gopalan (The Johns Hopkins University, Department of Mechanical Engineering)



Description or

Abstract

The objective this proposal is to measure and parameterize the effects of turbulence and oil properties

on the mean settling velocity, dispersion (turbulent diffusion) rate, and characteristic size distributions

of oil droplets in sea water. These data are essential for modeling and predicting the dispersion rate of

oil spills treated with dispersants. The measurements will be performed in a specialized laboratory

facility that enables generation of carefully controlled, isotropic, homogeneous turbulence at a wide

range of fully characterized intensities and length scales, covering most turbulence levels that one may

expect to find in coastal waters. Crude and processed oil droplets will be injected into the sample

volume, and their three-dimensional trajectory will be measured at high resolution using high-speed

Appendix A


digital holographic cinematography. The selected oils have varying viscosity, density and surface

tension, especially due to introduction of dispersants, and the droplets vary in size from 30 μm to 2

mm. We will also introduce large oil droplets and/or small patches of oil and measure the size

distribution of droplets resulting from exposure to turbulence-induced shear. Since effectiveness of

dispersants varies with water salinity, the measurements will be performed in water with varying salt

concentration. Subsequent analysis, consisting of calculating the Lagrangian autocorrelation functions

of droplet velocity, will provide the turbulent dispersion rates, along with their mean settling/rise

velocity as a function of droplet and turbulence properties. All the equipment, data analysis procedures

and software needed for performing the proposed objectives are available, and have been developed in

recent years specifically for studying the dynamics of droplets in turbulent flows. The results will be

expressed in terms of dimensionless variables that can be conveniently incorporated into computational

models that forecast the entrainment and dispersion of oil droplets generated as oil sleeks break.

Collaboration with researchers in the Hazardous Materials Response Division of NOAA will facilitate

smooth transition of the data into their models for oil and chemical dispersive processes.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Identification of Window of Opportunity for Chemical Dispersants on Gulf of Mexico

Crude Oils Principal Investigator Mr. Randy Belore, S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd.


Estimated Completion November 27, 2007

Description or

Abstract

The objective of this research was to develop best-fit correlations between readily available fresh oil

properties and the window of opportunity for successful chemical dispersant use on Gulf of Mexico

crude oils. The goals of the work were to:

1. Enter the fresh and weathered oil property information available in Environment Canada‟s oil

property database for 30 oils from the Gulf of Mexico Region of the US OCS into the SL Ross

Appendix A


oil spill model.

2. Use the SL Ross oil spill model to identify the time window for chemical dispersibility for each

oil (based on oil or emulsion viscosity predictions) for oil spill scenarios using average

environmental conditions for the US GOM.

3. Correlate fresh oil property information to the time window estimates to identify possible

mathematical models for chemical dispersibility time window versus fresh oil properties.

4. Prepare a report documenting the oils used, the model input data, the spill modeling methods,

the correlation results and the final best fit models of fresh oil property versus time window of

opportunity for dispersant use.

Progress Completed

Reports Identification of Window of Opportunity for Chemical Dispersants on Gulf of Mexico Crude Oils,

November 2007, By Randy Belore, S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd., Ottawa, ON, Canada


Key Word

Subject Understanding the Effects of Time and Energy on the Effectiveness of Dispersants Principal Investigator Dr. Per Daling, SINTEF Materials and Chemistry


Estimated Completion December 2007

Description or

Abstract

This international joint research project is designed to gather data to support decision makers in the

process of determining whether dispersants should be used in low energy environments. This

information will be useful for dispersant decision making in ice cover (an ice field reduces wave

motion) or other calm conditions. Questions to be addressed are:

Will the dispersant stay with the oil until there is enough energy to disperse the slick?

How much energy is needed to disperse the slick after dispersants are applied?


Appendix A


If energy is provided to facilitate dispersion, will the droplets stay in the water column after mixing or

will they resurface?

This project currently has nine partners: ExxonMobil, Total, Statoil, US MMS, OSRL, Alaska Clean

Seas, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (Shell operated), Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans Canada,

and Texas General Land Office. Participants can contribute funds directly or in-kind work.

Progress Presently we are working on Task 1 of this project, laboratory scale dispersant effectiveness tests

performed by SINTEF using IFP testing procedures. In these tests we are evaluating four commercial

dispersants by applying them to four different oils (a napthenic oil, an asphaltenic oil, a waxy oil and a

paraffinic oil), letting them soak for several hours up to several days, and then running the IFP test to

measure dispersion effectiveness. Additional tasks for this project include Tasks 2/3 -- develop a

numerical model to predict the energy needed to shear dispersed oil droplets from a slick and energy

needed to keep a dispersed oil droplet in the water column; Task 4 -- validate the numerical model using

tank tests. The completion of these additional tasks will depend on the willingness of the partners to

provide additional funding because Task 1 will completely consume our current budget.

Dispersant testing was completed at SINTEF and CEDRE using the IFP tests. The project Steering

Committee approved a change to Task 3 and extended the contact time of the ice tests to 1.5 months.

The Steering Committee has approved the final report. This project is complete.

Reports AA: Effects of Time on the Effectiveness of Dispersants – Final Report, Resby, J.L., Brandvik, P.J.,

Daling, P.S., Guyomarch, J., Eide, I., SINTEF, Cedre, Statoil, 116 pp., December15, 2007.


Key Word

Subject Changes with Dispersant Effectiveness with Extended Exposure in Calm Seas

Principal Investigator Dr. Ken Trudel, Mr. Randy Belore, Mr. Alun Lewis, S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd. and Alun

Lewis Oil Spill Consultancy



Appendix A



Description or

Abstract

The objective of this research project is to continue to investigate the conditions that might lead to the

loss of surfactants from dispersant-treated oil, so that subsequent application of breaking waves will not

result in dispersion. A one-week test series will be conducted at Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill

Response Test Facility. Long-term exposures of "topped" Oseberg crude oil will be pre-mixed with

Corexit 9500 dispersant on the Ohmsett tank surface will be completed.

Progress A one-week test series was conducted in June 2007 at Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Response Test

Facility. "Topped" Oseberg crude oil was pre-mixed with Corexit 9500 dispersant and placed on the

tanks surface for long-term exposure experiments. Laboratory scale experiments were completed in

August 2007. The laboratory data and Ohmsett tank test data are being analyzed and the draft final

report is in preparation.

The Steering Committee has approved the final report. This project is complete.

Reports Report AA - Changes in Dispersant Effectiveness with Extended Exposure in Calm Seas – Final

Report, SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd., A. Lewis Oil Spill Consultancy, MAR, Inc., 27 pp.,

December 2007. There are two (2) film clips associated with the final report AA that are available free

of charge on the MMS website.


Key Word


Appendix A


GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS & INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE RESPONSE

Subject CAMEO Chemicals: NOAA’s New Online Tool for Hazardous Materials Responders Principal Investigator David Wesley, NOAA/ORR

Contracting Agency NOAA: Office of Response & Restoration

Estimated Completion February 2007

Description or

Abstract

Responding to hazardous material releases is a complex and dangerous business. For the last two

decades, emergency responders have relied on NOAA's popular CAMEO software suite for response

recommendations about the chemical hazards confronting them. Now responders can turn to CAMEO

Chemicals--a free, easy-to-use website--for quick access to CAMEO's popular chemical library and

reactivity prediction tool. Find it online at http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/. CAMEO Chemicals was

developed by the Office of Response and Restoration in partnership with the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Progress Complete

Reports

Key Word

Subject River Dilution Calculator for Chemical Spills Principal Investigator Dr. Chris Barker: NOAA/ORR

Contracting Agency USCG R&D, NOAA Office of Response & Restoration

Estimated Completion Phase 1: Done

Phase 2: 4th quarter 07

Description or A simple tool to help responders and planners assess the risk from chemical spills in rivers.

Appendix A


Abstract

Progress Phase one Complete.

Phase two underway

Reports We concluded after phase one that some additional work is required to make the tool more generally

useful operationally. The current version is only useful for fairly large spills in fairly small rivers.

Phase two will extend the tool to bound concentrations for small spills in larger rivers, significantly

enhancing the numbers of event for which the tool is useful.

Key Word

HUMAN DIMENSIONS & RISK COMMUNICATIONS

Subject Integrating demographic and physiological parameters in NRDA Principal Investigator Florina Sze-Fong Tseng DVM (Wildlife Clinic, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine)

Victor Apanius, Ph.D. (Department of Biology, Wake Forest University) Ian Nisbet, Ph.D. (ICT

Consulting)



Description or

Abstract

Chronic, delayed and sub-lethal effects of oil exposure on wildlife populations are problematic for

Natural Resource Damage Assessment. This research will addresses a critical R&D need for

integrating measures of injury assessment with resource recovery metrics. We have an extensive

ecological, demographic and physiological dataset spanning 35 years of research on two seabird

populations, the federally endangered roseate tern ( Sterna dougallii) and the state-listed common tern (

Sterna hirundo) at 3 sites in Buzzards Bay, MA. On 27 April 2003, the Bouchard 120 barge released

about 100,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into the estuary just as these populations initiated breeding.

Oiling was widespread but focal, impacting one study site heavily, one site moderately and the third

site lightly. We continued our routine demographic data collection and blood sampling. On 6 June


Appendix A


2003, the Joint Assessment Team (JAT) funded additional demographic data collection and blood

sampling but has declined to fund long-term analysis of the demographic data or the blood samples.

We propose to use this unique collection of demographic data and blood samples to address critical

R&D needs of the oil spill response community.

Our specific objectives include: 1. The Role of Population Variability in Demographic Injury

Assessment. We will use our time series data to construct confidence limits for detecting demographic

injury and power analysis to determine the sampling designs for injury assessment. 2. The

Development of Physiological Predictors of Wildlife Population Health. Blood samples collected prior

to, during and following the oil spill will be analyzed for hematological parameters and examine the

utility of these parameters for estimating the time-course of acute non-lethal injury. 3. The Integration

of Physiological Predictors and Demographic Parameters. We will combine results from the first two

objectives to determine the ability of physiological parameters to immediately predict long-term

demographic outcomes. We will utilize an oil spill event that fortuitously created a natural experiment

for integrating extensive baseline data with intensive physiological measurements to develop analytical

tools for gauging sub-lethal injury and measuring the recovery of ecosystem health.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Social disruption from oil spills and spill response: Characterizing effects, vulnerabilities,

and the adequacy of existing data to inform decision-making Principal Investigator Thomas Webler (Social and Environmental Research Institute, Inc.)


Estimated Completion May 2010

Description or

Abstract

Oil spill response planners never disregard the human dimensions of oil spills. In fact, the National

Contingency Plan requires that items of economic and environmental importance that are threatened by a

spill be covered in the plan. However, the strength of ecological concerns and the wealth of information on

ecological sensitivity tend to be primary drivers in contingency planning. The socioeconomic lags behind

Appendix A


the ecological in terms of readily available information and tools to assess sensitivity. Social endpoints that

are acutely threatened are protected in an emergency response, but the systematic assessment of social and

economic effects is not widely done in area-based contingency planning processes. This research project

investigates what is involved in bringing a systematic assessment of socioeconomic vulnerability

considerations into area-based oil spill contingency planning. While this project has one eye on the

ultimate goal of producing practical decision-support or social impact assessment tools, it presupposes that

several types of information need to be collected, evaluated, and synthesized before such tools can be

constructed. Specifically: (1) human dimensions endpoints threatened by oil spills need to be

systematically identified; (2) the relationships between these endpoints, effects, and planning and

management actions should be evaluated; (3) the sufficiency of existing data and data-analysis tools to

characterize and anticipate these causal relations must be assessed. Initial inquiries with emergency

responders and contingency planners into these questions have validated their importance.

Drawing on existing data wherever possible, we propose to review qualitative data to reveal the types of

human dimensions endpoints that matter in oil spills. In Phase 1, we will document how the importance of

endpoints can be understood and, eventually, measured using the conceptual framework of vulnerability.

We will meet with experienced personnel as part of three case studies to identify endpoints of concern and

use the conceptual framework of vulnerability to identify key factors influencing losses. The information

we gather will be structured in a way that facilitates planning interventions. In Phase 2, we will investigate

to what extent existing data are capable of depicting the human dimensions considerations identified in

Phase 1 and we will propose recommendations for how a planning process that has been strongly led by

ecological considerations can be broadened to also include the most important human dimensions. These

recommendations will also summarize how oil spill planning can proceed using a perspective that

highlights the coupled human and natural systems.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Appendix A


MECHANICAL RECOVERY & TREATMENT

Subject Investigation of the Ability to Effectively Recover Oil Following Dispersant Application Principal Investigator Mr. Steve Potter, SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd.


Estimated Completion Complete

Description or

Abstract

To determine whether the application of dispersants to an oil slick reduces the ability to subsequently

recover oil with conventional skimming systems. The objectives will be met through a series of bench

scale tests and full scale tank experiments at Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility.


Progress The test plan and laboratory-scale experiments were completed in June 2007. The full-scale experiments

were conducted in June 2007 at the Ohmsett Facility immediately before Project 590 (Changes with

Dispersant Effectiveness with Extended Exposure in Calm Seas). This reduced the test and tank cleanup

costs. The final project report has been accepted by MMS. This project is complete.

Reports Investigation of the Ability to Effectively Recover Oil Following Dispersant Application – Final Report,

SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd., 21 pp., December 2007.

Four video clips are also available.

Key Words Dispersant, Ohmsett


Appendix A


NATURAL RESOURCE INJURY ASSESSMENT & RESTORATION

Subject Ecology and Economics of Restoration Scaling Principal Investigator Charles H. Peterson (University of North Carolina) and Eric P. English (NOAA/ORR)


Estimated Completion Completed – Final Report under review

Description or

Abstract

We propose to develop a synthesis of restoration scaling methods used in coastal response and restoration.

Resource managers throughout the country, and increasingly throughout the world, rely on a wide

selection of methods to determine the appropriate quantity and type of restoration to compensate for oil

spills and other perturbations to ecological resources and systems. Methods for restoration scaling draw

on a variety of techniques from the fields of ecology and economics. These include the development of

metrics that quantify ecological services, the use of models to establish equivalence between injured and

restored services, and valuation of the use of resources for recreation and other activities. By summarizing

scaling applications contained in hundreds of published articles, research reports and government

documents, the project will help practitioners identify scaling methods appropriate to particular resource

injuries. By recasting the relevant ecological and economic techniques in a unified presentation of scaling

methods, the project will assist researchers from a variety of specializations identify new research

opportunities. The final product will be a thorough and intuitive text that will make restoration scaling

techniques more accessible to scientists, public officials, industry, and the public. Workshops will be

conducted to disseminate results and provide an introduction to the use of the text as a resource for

restoration planning and outreach.

Progress

Reports

Key Words

Subject Establishing Performance Metrics for Oil Spill Response, Recovery and Restoration Principal Investigator Seth Tuler, Ph.D. (SERI), Igor Linkov, Ph.D. (Cambridge Environmental), Thomas P Seager, Ph.D.

(Purdue University)

Appendix A




Description or

Abstract

This project seeks to establish a multidisciplinary research program that examines spill management

metrics from both scientific and stakeholder perspectives. The primary objective of this research is to

create a method that can be used by the responsible government agencies to establish performance

metrics for spill and ecological assessment that can be vetted by and are responsive to regional

stakeholder concerns prior to spill events. The approach proposed is one of using the New England

region as a laboratory for proving a method that could be applicable to other areas. A multi-step

approach involving experts, stakeholder groups including local government officials, and the public is

proposed which balances science-driven and values-driven concerns. In the first step, broad concerns,

objectives, and preferences are elicited from stakeholder groups. These are communicated to experts,

who will formulate broad-based quantitative criteria that inform these concerns. Lastly, multiple

measurable metrics (and data collection methods) shall be proposed that can be measured in the field to

gauge progress. Examination of recent spills such as the grounding of a tank barge in Buzzards Bay on

April 27, 2003 or the North Cape oil spill in Narragansett Bay on January 19, 1996 will provide an

inventory of historically significant metrics employed during response, damage assessment, recovery

and restoration such as total gallons (barrels) spilled, total shellfish and bird deaths, total acres and

duration of shellfish bed closures, or economic losses, and provide a framework for assessing attitudes

and opinions regarding the efficacy of these metrics. Throughout, an iterative process will be employed

that requires communication of interim findings between stakeholder and expert groups until finally

culminating in a joint conflict and compromise analysis workshop. The major findings of the study

shall be employed to devise a method of stakeholder value elicitation, expert consultation, and

performance metrics identification that can be more generally applied.

We expect that successful completion of this research will result in a powerful tool for strategic

planning in preparation for spills, tactical decision-making in the event of a spill, and damage

assessment, recovery, and restoration efforts after spills. Moreover, the specific inclusion of important

public and stakeholder views prior to occurrence of a spill may result in a greater understanding of the

conflicts and trade-offs facing spill managers, improve communication between lay and expert groups,

and result in swifter, more satisfying decisions.


Appendix A


Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Monetary Values and Restoration Equivalents for Lost Recreational Services on the

Gulf Coast of Texas Due to Oil Spills and Other Environmental Disruptions Principal Investigator George R. Parsons, Ph.D. (University of Delaware)



Description or

Abstract

I propose to develop a recreation demand model for beach use on the Gulf Coast of Texas to value

damages due to oil spills and other environmental disruptions. The methodology will be a travel cost

random utility model and will be estimated using an existing data set available through the National

Park Service (NPS). The damages will be valued in terms of monetary and non-monetary

compensation. The non-monetary computation or “restoration equivalent” will consider measuring the

necessary compensation in a variety of different terms such as added coastal park space, expanded

beach clean-up programs, improved access for fishing, new beaches, and so forth. The model will be

designed to allow for valuation of short term and long term disruptions. Short term disruptions are

episodes that begin and end within one season, such as an oil spill that closes a beach for a couple

weeks. I will also develop algorithms using the model to select “restoration equivalents” such that

compensation is closely aligned with actual damages across individuals. Finally, I will conduct a

transfer analysis using the model. The results will be transferred to the Mid-Atlantic region where I am

presently conducting another beach-use study. This will allow for a test of the results. The end products

(aside from the actual valuation estimates) include presentations at the International Oil Spill

Conference and other selected professional meetings; articles submitted to leading journals in

environmental economics; and model, data, and code for estimation provided to economists at the

Damage Assessment Center at NOAA and the Damage Assessment and Restoration Branch at NPS.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Appendix A


Subject Developing a Method for Estimating Injury and Risk to a Major NOAA Trust

Resource (Finfish) due to Persistent Bioaccumulative chemicals: Mercury Principal Investigator Tom Dillon and Nancy Beckvar (NOAA/ORR)



Description or

Abstract

In 2005, the Co-PIs for this proposal published a peer-reviewed journal article (ETAC 24:2094-2105)

identifying “protective” tissue concentrations of Hg and DDT in fish. This was a valuable contribution

in that it identified for ORR staff in a peer-reviewed journal format, what levels of PB chemicals

represent de minimus injury or risk to fish. What the paper did not do is report what levels of adverse

effects may be expected at tissue concentrations above the “protective” concentrations. For example,

what is the injury to a fish carrying a Hg body burden of 1 mg/kg that is above the protective

concentration of 0.2 mg/kg? ORR staff are asking this type of question right now at sites and cases

around the country involving PB chemicals.

The proposed work will, in short, produce two needed tools; 1) a complete whole-body residue-based

dose-response curve for mercury in fish based on extant published toxicological data and 2) the

quantitative relationships between disparate measures of adverse effects (e.g., reduced survival,

growth, reproduction) and fish injury. For example, 0% survival could be construed as 100% fish

injury; 0% hatching success as 100% injury; and so on. This latter approach, using injury as a common

metric for integrating multiple data sets, is a truly innovative aspect of this work. Results will serve

both the injury assessment and risk assessment communities within ORR and the broader

scientific/regulatory communities.

Briefly, the approach will be to review and synthesize existing Hg residue-effects literature (≈ 20

papers). We will develop criteria to exclude suspect or questionable data in a consistent and unbiased

fashion. We will establish the quantitative relationships between disparate biological endpoints and the

common “injury” metric. The residue- based dose-response curve will then be “field verified” by

examining model outputs against the previously published “protective” tissue concentration as well as

independently derived national “background” tissue concentrations.

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/proposal_dillon_beckvar.pdf

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/proposal_dillon_beckvar.pdf

Appendix A


Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Using Benefit Transfer to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Restoration Projects Principal Investigator Christine Poulos, Ph.D. (RTI International - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics)



Description or

Abstract

Natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) economists‟ needs for site-specific nonmarket benefit

estimates far exceeds their availability; and time and budget constraints prohibit the development of

new, site-specific estimates to meet their needs. Using pre-existing benefit estimates to measure

benefits at a new project site, or application site is known as the benefit transfer approach (BT) to

nonmarket valuation. Because it is a low-cost method that relies on using existing information, it is

used in NRDA more often than any other nonmarket valuation (NMV) method to scale restoration

projects (Willis and Garrod 1995).

Numerous studies conclude that BT is flawed because it fails convergent validity tests, which poses

two important problems for NRDA. First, inaccurate benefit estimates will lead to inappropriately

designed restoration projects. Second, the alternative methods of NMV are more expensive than BT.

However, the specific methods used to implement BT, rather than the logic of the approach itself, can

account for the failure to find convergent validity because the most commonly used BT methods

impose restrictive assumptions. Three main factors drive the size of benefit estimates: the commodity,

the availability of substitutes and complements for the commodity, and the socioeconomic

characteristics of the sample. But, most BT methods (and convergent validity tests) either assume that

all these factors are identical at the two sites or make crude adjustments that are not constrained to be

consistent with the underlying model of individual behavior or with the ecological realities.

In recent years, researchers have been developing benefit transfer methods that permit adjustments that

are constrained to be economically and ecologically consistent. These methods are broadly classified as

structural benefit transfer because are linked to the underlying structural model, which is a model of

Appendix A


individual preferences. The use of these new methods is growing and they have the potential to

increase the credibility of BT, conditional on being tested and proven in various settings. The

parameter updating method is one structural benefit transfer method that was introduced and tested to

measure the benefits of malaria prevention in Africa (Poulos 2003). That application suggested that the

method may increase the convergent validity of BT in that context. The method relies on (a) a

structural model to guide adjustments in the benefit function based on (b) site-specific data from the

new, or application site.

The proposed proof of concept project would apply the parameter updating method to answer a

question often faced by economists conducting NRDAs: What are the recreational fishing benefits of

improvements in water quality? The project will make use of existing recreational fishing studies,

selected with end user partners, to test the convergent validity of the method in this context. We hope

to partner with economists in NOAA‟s Damage Assessment Center headquarters in Silver Spring, MD

because of their experience and the fact that state trustees rarely have economists on staff. The PIs have

experience implementing a variety of NMV methods in the NRDA and other contexts. Further, a

number of RTI researchers are involved in developing and testing structural benefit transfer methods.

The project would take six months to complete.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

OIL TOXICITY & EFFECT

Subject A Knowledge-Based Reasoning for the Interpretation of PAH Data Principal Investigator Mike Buchman (NOAA/ORR)


Appendix A



Description or

Abstract

This project will produce a knowledge-based reasoning model for the interpretation of PAH data. The

model will interpret available data to provide an indication of the PAH source type. This knowledge-

based model will draw upon and compile information and techniques from numerous peer- reviewed,

published papers. This published information will form the foundation for implementing the

knowledge-based approximate reasoning model through the procedures of fuzzy logic, a significant

new branch of mathematics. Fuzzy logic is concerned with the quantification of membership within a

set and associated set operations. Output from the model can be thought of as an expression of an

observation’s degree of membership in a set (pyrogenic sources, petrogenic sources, and so on) This

model will be accomplished within the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) application

framework which integrates the logic engine of NetWeaver (Rules of Thumb, Inc.) and ArcGIS (ESRI)

to perform spatially relevant evaluations (within Microsoft Windows). To conduct an analysis with

EMDS, the user would merely provide a data view that includes a GIS theme containing PAH chemical

analysis. This provides the input to the knowledge base that describes how to interpret the information

provided. Other components of the EMDS application framework will supply valuable ancillary

information regarding the evaluation: The Hotlink Browser provides an intuitive explanation for the

results, while the Data Acquisition Manager will assist with determining what missing data would have

the largest impact on results.

The NetWeaver logic engine evaluates data against a knowledge base that provides a formal

specification for the interpretation of data. The logic engine allows partial evaluations based on

available information, making it ideal for use in situations where the level of detail in PAH data is

often variable and incomplete. A second key feature provided by the logic engine is the ability to

evaluate the influence of missing information on the logical completeness of an assessment. The

engine, in conjunction with the EMDS Project Environment and the Data Acquisition Manager,

provides powerful diagnostic tools for determining which missing data may be most valuable, given

the available data, and determining how much priority to give to missing data, given other logistical

information.

Sophisticated geographic analyses often produce impressive looking maps. However, if the analytical

system that produces a map cannot also explain the derivation of analysis results being portrayed in a

Appendix A


relatively simple and straightforward way, then the system appears to observers as a black box. The

Hotlink Browser displays the evaluated results of a knowledge base. Users can navigate the networks

of analysis topics to trace the logic of evaluations in an intuitive interface. More importantly, the

presentation of results in this graphic format is sufficiently intuitive, so users of the system can use the

Hotlink Browser as a powerful communication tool that effectively explains the basis of evaluation

results to broad audiences.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Utility of Meiobenthos for Risk Assessment of Low-Level Crude Oil WSFs: Rapid

Copepod-Based Approaches for Evaluating Reproductive and Population-level

Toxicity Principal Investigator G. Thomas Chandler, Ph.D. and Bruce C. Coull, Ph.D. (University of South Carolina – School of the

Environment)



Description or

Abstract

Oil spills on beaches, mudflats, and in salt marshes threaten flora and fauna via mechanical fouling,

contact toxicity, and especially water-soluble hydrocarbon fraction (WSF) in surface and pore waters.

If crude oil becomes buried, it may serve as a diffusion source of WSF to pore and surface waters for

months to years. There are multiple useful technologies for oil spill clean-up/remediation, but one of

the major challenges to remediation is determining "how clean is clean enough" to ensure acceptable

chronic risk reduction to sediment-dependent communities. Currently, crude-oil risk assessment cannot

say what the highest concentration of WSF constituents is that will cause minimal acceptable risk to

benthos. This project will address this challenge by testing the utility of a novel crude-oil WSF toxicity

testing approach using meiobenthic copepods; multiple single individuals will be cultured through their

full life cycles for two generations over a range of low-level WSF concentrations more typical of post-

remediation sediment or beach pore waters. This rapid copepod-based culturing approach can

determine statistically those useful thresholds of WSF toxicity where one would expect to see (not see)


Appendix A


population-level impacts.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject The relationship between acute and population level effects of exposure to dispersed

oil, and the influence of exposure conditions using multiple life history stages of an

estuarine copepod, Eurytemora affinis, as model planktonic organisms. Principal Investigator Dr. Don V. Aurand (Ecosystem Management & Associates, Inc.)



Description or

Abstract

Consideration of dispersant use in response to oil spills involves the evaluation of environmental

tradeoffs. Would there be a net environmental benefit if shoreline resources or surface water resources

were protected at the cost of increased exposure of water column organisms? Proponents of dispersant

use generally dismiss potential impacts to sensitive water column organisms if the dilution is rapid

enough to limit the magnitude and duration of exposure so that only a small fraction of the population

(or habitat) is exposed to concentrations likely to be “of concern,” with this concentration rather

loosely defined as a function of available acute toxicity data. The possibility of sublethal effects of

exposure to dispersed oil which might lead to population level effects is a serious concern for many

natural resource managers when this approach is used. While the logic is reasonable, the available

laboratory data consists almost entirely of acute toxicity information, with only occasional studies

which examine sublethal endpoints. There are no laboratory studies which attempt to determine multi-

generational consequences of short-term, sublethal exposures, and so a significant degree of

uncertainty remains. This study examines the effects of short-term exposure to dispersed weathered

Alaskan North Slope crude oil on the life history of the estuarine copepod, Eurytemora affinis, in order

to develop information on the relationship between acute toxicity, sublethal exposures, and population

level effects. After initial experiments to define the LC50 concentration using standard CROSERF

protocols, various life history stages (nauplii, immature, and mature females) will be exposed to

dispersed oil at concentrations at or below the LC50 concentration, and then followed for

Appendix A


approximately three generations in order to develop life history tables. In addition, the potential for

photoenhanced toxicity, a concern for organisms in the upper water column, will also be examined.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Acute and Chronic Effects of Crude Oil and Dispersed Oil on Chinook Salmon

Smolts (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Principal Investigator Ronald S. Tjeerdema, Ph.D., Brian S. Anderson, Michael M. Singer, Mark R. Viant Ph.D. (University

of California, Davis - Dept. of Environmental Toxicology)



Description or

Abstract

Due to the large maritime transport of crude oil from Alaska to California, there is significant potential

for a catastrophic spill that could seriously impact salmon populations during key periods of their

migration, e.g., when salmon smolts are entering the ocean from native streams and rivers. While a

significant amount of research has emphasized the acute effects of oil on fish and invertebrates, few

studies have focused on the anadromous fishes endemic to California rivers, and none have addressed

the relative acute and longterm impacts of oil and chemically-dispersed oil on migrating smolts. This

project will compare the toxic actions of the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) and chemically

dispersed fraction (a chemically enhanced water-accommodated fraction; CEWAF) of Prudhoe Bay

Crude Oil (PBCO) to smolts of chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Studies Using an Estuarine Turtle (the Diamondback Terrapin) to Assess the

Potential Longterm Effects of Oiling of Nests during Early Embryonic Development Principal Investigator Christopher L Rowe, Ph.D. and Carys L Mitchelmore, Ph.D. (University of Maryland, Center for


Appendix A


Environmental Studies, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory)



Description or

Abstract

This project will examine the chronic effects on traits of turtles that result from exposure to fresh crude

oil and post dispersant treated-oil during early embryonic development as would occur via oiling of

nests. Exposures to artificial nests will occur during early embryonic development of the turtles,

modeling a scenario in which oiling of nests occurs shortly after nesting. The project will have direct

significance to the brackish, estuarine, and coastal habitats of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S.

due to the cosmopolitan distribution of the model species (the diamondback terrapin, an estuarine

turtle, and the snapping turtle, a freshwater/brackish water turtle) throughout these regions. As well,

application of the results to assessing risks of oil spills to sea turtles can be applied worldwide to

coastal systems in which nesting by sea turtles occurs. Using laboratory studies we will quantify the

chronic impacts of oil spill-related contamination of nesting areas on development, cellular and whole

animal physiology, and behavior over an entire year post-hatching. The design of the study will entail

exposures of recently-laid eggs to fresh crude oil and post dispersant-treated oil, following which

chronic effects expressed during the remaining embryonic period and early juvenile period will be

measured. Because of the protected status of marine sea turtles, this study will focus on species that

are, in most areas, not considered threatened and can thus be used to develop models for inferences

about other species. The diamondback terrapin, (Malaclemys terrapin) is a species that may be directly

affected in coastal and estuarine systems by oil spills, as well as having physiological traits (e.g.

osmoregulatory capabilities) somewhat akin to marine sea turtles. The snapping turtle (Chelydra

serpentina) is included due to its large clutch size allowing for maternal effects to be included in

analyses, egg morphology resembling the shape and size of marine sea turtles (potentially influencing

contaminant uptake dynamics), and its frequent occupation of brackish waters incurring it with some

rudimentary physiological traits similar to estuarine and marine turtles.

Progress

Reports

Key Word


Appendix A


Subject Survival time models quantitatively predict lethal effects of pulsed, short- and long-

term exposure to water-soluble oil spill fractions Principal Investigator Michael C Newman, Ph.D. and Michael A Unger, Ph.D. (Virginia Institute of Marine Science)



Description or

Abstract

Toxicity data derived from conventional concentration-effect test designs predict effect at a specific

exposure time. A few test durations might be used to coarsely predict how mortality changes with

exposure time. Predictions are unavoidably gross because mortality information is not collected

optimally during the exposure. Also, the conventional concentration-effect approach does not quantify

mortality that occurs after exposure stops. Such post-exposure mortality can be quite high. These

shortcomings can be circumvented by noting mortality in test treatments through time including post-

exposure mortality, and applying survival time modeling to the resulting data. This project will apply

survival time methods to data generated for representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in

the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) of weathered oil as well as in a weathered oil WAF generated

in the laboratory. Survival models incorporating exposure concentration and duration, and post-

exposure mortality will be produced for the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, a common test species

and an ecologically important one in salt marshes and other coastal environments.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Impacts of Low Level Residual Oils on Toxicity Assessments of Oil Spills Principal Investigator Joy McGrath and Dominic Di Toro Ph.D. (HydroQual, Inc.)



Description or

Abstract

This project is directed at evaluating the impacts of low levels of residual oils based on assessment of

the toxicity of oil-related constituents and their exposure risks. Oils are mixtures of complex

hydrocarbons and other compounds. The primary compounds of interest in this research will be the

monoaromatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. These compounds are Type I narcotic chemicals and



Appendix A


their mode of action is narcosis. The toxicity of such compounds is additive and therefore a

methodology is needed that accounts for exposure to a mixture of hydrocarbons. The target lipid model

(TLM) and the notion of toxic units will be used to assess the toxicity of oil-related narcotic chemicals.

The specific objectives are to (1) understand the mechanism for the biological response of oil-related

compounds, (2) identify the key components of residual oil that contribute to toxicity, (3) establish a

universal endpoint (such as a toxic unit) that can be applied across different oil sources and (4) derive

endpoints for oil-related compounds that are protective of aquatic and benthic species from long-term

sub-lethal effects. A literature search will be performed to obtain short- and long-term toxicity data for

compounds of interest, both from the water column and sediment. Although the focus will be on

obtaining toxicity data for mixtures of chemicals resulting from exposure to oil, toxicity data from

exposure to single chemicals will also be investigated. The TLM will be applied to the toxicity data to

determine if the biological response can be correctly predicted and to determine if endpoints

established using the TLM are protective both on a short-term and long-term basis.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Guidance for Dispersant Decision Making: Potential for Impacts on Aquatic Biota Principal Investigator Deborah French-McCay, Ph.D. (Applied Science Associates, Incorporated)



Description or

Abstract

The proposed research addresses the major priority area identified in the Coastal Response Research

Center (CRRC) RFP “Biologically/Ecologically-Driven Spill Response”, specifically identifying the

timing and nature of trade-off decision points in the context of response activities and expected level of

resource injury. This project will provide responders with a quick guide allowing them to determine the

likely water volume adversely affected by naturally- or chemically-dispersed oil and dissolved

hydrocarbons, as well as the surface area impacted by floating oil, with which they can evaluate

tradeoffs of dispersant use and plan monitoring activities, including for natural resource damage

assessment.

Appendix A


It is well understood that direct measurement of water column effects from naturally and chemically

dispersed oil is extremely difficult, if not impossible, because of the inherent patchiness of

concentrations and water column organisms and the ephemeral nature of the subsurface plumes. The

spatial and temporal scales of patches with potentially toxic concentrations are typically on the order of

meters to kilometers and hours to days. Thus, modeling is the most productive method for estimating

water column acute toxic effects from dispersed oil. Modeling also provides estimates of areas swept

by floating oil and shoreline oiled, within which wildlife and shoreline habitat injuries would occur.

The Oil Spill Impact Guide (OSIG) will be based on a matrix of 240 model runs using ASA’s SIMAP

physical fates, exposure and oil toxicity models, where key variables determining impact are varied: oil

type, weathering state, oil volume, environmental (e.g., wind speed, temperature) conditions, dispersant

use, and toxicity to aquatic biota. The key model results from these runs will be the volume of water

where acute toxic effects would occur and the area of water surface oiled (which would impact

wildlife, as well as socioeconomic uses). Model results from the matrix will be summarized in both

tabular and chart format so that users of the guide can look up the order of magnitude of likely impact

and interpolate between results for intermediate conditions to those run in the matrix of scenarios.

Simple regression equations will be provided to facilitate such interpolations for intermediate volumes

of oil spilled and dispersed. The guide will be in three forms: as a report describing the approach,

assumptions and results of the modeling and guidance development; a field guide in paper/PDF format;

and a calculator in spreadsheet format that will facilitate interpolations.

The research and lessons learned from this effort will contribute to national efforts aimed at developing

decision-making tools and supporting information related to spill response, and specifically with

respect to dispersant use. The results of the research will be presented and explained to the spill

response community during or adjunct to a spill response related meeting or conference. The

presentation will be part of a focused halfday workshop on dispersant decision-making, where

discussion of the results and implications will be solicited. The seminar will include presentation of the

Oil Spill Impact Field Guide and calculator. The Oil Spill Impact Guide will be freely available on the

web.

Progress

Appendix A


Reports

Key Word

OUTREACH & TRAINING TOOLS

Subject Tools for Preparedness Principal

Investigator

Mr. Kurt Hansen

Contracting

Agency

USCG Research and Development Center

Estimated

Completion

2007

Description or

Abstract

PROBLEM STATEMENT: National Strike Force (NSF) members require 1 ½ to 2 ½ years to complete

their qualification process and even then require periodic refresher training to maintain proficiency. As a

result, a significant portion of NSF personnel resources are limited in their response capabilities.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE: Identify areas where technology can be used to develop, maintain or increase

preparedness in spill response, evaluate potential approaches and develop solutions. This will be done by

identifying the spill response training and experience requirements for NSF qualifications (Response

Member, Technician, Supervisor, and Officer) and evaluating current training and qualification methods and

effectiveness.

Progress The video conferences and discussions with the National Strike Force (NSF) concerning preparedness have

been completed. Additional informal discussions have been held with individual team members to follow

up on specific items. The results of the discussions are being compiled. RDC did not identify any

significant R&D needs for the teams but did identify potential policy and process solutions that merit further

evaluation.

Reports

Key Word

Appendix A


REMOTE SENSING & AERIAL OBSERVATION

Subject Detection of Oil on and Under Ice - Phase 3 Principal Investigator Mr. David Dickins, DF Dickins and Associates and Dr. John Bradford, Boise State University


Estimated Completion Complete

Description or

Abstract

Over the past three years, under continued MMS sponsorship, the development of oil and ice detection

system has made significant progress through a series of successful projects (TAR-517, TAR-547 and

TAR-569). This new research project http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/588.htm will undertake a series

of four tasks to assess the technical feasibility and cost of developing and incorporating airborne oil

detection systems in future field trials with oil and ice. The tasks include:

1. Airborne Oil Under Ice Hardware Evaluation

2. Airborne Oil Under Ice Development Plan

3. Surface Oil Under Snow Modeling

4. Airborne Oil Under Ice Computer Modeling

This project is co funded with Alaska Clean Seas and the Alaska Department of Environmental

Conservation who will fund three tasks.

1. Software Update and Training for Prudhoe Bay, AK Operations

2. Preparation and Planning for Prudhoe Bay, AK Workshop

3. Conduct a 2-Day Workshop in Prudhoe Bay, AK

Progress Results from Task 1 indicates that there are no commercially available airborne radar systems with an

operating frequency range of 500MHz to 1GHz. There are two research groups that have been

developing airborne radar systems primarily for glacial ice-sheet imaging. They are the University of

Texas and the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) at the University of Kansas. The

CReSIS system is the most relevant to our application. Discussions of future collaboration with

CReSIS are ongoing. The collaboration may include side by side comparison of the CReSIS system


Appendix A


with our commercial Ground Penetrating Radar system deployed in an airborne mode.

Measurements with the GPR were conducted over an intentional oil spill in Svea, Svalbard in April

2006 and in April 2008. The overall results from two field tests are very promising in that they indicate

that GPR using currently available systems is capable of detecting and mapping oil in ice over a broad

operational time window from early to late winter, typically November to April in the Beaufort Sea

area. This window of opportunity covers approximately 70% of the near shore fast ice season in most

years. The current generation GPR is capable of mapping oil under or trapped within growing winter

ice from 30-210 cm (1-7 foot thick). Minimum oil thickness detection limit appears to be roughly 2 cm.

In both field tests, the GPR was also tested in an aerial configuration and was able to detect oil on

frozen ground under snow and oil encapsulated in or under fresh ice. The GPR is good at detecting oil

in and under first year ice with relatively even top and bottom surfaces. Detecting oil thru multi-year

ice or rafter/ridged first year ice is expected to be difficult because of the voids and jumbled blocks of

rough ice.

In February 2008, A GPR training class was conducted in Prudhoe Bay, AK with scientists and

technicians from Alaska Clean Seas (ACS). ACS has an operational GPR system and have conducted

training classes in its operation. They now have a core of trained responders familiar in using the GPR.

The intent is to continue further research to understand the capabilities of the GPR under different

snow, ice and oil conditions throughout the winter season. This development work is designed to create

the basic knowledge base that will result in further operational tools based on GPR technology. The

final report has been accepted by MMS. This project is complete.

Reports Evaluation of Higher-Powered Airborne Radar Systems to Detect Oil Under Ice and Snow – Scenario

Descriptions, D. Dickins and J. Bradford, DF Dickins and Associates and Boise State University, 8 pp.,

August 17, 2007.

Summary of Search results on Airborne Radar Systems with an Operating Frequency Range of

500MHz to 1GHz, D. Dickins and J. Bradford, DF Dickins and Associates and Boise State University,

September 14, 2007.

Appendix A


Detection of Oil on and Under Ice: Phase III - Evaluation of Airborne Radar System Capabilities in

Selected Arctic Spill Scenarios, D. Dickins, DF Dickins and Associates and Dr. J. Bradford, Boise

State University, 55 pp. July 2008.

Key Word Arctic, Ground Penetrating Radar, Svalbard

Subject Development of a Portable Multispectral Aerial Sensor for Real-time Oil Spill

Thickness Mapping in Coastal and Offshore Waters Principal Investigator Minerals Management Service

Contracting Agency December 2008


Description or

Abstract

This research project will develop a portable, easy-to-operate, aerial sensor to detect and accurately

map the thickness and distribution of an oil slick in coastal and offshore waters in real-time. Building

on previous research the technical plan, consisting of five phases will lead to the deployment of an

operational system estimated to be completed with 18 months. The five phases are:

1. Addition and testing of infra-red camera to the detection system.

2. Refinement and implementation of the neural network and fuzzy ratio-based oil discrimination

software.

3. Addition of Inertial Measurement Unit and testing/validation of real-time auto geo-referencing

capabilities.

4. Ohmsett infra-red and full-system validation experiments.

5. Integration of full-system and implementation of near-real-time analysis discrimination

capabilities.

This project includes five separate over-flights over the Santa Barbara Channel oil seeps and the

Ohmsett facility for sensor and algorithm verification and ground-truthing. This project is co funded

with the California Department of Fish and Game, Oil Spill Prevention and Response.


Progress The infra-red camera (IR) and GIS compatible software were received in late September 2007. The



Appendix A


camera is being integrated into the detection system and initial test flights of the system will be

conducted over the Santa Barbara Channel oil seeps in late October 2007. The Oil Thickness

Algorithm Refinement work is being undertaken simultaneously with the IR camera integration.

Laboratory experiments and aerial flights were conducted. Two significant improvements to the system

were achieved. First, a new wavelength (577 nm) was chosen to provide the greatest thickness

distinction range of ratios. Second. When the 577nm band is used in conjunction with the 551nm band

it provides additional information to the algorithm to adjust the thickness model for different

background water reflectance characteristics. The addition of the IR camera will extend the available

thickness measurement range. The thickness sensor system was successfully flight tested in day/night

operations over the Ohmsett facility from June 16-20, 2008 and during over flights of the Santa

Barbara oil seeps in November 2008 to verify total system integration.

Reports

Key Word Remote Sensing, Multispectral sensor, Ohmsett

Subject Field Verification of SINAP Oil Spill Fate and Transport Modeling and Linking

CODAR Observation Systems Data with SINAP Predictions Principal Investigator James R. Payne, Ph.D. (Payne Environmental Consultants, Inc.)

Deborah French-McCay, Ph.D. (Applied Science Associates, Incorporated) Walter Nordhausen, Ph.D.

(Office of Spill Prevention and Response, CA Department of Fish and Game) Eric Terrill, Ph.D.

(Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography)



Description or

Abstract

Oil-spill fate and transport modeling is currently being used by CA OSPR to develop the time and

spatial scales, and equipment needs for a formal Dispersed Oil Monitoring Plan (DOMP) to document

hydrocarbon water column concentrations, potentially exposed organisms (zooplankton), and the

impacts of oil spills with and without use of dispersants. These measurements are essential to the

evaluation of environmental trade-offs justified as a decision to use dispersants under certain

circumstances. Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) will be absent critical quantitative and

qualitative information without a sound and pre-planned methodology for collection of water column


Appendix A


data. CA OSPR is funding a limited field experiment with SIO to develop and test the operational

framework for repeated sampling of dispersed oil plumes as outlined in the DOMP, and this proposed

project is designed to augment that effort and allow measurements of horizontal and vertical

diffusivities, evaluation of CODAR for providing surface current input data to oil spill models such as

SIMAP, and verification of SIMAP-predicted movement of subsurface oil (dye) by comparison to

drogue movement and measured dye concentrations over three dimensions and time.

Subsurface drogues and dye transport will be used to verify the surface current field measured using

CODAR. Efforts are currently underway to assess the limitations of HF radar derived current velocities

in the San Diego region, and the data collected by the proposed work will be used to further assess

system performance, including differences between measured and computed trajectories. A Seabird

CTD (provided by SIO) will be deployed from a small vessel in the study region to determine the

mixed layer depth, an important variable in dispersant monitoring. In addition, subsurface dye-plume

structure will be mapped using SIO’s towed MiniBAT submersible system equipped with a

fluorometer. Data from the system are displayed in real-time on deck so that adjustments can be made

to the MiniBAT’s flight path. By flying the MiniBAT in an undulating mode and driving the boat in a

grid pattern, the plume can be mapped and tracked to follow its evolution in space and time. Evolution

of the plume as a function of time will allow the computation of both horizontal and vertical diffusivity

coefficients on scales that are sub-grid to the CODAR mapped velocities. In addition, discrete water

samples will be collected at several locations/depths in and out of the plume and measured with a

fluorometer onboard the research vessel by OSPR personnel to compare the in situ MiniBAT

measurements with the more traditional SMART protocol utilized by the USCG.

Modeling products include: (1) a fitting algorithm for estimating diffusion coefficients from

conservative tracer concentrations; (2) a fitting algorithm for estimating non-wind-drift currents from

water surface observational current data in rectilinear grid format; (3) integration methods for hindcast

and forecast oil transport models; and (4) quantitative techniques for uncertainty analysis based on

uncertainty in input data and wind drift. The model algorithms and technical direction can be utilized in

NOAA’s, as well as other, oil-spill simulation models with direct applicability to spill response

decision making, net environmental benefit analysis, and educating the spill community and public.

Appendix A


Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Delivery and Quality Assurance of Short-Term Trajectory Forecasts from HF Radar

Observations Principal Investigator Newell Garfield (University of California - Institute for Computational Earth System Science)



Description or

Abstract

The project is proposing to develop, assess, and document the use of real-time ocean surface current

maps from high frequency (HF) radar installations. Specifically, we will evaluate the use of these data

in support of oil spill response activities. An extensive test of these capabilities was conducted in

connection with the NOAA Safe Seas 2006 oil spill exercise offshore San Francisco in August, 2006.

We intend to conduct a systematic post-exercise evaluation and to document lessons learned. We also

intend to quantitatively assess the performance of the short-term (24-hour) surface current prediction

methodology that was developed for the Safe Seas 2006 exercise by comparing observed and predicted

currents under a wide range of environmental conditions. To aid that assessment, we will conduct a

multi-day, multi-deployment field experiment using an array of GPS-tracked surface drifters. Finally,

we intend to document our results in the form of a package of recommendations and procedures for the

integration of HF radar-derived products into real-time spill response protocols.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Appendix A


SHORELINE ASSESSMENT

Subject A System for Integrated SCAT Data Collection and Management:

eSCAT, SCATdb, and Photologger Principal

Investigator

Jeff Lankford, Ian Zelo, Matt Stumbaugh (NOAA: Office of Response and Restoration)

Contracting

Agency

NOAA: Office of Response and Restoration

Estimated

Completion

Description or

Abstract

During response, oiled shorelines must be surveyed to guide cleanup operations. The Shoreline Cleanup and

Assessment Technique (SCAT) is a standard method for conducting these surveys. Multiple field teams

often conduct SCAT. SCAT surveys quickly produce a large and complex dataset comprised of SCAT

observations, GPS positions, and photographs. In order to guide response decision-making, SCAT field data

must be processed and analyzed in a timely manner. Until recently, SCAT and GPS data were collected on

standardized paper worksheets, transcribed to electronic form, and then incorporated into maps and other

decision-making products. Photographs were not tightly managed alongside SCAT data. Today, with the

emergence of robust handheld computing technology, the deficiencies inherent in paper data collection are

no longer necessary or acceptable. Paper data collection can be slow, error prone, and lacking quality

control and integration with GPS technology. Digital options are available to address all these challenges.

To exploit these potential advantages, the Office of Response and Restoration is developing a field data

collection and management system for SCAT data and photographs which is comprised of: (1) specialized

software for efficient SCAT data collection with GPS-integrated handheld devices, (2) a relational SCAT

database which expedites the synthesis of field data into decision making products, promotes community

standards, and supports standard paper worksheet data collection methods, and (3) an image database which

allows for the processing, documenting, and sharing of large quantities of digital photographs. For this

project, commonly used, readily available, and open-source computing resources were chosen so that end-

users could easily test, adopt, and improve this system.

Appendix A


Progress

Reports

Key Word

SUBMERGED, SUNKEN & HEAVY OILS

Subject Recovery of Heavy Oil Principal Investigator Kurt Hansen



Description or

Abstract

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Existing CG and commercial systems are inadequate for heavy, viscous oil

recovery. This includes both emulsified oils floating on the surface and oils heavier than water that sink to the bottom. Regardless of whether the oil is on the surface, neutrally buoyant in the water column, or sitting on the

bottom, the ability to recover heavy, viscous oil prior to its impact on the coastline remains an elusive capability.

The underwater environment poses major problems including poor visibility, difficulty tracking oil spill movement, colder temperatures, problems with containment methods and technologies, and the electric or

mechanical recovery equipment’s interaction with water. PROJECT OBJECTIVE: The objective is to analyze existing technology and develop products to increase the CG and industry’s efficiency and effectiveness when responding to heavy, viscous oil spills.

Progress A Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) was released on April, 2007 and contracts were awarded to four vendors in the Fall of 2007 for detection technologies. These technologies include sonar, laser fluorosensor, real-

time mass spectrometry and in-situ fluorometry. Tests were conducted on proof-of-concept systems at

OHMSETT and completed in February, 2008. Two vendors were selected for additional development and testing or prototype systems in January 2009; a sonar system and a laser fluorometer system.

Reports

Key Word

Appendix A


Subject Development of a Predictive Bayesian Data-Derived Multi-Modal Gaussian

Maximum-Likelihood Model of Sunken Oil Mass Principal Investigator James D. Englehardt, Ph.D. (University of Miami)



Description or

Abstract

The problem addressed in this proposal is the need for cost-effective tracking of sunken oil following a

spill, to target cleanup activities and to support cleanup termination decisions. Sunken oil is difficult to

“see” because sensing techniques (VSORS, ROVS) show only a small space at a point in time (Beegle-

Krause et al. 2006). Moreover, the oil may re-suspend and sink with changes in salinity, sediment load,

and temperature (Michel 2006), making fate and transport models difficult to deploy and calibrate

when even the presence of sunken oil is difficult to assess. For these reasons, together with the expense

of field data collection, there is a need for a statistical data-limited technique integrating field data

collection with statistical fate and transport modeling. Predictive Bayesian modeling techniques have

been developed and used by the PI to rigorously extrapolate desired information from limited available

data in oil spill planning, hurricane, environmental, health, and safety risk analysis applications. For

example, predictive Bayesian compound Poisson models have been developed for the U.S. Coast

Guard to forecast changes in oil spill volumes (e.g., annual) arriving onshore around the Gulf of

Mexico in response to proposed changes in oil transportation equipment and policies, given spatially-

defined historical oil spill data, shipping routes and volumes, and hydrodynamic modeling results

(Obie and Englehardt 1996; Douligeris et al. 1998). Significant advances in computational techniques

such as Markov chain-Monte Carlo integration have increased the power of such methods further. In

addition, modern genetic and other search algorithms and hardware can be brought to bear on the

estimation of statistical parameters of highly-dimensional models such as may be obtained by

superposition of Lagrangian (e.g., Gaussian) models. However, to our knowledge the approach has not

been applied to the tracking of sunken oil or other pollutants.

The objectives of the proposed two-year project are to (1) compile and summarize data on the

occurrence of sunken oil, directed by the project team including end users and NOAA liaison; (2)

develop one or more superimposed, multi-modal predictive Bayesian Gaussian maximum likelihood

models of sunken oil locations across a bay that will accept spatial field data on sunken oil mass and

Appendix A


hydrodynamic information from rapidly-deployable models of bottom and subsurface currents, to

project assessments of sunken oil locations in time; and (3) verify the model versus sunken oil data, as

possible, and simulated datasets. The approach is organized into three overlapping tasks: (1)

“Development of conceptual model and data base,” including a team kickoff meeting to identify data

sources and define model capability, (2) “Model development,” including the development of new

genetic and other search algorithms for maximum-likelihood calibration of the model with field data,

and (3) “Model verification, optimization, and dissemination,” including active maintenance of a

project website for information dissemination and model download and training activities as

appropriate. The model(s) developed represent a new approach to oil and pollutant tracking in terms of

the conceptual integration of maximum likelihood and search techniques with Lagrangian pollutant

transport modeling, and the use of predictive (unconditional, marginal) Bayesian models capable of

assessing sunken oil location based on limited available information with rigorous accounting of

uncertainty. It is anticipated that the models developed will interface with current response, cleanup,

and damage assessment models (e.g., GNOME, SIMAP) as appropriate, and be amenable to refinement

and expansion to address a wider range of bathymetric conditions and potential tracking of suspended

oil.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Subject Investigation of Physical and Chemical Causes of Heavy Oil Submergence Principal Investigator Bruce Hollebone (Environmental Science and Technology Centre)



Description or

Abstract

This proposal is derived from the CRRC research needs assessment: Submerged Oil – State of the

Practice and Research Needs. Our objectives are i) to examine the causes and effects of density

changes in heavy petroleum oils that cause just-buoyant oils to become overwashed and sink at sea and

in fresh water, and ii) to examine the physical and chemical causes for refloatation of heavy oils. The

proposed work includes both simulation of spills at the bench-scale and examination of real samples of

submerged oil from spills of opportunity. The factors affecting oil submergence to be considered

Appendix A


include: temperature, solid-phase uptake, water uptake (and emulsification), evaporation and photo-

oxidation. This work will lead to a better understanding of the micro-changes in oils and their

environments that lead to submergence of oils. This is expected to benefit both the spill modeling and

spill response communities. This proposal aims to directly address the research needs D1 and D3 of the

CRRC needs assessment and to contribute to research needs E1, E7, and E9.

Progress

Reports

Key Word

Appendix B

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 B-1

Appendix B: Funding Opportunities as of December 2007

Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research & Development Program (OSRADP) RFP

US Coast Guard (USCG) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Submerged Oil

Coastal Restoration and Enhancement through Science and Technology program

(CREST)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Open Announcements

Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET)

Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI) Grants

Federal Grants

Minerals Management Service (MMS) Oil Spill Response Research (OSRR) BAA

University of New Hampshire (UNH) Sea Grant

Texas General Land Office (GLO) RFP for Research, Testing, and Development of Oil

Discharge Prevention and Response Technology and Training

PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE COASTAL RESPONSE RESEARCH

CENTER (CRRC) BASED ON 2007 RFPS

“Development of a Predictive Bayesian Data-Derived Multi-Modal Gaussian

Maximum-Likelihood Model of Sunken Oil Mass” J. Englehardt.

“Guidance for Dispersant Decision-Making: Potential for Impacts on Aquatic

Biota” D. French-McCay

“Investigation of Physical and Chemical Causes of Heavy Oil Submergence” B.

Hollebone

“Social disruption from oil spills and spill response: Characterizing effects,

vulnerabilities, and the adequacy of existing data to inform decision-making” T.

Webler

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/2007_symposium.pdf

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/heavy_oil.pdf

http://www.gulfcrest.org/

http://www.gulfcrest.org/

http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/open_awards.htm

http://ciceet.unh.edu/

http://www.pws-osri.org/grants

http://www.grants.gov/

https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=a98a693a68b4e2ec1dec28141640fde8&tab=core&_cview=0

http://www.seagrant.unh.edu/fundinginfo.html

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/funding/glo_2008_rfp.pdf

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/funding/glo_2008_rfp.pdf

Appendix C

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 C-1

Appendix C: Scheduled 2008 Research Workshops

Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) Project Investigator (PI) Research

Symposium (May 29, 2008)

CRRC – Opening the Arctic Seas: Envisioning Disaster and Framing Solutions (March

18-20, 2008)

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/sap_meeting.html

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/sap_meeting.html

http://www.crrc.unh.edu/workshops/arctic_spill_summit/index.htm

Appendix D

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 D-1

Appendix D: Scheduled 2008 Conferences

International Oil Spill Conference - Savannah, GA May 4-8, 2008

Environment Canada's Arctic and Marine Oil-spill Program (AMOP) - Calgary, Alberta,

CA June 3-5, 2008

Clean Gulf - San Antonio, TX October 28-30, 2008

EPA Freshwater Spills Symposium - Spring 2009 (exact date and location

TBD)

http://www.iosc.org/

http://www.etc-cte.ec.gc.ca/news/conferences/amop/amop_call_08.html

http://www.etc-cte.ec.gc.ca/news/conferences/amop/amop_call_08.html

http://www.cleangulf.org/

http://www.epa.gov/OEM/content/fss/index.htm

http://www.epa.gov/OEM/content/fss/index.htm

Appendix E

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 E-1

Appendix E: Science & Technology Committee Charter


Science and Technology Committee Charter

Mission Statement

Encouraging science and technology in support of response

Scope As an entity of the National Response Team (NRT), the S&T Committee serves as a

technical support to the NRT on issues relating to oil and hazardous substances releases;

on-going, past and proposed research; developments in technology and recommendations

for future national research and development.

Objectives

1. The Science and Technology Committee strives to be the information nexus

for national and international oil and/or hazardous substances release-

related technical advancement, including research and development, testing,

and evaluation activities.

2. The Science and Technology Committee will support the National Response

Team through monitoring oil and/or hazardous substances release -related

research and development, testing, and evaluation activities of NRT agencies

to enhance coordination, avoid duplication of effort, and encourage research

in support of response activities.

3. The Science and Technology Committee will encourage the application of

new sciences and technologies for response to oil and/or hazardous

substances releases under operational conditions in order to assess

effectiveness.

S&T Committee Products

Annual Report to the NRT The S&T Committee will produce an annual report to the NRT cataloguing

developments in research on oil and chemical spill response technologies. This

Appendix E


report will be presented to the NRT by the Chair of the S&T Committee at the

annual NRT/RRT Co-Chairs meeting or on a schedule determined by the NRT.

In addition to an inventory of on-going research, the S&T Committee will suggest

future research directions and identify redundancies in research. The annual

report will include:

1) Research Catalogue

As research and development on oil and hazardous substance response is

extensive, diverse in type and scope, and global in effort, the S&T Committee will

collect and distribute information relating to these efforts with the goal of sharing

research activity nationally and internationally through the National Response

Team.

2) Field Applications

As new approaches to the response of oil and hazardous substance releases

are developed, the Science and Technology Committee will encourage the trial of

these approaches under operational conditions. Results will be reported to the

NRT through the annual report or more frequently, if necessary.

NRT Action Proposals The NRT may request assistance from the S&T Committee on specific projects

(or is it on a request for assistance on specific action proposals?). RRT-specific

proposals will be reviewed by the NRT, prioritized, and if appropriate will be

passed to the S&T Committee for action. The S&T Committee will review all

action proposals from the NRT in order to ensure that adequate measures have

been taken to “enhance coordination, avoid duplication of effort, and encourage

research in support of response activities” (40 CFR 300.110 (h) (5)). As requested, and

in absence of existing or current products, the S&T Committee will act to address

the proposal directly through their member agencies.

S&T Committee Action Proposals While it is not in the purview of the S&T Committee to present action proposals

to the body to which it reports, member agencies and organizations may wish to

engage the S&T Committee. The member agency or organization should present a

proposal directly to the NRT, for consideration and possible action by the S&T,

upon request of the NRT.

Meetings

The S&T Committee will meet in-person or via conference call once per month. The

standing agenda will include:

Agency Reports

o current activities and research

Appendix E


o past and upcoming events of interest

o new developments in research activities

Status reports on outstanding projects for the NRT

Outreach Report

o Discussion of activities and research developing outside the membership

of S&T Committee (e.g.: Environment Canada, SINTEF)

Annual Work Plan Progress Report

o Annual Report

o Field Trial

At least quarterly, the chair of the Committee or a representative will report, in-person, to

the NRT on S&T Committee activities.

Guiding Language

The National Response Team

“The U.S. National Response Team (NRT) is an organization of 16 Federal

departments and agencies responsible for coordinating emergency preparedness

and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents. The Environment

Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) serve as Chair and

Vice Chair respectively. The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution

Contingency Plan (NCP) and the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR part 300)

outline the role of the NRT and Regional Response Teams (RRTs). The response

teams are also cited in various federal statutes, including Superfund Amendments

and Reauthorization Act (SARA) – Title III and the Hazardous Materials

Transportation Act [HMTA].” (Reference: www.NRT.org)

The Science & Technology Committee

“The Science and Technology Committee provides a forum for the NRT to fulfill

its NCP delegated responsibilities in research and development. Specifically, NCP

regulation 40 CFR 300.110(g) (sic: actually it is 40 CFR 300.110.h.5) lists as one

of the NRT's responsibilities „Monitoring response-related research and

development, testing, and evaluation activities of NRT agencies to enhance

coordination, avoid duplication of effort, and encourage research in support of

response activities;‟ Additionally, 40 CFR 300.110(g) states, "The NRT may

consider and make recommendations to appropriate agencies on [the training,

equipping, and protection of response teams and] necessary research,

development, demonstration, and evaluation to improve response capabilities." (Reference: www.NRT.org)

40 CFR 300.110 (g)

“The NRT may consider and make recommendations to appropriate agencies on the training,

http://www.nrt.org/

http://www.nrt.org/

Appendix E


equipping, and protection of response teams and necessary research, development, demonstration, and evaluation to improve response capabilities.” 40 CFR 300.110 (h) (5) “Monitoring response-related research and development, testing, and evaluation activities of NRT

agencies to enhance coordination, avoid duplication of effort, and facilitate research in support of response activities;”

Appendix F

NRT Science & Technology Committee Report 2008 F-1

Appendix F: Science & Technology Committee 2008 Work Plan


Science and Technology Committee

Annual Work Plan 2008

Project Name S&T Committee’s Annual Report to the NRT Project Description The S&T Committee will produce an annual report to the NRT cataloguing developments in

research on oil and chemical spill response technologies. This report will be presented to the NRT

by the Chair of the S&T Committee at the annual NRT/RRT Co-Chairs meeting or on a schedule

determined by the NRT Chairman. In addition to an inventory of on-going research, the S&T

Committee will suggest future research directions and identify redundancies in research

Staffing/Lead Lead: NOAA (Steve Lehmann, chairman)

Deliverable Report

Schedule March 2009

Project Name Response Research Clearinghouse - Design & Feasibility Study

Appendix F


Project Description Development of an interactive, web-based clearinghouse designed to share information relating to

current work toward the advancement of techniques, technology and science in the field of oil and

hazardous substance response, remediation and restoration. The specific objectives of the

clearinghouse are:

to share information related to proposed and ongoing investigation and development activities

designed to improve response and/or restoration capabilities including: scientific research,

new operational methods and techniques, new software and hardware in the U.S. and

internationally, both within governmental and non-governmental institutions.

to develop a non-proprietary communication forum aimed at improving discussion between

researchers, product developers, end-users and regulators.

to maintain a central point of contact for the state-of-the-art and advancement in this industry.

to both reduce redundancies in research and leverage related projects.

to increase the likelihood that new technologies, techniques and products can be operationally

evaluated at so-called “spills of opportunity” by increasing exposure of to responders and

decision-makers.


Deliverables The deliverable will be a web-based system and a plan for the continued development and

maintenance of the site, outreach to researchers, etc.

Schedule 2008: Design & Feasibilty Study

2009: Implementation of site

Project Name “Selection Guide for Oil Spill Applied Technologies” Field Test Report Project Description A one year field test of the “Selection Guide for Oil Spill Applied Technologies” was assigned to

the S&T Comm. in 2001 by the NRT. Members of the Science and Technology Committee

designed and distributed an evaluation form for the Guide and made presentations on the field test

at the 2002 Co-Chairs meeting, the FreshWater Spills Symposium, the EPA On-Scene

Coordinators training, the API Oil Spill Technical Working Group and the Spills Advisory Group,

and the NOAA SSC’s meeting, as well as initiating a story on the Selection Guide in the Oil Spill

Intelligence Report . The S&T Comm. has yet to report findings. The data collected from this

Appendix F


effort must be re-examined and reported to the NRT and, if necessary, data will be re-collected.

Coordination with the Response Committee is sought for this project.


Deliverables Report to the NRT, recommendations

Schedule Through 2009

Project Name Selection Guide Review & Update Project Description Volume One of the “Job Aids for Spill Countermeasures Technologies” (aka: The Selection

Guide) has not been reviewed or updated since its release by RRTs 3 and 4. Since that time,

however, the guide has been officially or unofficially adopted by many RRTs and FOSC regions.

The S&T Committee will form both a working group and an advisory board for the purpose of

review, update and maintenance of this document at a national, rather than regional, level. The

Advisory Board will be made up of RRT representatives (one per RRT region) and will assist in

directional changes for the Guide (if necessary) and liaison with the RRTs.

Note: the preceding project “’Selection Guide for Oil Spill Applied Technologies’” Field Test

Report” will likely be incorporated into this project.

Staffing/Lead Lead: TBD, pro tem: NOAA (Steve Lehmann, chairman),

Deliverables Updated Selection Guide, annual maintenance plan

Schedule To Be Determined, highly dependent on staff availability.

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