Successful field trials off Svalbard
The tests produced promising results that offer a basis for the further development of measures to protect against oil-spills in ice-infested regions.
World’s biggest oil-spill contingency programme
The experiments were carried out as part of a major international collaborative research programme, “The joint industry programme on oil-spill contingency for Arctic and ice-covered waters”, which was launched in 2006. This is the world’s largest and most wide-ranging R & D programme on oil-spills to date, with a total budget of NOK 60 million spread over three and a half years.
Six oil companies, SINTEF and several other organisations are collaborating in the programme, which aims to upgrade our knowledge, technology and ability to react rapidly in the event of a disaster. For companies such as StatoilHydro, Agip KCO, Total, Conoco Philips, Chevron and Shell, this is important, as they all operate under Arctic conditions.
Important knowledge
The project includes projects at three levels: laboratory trials at SINTEF SeaLab, field experiments in Svea on Svalbard and offshore field experiments in the marginal ice-edge around the Svalbard archipelago. Field experiments are extremely important as a means of verifying the findings of laboratory studies under realistic conditions.
The projects are looking at how oil behaves under a wide range of ice conditions, and are trialling various methods of collecting and dealing with oil, in order to improve the efficiency of oil-spill contingency measures in these regions. Burning the oil in situ can be very effective, and in certain cases it may be the only way of keeping it under control.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.sintef.comAll latest news from the category: Ecology, The Environment and Conservation
This complex theme deals primarily with interactions between organisms and the environmental factors that impact them, but to a greater extent between individual inanimate environmental factors.
innovations-report offers informative reports and articles on topics such as climate protection, landscape conservation, ecological systems, wildlife and nature parks and ecosystem efficiency and balance.
Newest articles
Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance to drive industrial-scale semiconductor work
Known for its ability to withstand extreme environments and high voltages, silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconducting material made up of silicon and carbon atoms arranged into crystals that is…
New SPECT/CT technique shows impressive biomarker identification
…offers increased access for prostate cancer patients. A novel SPECT/CT acquisition method can accurately detect radiopharmaceutical biodistribution in a convenient manner for prostate cancer patients, opening the door for more…
How 3D printers can give robots a soft touch
Soft skin coverings and touch sensors have emerged as a promising feature for robots that are both safer and more intuitive for human interaction, but they are expensive and difficult…