Posts tagged with

oil

Fueling the Blue Economy

Posted Mon, 04/24/2023 - 22:01
By Doug Helton, Office of Response and Restoration

Moving goods by sea is considered the most efficient form of commercial transport, and the carbon footprint of maritime shipping is substantially lower, per ton of cargo, compared with rail, truck, and air transport. But these ships still require large amounts of fuel and, despite safety improvements, there is always the risk of significant oil spills.

Support for International Oil Spills from Afar

Posted Fri, 12/17/2021 - 15:00
By Doug Helton, Office of Response and Restoration

Over the past year, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration provided scientific support for six international spill responses. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NOAA scientists were not able to go on scene; however, our improved capabilities to provide support ensured that our remote service continued to be effective. Among the products OR&R provided were oil fate and trajectory analyses, oil and debris cleanup recommendations, advice on marine mammal and sea turtle impacts, and satellite imagery.

How to Reduce Your Oil Consumption, Without Ditching Your Car

Posted Fri, 07/24/2020 - 06:11
By Alyssa Gray, Office of Response and Restoration

At NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, we respond to oil spills both big and small — from the millions of barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, to spills of a few barrels released from minor vessel accidents that happen every month. But oil is entering America’s coasts and waterways on a daily basis through another means of pollution — oil runoff.

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Partnership with University of New Hampshire Yields Results and a New Generation of Oil Spill Scientists

Posted Wed, 03/18/2020 - 11:18
By Steve Lehmann, Office of Response and Restoration

It is true that a sports car represents the apex of transportation engineering, but that sometimes a horse is the right tool for the job. New ideas come from new minds. For the past several years, oil spill response experts from NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration have been working with undergraduates in the environmental engineering program at the University of New Hampshire to examine simple answers to a complex problem.

Incident Responses for December 2019

Posted Tue, 01/07/2020 - 12:47

Every month our Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to possible effects on wildlife and fisheries and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment. This month OR&R responded to 12 incidents, including oil discharges, sunken vessels, and other pollution-related incidents. Here are some of December's notable incidents ...

Incident Responses for June 2019

Posted Fri, 07/12/2019 - 13:22

Every month our Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to possible effects on wildlife and fisheries and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment.

This month OR&R responded to 17 incidents, including oil discharges, sunken vessels, and a blue whale carcass.  

Incident Responses for May 2019

Posted Thu, 06/06/2019 - 11:14

Every month our Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to possible effects on wildlife and fisheries and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment.

This month OR&R responded to 15 incidents, including oil discharges, sunken vessels, and three gray whale carcasses. 

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Can You Spot the False Oil Positives?

Posted Fri, 05/31/2019 - 12:39

When asked what oil looks like, most people would probably describe it similar to molasses — black, and somewhat viscous in appearance. But did you know, crude oils can come in a range of colors? From black to red to yellow, oil can appear in a number of different colors and consistencies. This can make it especially hard to find and identify oil from the air.

Assessing Changes in U.S. Crude Oil Exports for West Coast

Posted Tue, 05/29/2018 - 13:58
By Valerie Cleland and Ian Hanna, graduate students at the University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs

You could call it a black gold rush. Technological advances like hydraulic fracking have made harvesting oil profitable in the U.S. again and changed the global petroleum market. For decades, the U.S. was dependent on oil imports and banned crude oil exports to protect domestic reserves. This changed in 2015, when the U.S. lifted the 40-year export embargo on crude oil and gave the oil industry access to the global crude oil market.