A new report on the effects of small amounts of hydrocarbons on Port Valdez shrimp is now available. The report was approved by the board of directors during the May board meeting.
News release:Â
Are shrimp caught in Port Valdez contaminated by Alaska North Slope crude oil? The council recently worked with scientists at the National Auke Bay Lab in Juneau to answer that question.
Researchers working with the council have found what are believed to be the first documented freshwater springs found at the base of a tidewater glacier in Alaska.
This investigation was conducted by the Prince William Sound Science Center in support of ongoing council research focused on Columbia Glacier. Columbia Glacier has historically contributed to several maritime accidents related to the transportation of crude oil through Prince William Sound. The Glacier has been retreating rapidly from its terminal moraine near Heather Island since the early 1980s. Columbia Glacier’s main face is some 11 miles from Heather Island now. Icebergs produced by the glacier routinely cross into marine traffic lanes, posing a risk to crude oil tankers and their support vessels.
“The survey found several small freshwater springs in the bottom of the bay – places where fresh, clear water was seeping out of the bottom and mixing with the cloudier, saltier water of the bay, “ said Dr. Robert Campbell, researcher for the Prince William Sound Science Center.
By AUSTIN LOVE
Council Project Manager
In 2012, Alyeska identified a 6 inch wide area of external corrosion on crude oil piping near the end of one of their oil-loading berths, known as Berth 5, at the Valdez Marine Terminal. Corrosion in the 48 inch diameter pipe is of particular concern, as it is located over water.
By LISA MATLOCK
Outreach Coordinator
During the summer of 2012, the council hosted a workshop with environmental education professionals from all over Southcentral Alaska, pooling the best oil spill education programs in one place. Katie Gavenus, an environmental educator from Homer, was chosen by the council’s Information and Education Committee to put new activity ideas and the best of the original curriculum together. The resulting 2014 K-12 Oil Spill Curriculum will help today’s students understand the history and science of oil spills in Alaska.