• Overview of major water oil spill management techniques and evaluation of their efficiency

  Naumova, Tatyana; Naumov, Aleksey; Kotov, Yury (2023)

  Водные биоресурсы и среда обитания

  The extraction, transportation and sale of “black gold” is an integral component of the sustainable economic development of the Russian Federation. Due to the remoteness of most hydrocarbon extraction sites, adverse climate-related impact on the timing of the transfer of extracted resources, and high operational loads on the equipment, the threat of technogenic environmental pollution by oil and its products persists. Despite the existing options for timely prevention and efficient management of such events, the choice of the optimal clean-up method remains open. This article identifies the main methods of dealing with oil spills in the aquatic environment, provides their brief description, and indicates their efficiency. The authors present the technical solution (a specialized carrier) they are developing, which combines the features of the three main methods for eliminating artificial oil pollution (mechanical, physico-chemical, and biological) of the water surface. The proposed technical solution, in the authors’ opinion, will allow for optimization of the clean-up practices for technogenic hydrocarbon spills.
• Thermohaline characteristics of the Azov Sea in the summer season of 1989–2021 and how they are affected by the runoff of the Don and Kuban Rivers

  Кочергин, Анатолий (2023)

  Водные биоресурсы и среда обитания

  Considerable inter-annual variations of water temperature and salinity in the Azov Sea necessitate their constant monitoring. Following the numerous studies undertaken in this area, this work presents the specific features of inter-annual changes in temperature and salinity of the sea surface layer, averaged for the summer seasons of 1989–2021 both for the Azov Sea (excluding Taganrog Bay) and for its various areas; two representative time spans, 1989–2004 and 2005–2021, have been identified. The first time span was characterized by a relatively wide variation range of the temperature and by its decreased values, as well as by the decrease in the salinity. During the second time span, an increase in the both temperature and salinity of the sea surface layer occurred in the sea and its regions, which was induced by the increase in the air temperatures in the area and by the reduction of the relatively cold Don River runoff after 2005 in the case of the first parameter, and, for the second parameter, it resulted from the decrease in the runoff of the both Don and Kuban Rivers. Correlation analysis of the series of the summer temperature and salinity values by area and for the sea on the whole as they relate to the annual and maximum runoff of the Don River (Razdorskaya) and to the annual runoff of the Kuban River (Krasnodar and the river mouth) for 1989–2021 has shown the absence of the significant relationship with temperature and its presence with salinity both for the sea and for most of its regions at the confidence level of 99 % for the Don River runoff and 95 % for the Kuban River runoff.
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  Ecological risk assessment principles applied to oil spill response planning in the San Francisco Bay Area.

  Pond, R. G.; Aurand, D. V.; Kraly, J. A. (California Office of Spill Prevention and Response, 2000)

  This report describes the efforts of a group of individuals involved in or concerned with the environmental impacts of oil spills and oil spill response in San Francisco Bay. Participants affiliated with various federal and state government agencies, the response industry, and environmental organizations were invited to utilize their individual familiarity with the issues in discussion and consensus-building exercises. The conclusions and recommendations do not commit any governmental, industry, or environmental organization in the San Francisco Bay area to a particular course of action or policy. This report was disseminated to participants for review, and their comments have been addressed in the final report. Some participants requested that the report be given wider dissemination in draft form to allow review by parent organizations and other non-participants. Although the sponsors agree that wide dissemination of the final document is essential, dissemination of the draft report beyond actual participants was not encouraged, since the report represents the consensus conclusions of the participants. Nevertheless, some comments were received from organizations, rather than participants. Some comments regarding style and grammar from non-participants were incorporated into the final report, but comments that altered the final consensus conclusions reached by participants were not incorporated. Those comments are relevant, however, and they serve as an excellent starting point for future discussion at the Area Committee and Regional Response Team levels of improved response capabilities in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are, therefore, included as Appendix R. This report does not endorse the use of dispersants or any other response measure on a specific spill incident in San Francisco Bay or elsewhere, but it does indicate that that more emphasis on integrated response measures, including unconventional options, might be of benefit. The results of this ERA are intended as a starting point for further, more focused study by those organizations potentially benefiting from spill mitigation strategies.
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  Ecological Risk Assessment Principles Applied to Oil Spill Response Planning in Washington State Waters: Draft Preliminary Interim Project Report Proceedings from Two Workshops

  Walker, Ann Hayward; Scholz, Debbie; Aurand, Don; Coelho, Gina; Pond, Robert (1998-09)
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  Ecological Risk Assessment Consensus Workshop Environmental Tradeoffs Associated With Oil Spill Response Technologies Santa Barbara Channel: A Report for Regional Response Team IX.

  Aurand, Don (Ecosystem Management & Associates, Inc., 2003)

  In March and April of 2002, Regional Response Team (RRT) IX sponsored a workshop to evaluate the relative risk to natural resources from various oil spill response options (on-water mechanical recovery and dispersant application) in comparison to natural recovery. The spill scenario involved the release of 10,000 barrels of Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO) 180 in the northern end of the Santa Barbara Channel, under conditions which threatened the interior coastline of the Channel Islands. The workshop involved two meetings during which participants received briefings on the expected results of the spill with and without response options, the relative effectiveness of on-water mechanical recovery, dispersants and on-water in situ burning, and the risks and benefits of these response options to the habitats and natural resources of the area. The participants were then divided into three focus groups and were asked to develop relative risk scores for the various alternatives, using standard analytical protocols outlined in the Coast Guard guidebook entitled "Developing Consensus Ecological Risk Assessments: Environmental Protection in Oil Spill Response Planning. A Guidebook." The scores from the three groups were then compared and a composite risk matrix developed which represented the overall consensus of the entire group. At the conclusion of the second meeting, the group developed a list of lessons learned and recommendations for the RRT and local Area Committee which they felt would improve local response planning efforts.

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