“…A well-known example of how devastating such an event can be is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (The Federal Interagency Solutions Group, 2010). Oil spills in cold regions waters have also been reported (Filler et al, 2015).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…As a consequence, the Arctic shipping routes are experiencing increasing pressure on cargo transportation (Aksenov et al, 2017). In addition, there is also an increasing pressure of cruise ship activity in the Antarctic waters and an increase of oil spills from vessels has been reported (Filler et al, 2015). Further to this, Norway has recently announced the exploitation of their oil reserves under the Barents Sea where several wells are going to be drilled.…”
Mid-scale ISB experiments were conducted in a large water-basin (20 m 2 x 1 m) in order to assess the applicability of chemical herding of weathered crude oil spills on water in association with in-situ burning (ISB). A silicone-based chemical herding agent, OP-40, was used to confine, or herd, three different crude oils (Siri, Grane and Oseberg blend) at various weathering degrees. The herding agent was capable of obtaining the minimum required oil slick thickness for ignition and subsequent flame spread in most of the experiments, but not for the strongly weathered oils. Also, the herding agent was capable of re-thickening the oil slick after flame extinction. The burning efficiency results indicate that the method can be viable for ISB with herders at a larger scale, and suggest that the burning efficiency scales with the amount of crude oil. Sinking behaviour of residues was also observed and quantified, as such a behaviour can pose a serious environmental threat in real scenarios.
“…A well-known example of how devastating such an event can be is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (The Federal Interagency Solutions Group, 2010). Oil spills in cold regions waters have also been reported (Filler et al, 2015).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…As a consequence, the Arctic shipping routes are experiencing increasing pressure on cargo transportation (Aksenov et al, 2017). In addition, there is also an increasing pressure of cruise ship activity in the Antarctic waters and an increase of oil spills from vessels has been reported (Filler et al, 2015). Further to this, Norway has recently announced the exploitation of their oil reserves under the Barents Sea where several wells are going to be drilled.…”
Mid-scale ISB experiments were conducted in a large water-basin (20 m 2 x 1 m) in order to assess the applicability of chemical herding of weathered crude oil spills on water in association with in-situ burning (ISB). A silicone-based chemical herding agent, OP-40, was used to confine, or herd, three different crude oils (Siri, Grane and Oseberg blend) at various weathering degrees. The herding agent was capable of obtaining the minimum required oil slick thickness for ignition and subsequent flame spread in most of the experiments, but not for the strongly weathered oils. Also, the herding agent was capable of re-thickening the oil slick after flame extinction. The burning efficiency results indicate that the method can be viable for ISB with herders at a larger scale, and suggest that the burning efficiency scales with the amount of crude oil. Sinking behaviour of residues was also observed and quantified, as such a behaviour can pose a serious environmental threat in real scenarios.
“…1) (Khan et al 2019). Also in Arthur Harbour is the wreck of the Bahía Paraíso , a ship that grounded ~2 km from Palmer Station in 1989, spilling 600,000 l of diesel fuel arctic (Kennicutt 1990), the largest spill in Antarctic history (Filler et al 2014). Fig.…”
Localized contamination from research-related activities and its effects on macrofauna communities in the marine environment were investigated at Palmer Station, a medium-sized Antarctic research station. Relatively low concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; 32–302 ng g-1) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs; 0.9–8.9 μg g-1) were detected in sediments adjacent to the sewage outfall and pier, where most human activities were expected to have occurred, and at even lower concentrations at two seemingly reference areas (PAHs 6–30 ng g-1, TPHs 0.03–5.1 μg g-1). Elevated concentrations of PAHs in one sample taken in one reference area (816 ng g-1) and polychlorinated biphenyls (353 ng g-1) and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (3.2 and 25.3 ng g-1) in two samples taken adjacent to the sewage outfall indicate spatial heterogeneity of localized sediment contamination. Limpet (Nacella concinna) tissues collected adjacent to Palmer Station had high concentrations of PAHs, copper, lead, zinc and several other metals relative to outlying islands. Sediment and limpet tissue contaminant concentrations have decreased since the early 1990s following the Bahía Paraíso spill. Natural sediment characteristics affected macrofaunal community composition more than contamination adjacent to Palmer Station, presumably because of the low overall contamination levels.
“…However, trampling impacts upon fragile Antarctic soil and vegetation often have long-lasting consequences due to naturally slow recovery rates, so short-term reductions in human activity may have only limited benefits (Tejedo et al 2016, ). The risk of major pollution events resulting from marine incidents should decline with fewer vessels operating in the area (Kennicutt et al 1991, Aronson et al 2011), albeit that, should an incident occur, the already limited capacity to mount search and rescue and any required oil spill responses will be diminished further (Filler et al 2015). With fewer vessels and some summer-only research stations remaining closed, fuel combustion for power generation will decline with a concurrent temporary reduction in local greenhouse gas production and atmospheric pollution (Wolff 1992, Poland et al 2003, Amelung & Lamers 2007).…”
To date, Antarctica is the only continent to have escaped the COVID-19 pandemic. This was facilitated by the continent's isolation and low human presence, combined with the global emergence of the pandemic at the end of the Antarctic summer season and the rapid action of those national governmental operators and other actors still active on and around the continent during the early phases of the outbreak. Here, we consider the implications of the pandemic for Antarctic governance, national operator logistics, science, tourism and the fishing industry, as well as for Antarctic environmental protection. Global disruption will result in a temporary decrease in human activity in Antarctica, in turn leading to a reduction in environmental impacts for a period, but also a reduced capacity to respond to environmental incidents. Given the diversity of transmission routes and vectors, preventing the introduction of the virus will be difficult, even with stringent quarantine procedures in place, and the risks and implications of virus transmission to Antarctic wildlife are largely unknown. With control of the pandemic a major global challenge, international cooperation will be essential if Antarctica is to remain free of coronavirus.
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