Articles from the May issue of The Observer newsletter are now online. Valdez students make adjustments to a remotely operated vehicle they designed and built during a recent program by the Prince William Sound Science Center. The students used the vehicles to respond to a mock oil spill. Photo by Kara Johnson. Council and partners work to permit oil spill simulant for response training Because evaluating the effectiveness of oil recovery…
The recent public scoping notice issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, along with statements made by the department’s commissioner, Jason Brune, have caused concern at the Council. Some of the commissioner’s statements were interpreted as encouraging a reduction in regulations, safeguards that could lead to a return to the complacency that led to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Full statements References to…
…How can an oil spill affect the open ocean? This graphic shows some of the species that live in the open ocean and how an oil spill can affect them. Please note that the original interactive version of this image is not available at this time. Click image for higher resolution poster:…
A recent Council-sponsored report found that wind and waves at Hinchinbrook Entrance may be under reported as observed by the Seal Rocks weather buoy. Researchers from Tetra Tech analyzed wind and wave data to better define weather conditions at the Entrance, as well as how these conditions might affect rescue operations by the escort tugs. To do this, researchers looked at the frequency and duration of weather events when the Entrance was…