Using dogs to detect oil spills hidden in snow and ice - A new tool to detect oil in Arctic environments (original) (raw)
Related papers
2014
It has been suggested that over the next decade the Arctic is likely to attract substantial investment, potentially reaching $100 billion. This investment is likely to be concentrated in the shipping and hydrocarbon industries. Any increased shipping and oil exploration/exploitation in these ice-infested waters will elevate the likelihood of an accident and possible oil spill. However for the foreseeable future shipping and exploration for hydrocarbons in the Arctic is likely to occur during the summer open-water period. Consequently should an accident occur towards to end of this period, there is the possibility that oil could be distributed within a field of newly forming or formed sea ice. It is therefore important to understand the behaviour of oil under young or newly formed ice types. We present results from a controlled oil release under three new ice types, frazil ice, nilas, and pancake ice.
Detection and quantification of oil under sea ice: The view from below
Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2015
Traditional measures for detecting oil spills in the open-ocean are both difficult to apply and less effective in ice-covered seas. In view of the increasing levels of commercial activity in the Arctic, there is a growing gap between the potential need to respond to an oil spill in Arctic ice-covered waters and the capability to do so. In particular, there is no robust operational capability to remotely locate oil spilt under or encapsulated within sea ice. To date, most research approaches the problem from on or above the sea ice, and thus they suffer from the need to 'see' through the ice and overlying snow. Here we present results from a large-scale tank experiment which demonstrate the detection of oil beneath sea ice, and the quantification of the oil layer thickness is achievable through the combined use of an upward-looking camera and sonar deployed in the water column below a covering of sea ice. This approach using acoustic and visible measurements from below is simple and effective, and potentially transformative with respect to the operational response to oil spills in We dedicate this manuscript to the memory of Tim Boyd who tragically died during its preparation.
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Given that the recent rapid growth of offshore production, especially in the Arctic region of the Russian Federation, is causing increased concern about oil spills on the water surface, this issue is especially relevant and important today. These pollutants have a devastating impact on the world’s marine biosphere. Therefore, effective and reliable methods and instruments must be used for operational spill detection in order to detect a remote oil spill. Several methods for oil spill monitoring and Russian developments in this area were described, including their features, advantages, and drawbacks. In cases when use in difficult Arctic conditions was anticipated, due to the harsh climate and ice-covered water surface, it was not always possible for spill detection instruments to be utilized. Despite this, such methods as radar, infrared, and ultraviolet were proven to be effective during this research. Ultimately, the combination of these methods returned the greatest volume of inf...
Using dogs to detect hidden corrosion
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2014
Dogs used as detectors in remote scent tracing (RST) technology usually detect the presence of explosives or contraband in scent samples collected by sucking air from containers or air freight. In this study, five dogs were trained to detect corrosion under the insulation (CUI) of pipes in scent samples collected at a gas processing plants. CUI is a major problem in oil and gas processing plants, causing safety risks and leading to production loss. Scent samples were made by sucking air through drain plugs in the insulation material surrounding the pipes onto filters. During a two year project, dogs trained to detect corrosion using insulation material collected earlier from other corroded locations at the plant were able to detect corrosion on the filters collected from intact insulated pipes at that plant at the same level of proficiency, detecting corrosion at around 59% while producing on average less than 3% false alarms. The systematic training approach, the integration of field samples into training runs and the use of several dogs to improve the reliability of the system are described. Preliminary results on double blind samples were promising: the sensitivity of the detection of field samples was 92%, and the selectivity 93%. The application of such a system as a tool in a preventive maintenance program at oil and gas processing plants could be useful to determine timing of maintenance, thus allowing a more efficient allocation of costly resources necessary for the customary visual inspection.
International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, 2008
This paper describes the findings from an experimental spill of 3,400 liters of Statfjord crude under first-year sea ice in Svalbard, Norway in March 2006. The objectives were to: 1. Test commercially available radar and acoustics systems in detecting oil spilled under ice. 2. Document the weathering processes governing crude oil behaviour in ice. 3. Evaluate the effectiveness of in-situ burning as an oil removal strategy. The results of this project will be used in planning new Arctic oil exploration and development programs. With the growing awareness of the Arctic basin as a potentially important province for new oil and gas discoveries, there is a critical need to: (1) develop new technologies to detect and map spills under ice; (2) increase the understanding of oil behaviour in ice and: (3) continue to demonstrate the capabilities of in-situ burning as an important and safe Arctic response tool. Tank tests conducted in 2004 (Dickins et al., 2005) showed that radar systems could detect and map oil pools as thin as 2 to 3 cm under controlled conditions under model sea ice up to 40 cm thick. This field experiment created a much larger-scale spill under thicker 65 cm natural sea ice to further evaluate potential remote sensing systems as practical operational spill response tools. The findings of the 2006 experiment: (1) demonstrated for the first time the ability of ground penetrating radar to detect and map oil under natural sea ice from the surface; (2) documented oil weathering with a relatively warm ice sheet under spring conditions; and (3) proved the effectiveness of in situ burning as a primary oil removal strategy under Arctic conditions. Oil weathering results are discussed and compared with small-scale field experiments performed on Svalbard during the period 2003-2006. Low temperatures and lack of waves in ice act to reduce oil spreading, evaporation, emulsification and dispersion. As a result, the operational time window for several spill response strategies such as dispersants and in-situ burning may be significantly extended compared to oil spills in open water.
Advancing Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Techniques for Arctic Conditions
International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, 2011
ABSTRACTIndustrial and commercial activities in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, including oil exploration, have increased in recent years. The 2008 circumpolar analysis by the US Geological Survey highlighted the large quantities of undiscovered oil and gas (O&G) estimated to be present. Governments of Arctic coastal states require industry to ensure a high level of environmental protection while operating in these areas. There are unique considerations which must be addressed such as: prolonged periods of darkness and daylight, cold temperatures, environmental sensitivities, indigenous peoples and their culture, distant infrastructure and remoteness, presence of seasonal/dynamic sea ice offshore, and a generally higher cost of doing business. Oil spill response (OSR) in the ice-free season can be comparable to the response in others parts of the world, with the exception of lower temperatures and extended daylight hours. The latter is a distinct advantage for OSR operations.Preventi...
Oil spills detection: Challenges addressed in the scope of the SEAGULL project
2016
The development of intelligent systems to support maritime situation awareness is the main goal of the SEAGULL project. By equipping unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with different types of optical sensors we target an intelligent maritime surveillance system. In this paper we present experiments performed with an hyperspectral camera to detect oil spills. We have developed a detection algorithm that automatically informs the base station of an oil spill in case a spectral signature recognized as oil is found on open sea. This contributes significantly to the generation of situational awareness of maritime events such as detection and georeferencing of oil spills or hazardous and noxious substances. After a brief overview of the SEAGULL platform and architecture, we focus on presenting the algorithms for automatic detection of oil spills with a hyperspectral camera on board an UAV.
Remote sensing of oil spills on frozen ground
Polar Record, 1999
Remote-sensing methods, using electromagnetic radiation detected by airborne and spaceborne instruments, have the potential to revolutionise the investigation of oil contamination in high latitudes. Spaceborne monitoring, in particular, offers many advantages, including: obtaining data from relatively inaccessible areas; day and night, all-weather observations; regular monitoring opportunities; spatial resolution of 20 m or better; and areal coverage of 30,000 square kilometres or more. Calibrated, spatially registered data can be readily integrated into geographic information systems for evaluation and prediction of spill behaviour. However, very little investigation of this potential has yet been undertaken. This paper reviews the possibilities for monitoring soil characteristics, including thermal regime, the presence of contamination, and long-term consequences of spills, for topography, hydrology, and vegetation cover.
Mosideo/cirfa tank experiments on behavior and detection of oil in ice
2019
In the Arctic, presence of sea ice presents a challenge to safe and sustainable operations. To optimize planning and minimize impact of inadvertent oil spills, oil-in-ice experiments were performed at the HSVA Arctic Environmental Test Basin (AETB) from 14 March to 4 April 2017. Following an under-ice spill and simulated springtime warming, the microscopic movement and distribution of oil in the sea ice pore space as well as the detectability of oil as it approaches the surface were investigated. Two ice types were studied simultaneously, i.e., columnar ice with and without a granular ice surface layer. Among the detection techniques were electromagnetic (radar, tomographic SAR) and optical (fluorescent, hyperspectral, thermal) sensors, and microscopic distribution of oil in sea ice were determined through Xray computed tomography (CT). This paper presents the setup of the experiment and general ice properties. It was found that the movement of oil differed considerably between the ...