U.S. Coast Guard Arctic pollution response research and development

Abstract

The discovery of oil and gas along the Alaskan coast has led to development and exploration on shore; offshore drilling on the continental shelf is certain to increase rapidly in the near future. The Coast Guard has the legislated responsibility for insuring effective oil spill response in these waters which may be ice-infested during all or part of the year. The objective of the Arctic Pollution Response Research and Development Project is to understand and predict the behavior and movement of oil spilled in the Arctic, develop methods to detect and monitor these oil spills, and conduct investigative research into countermeasures and cleanup technology for ice-infested regions to insure Coast Guard expertise as federal On-Scene Coordinator.