Oil spill monitoring handbook

285 Pages·2016·23.086 MB·English

by  Batley, Graeme E., Holloway, Michael, Hook, Sharon, Irving, Paul, Ross, Andrew

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Oil spills can be difficult to manage, with reporting frequently delayed. Too often,

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dispersed or sunk. This Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook provides practical advice P
on what information is likely required following the accidental release of oil or other I
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petroleum-based products into the marine environment. HAndBOOk
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The book focuses on response phase monitoring for maritime spills, otherwise
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address the questions – what? where? when? how? how much? – that assist
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responders to find, track, predict and clean up spills, and to assess their efforts.
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Oil spills often occur in remote, sensitive and logistically difficult locations, often t
in adverse weather, and the oil can change character and location over time. An O
effective response requires robust information provided by monitoring, observation,
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the Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook completely updates the Australian Maritime G
Safety Authority’s 2003 edition of the same name, taking into account the latest
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scientific advances in physical, chemical and biological monitoring, many of which
have evolved as a consequence of major oil spill disasters in the last decade. It A
includes sections on the chemical properties of oil, the toxicological impacts of n
oil exposure, and the impacts of oil exposure on different marine habitats with
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relevance to Australia and elsewhere. An overview is provided on how monitoring
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integrates with the oil spill response process, the response organisation, the use of
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decision-support tools such as net environmental benefit analysis, and some of the
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given of lessons learned from previous oil spill incidents and responses, both local k
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monitoring design and delivery. Finally, a set of appendices delivers detailed s
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Editors: Sharon Hook, Graeme Batley, Michael Holloway,
Paul Irving and Andrew Ross
OIL SPILL
MONITORING
HANDBOOK
Editors: Sharon Hook, Graeme Batley, Michael Holloway,
Paul Irving and Andrew Ross
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OIL SPILL
MONITORING
HANDBOOK
Editors: Sharon Hook, Graeme Batley, Michael Holloway,
Paul Irving and Andrew Ross
© CSIRO 2016
All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and
subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO Publishing for all
permission requests.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Oil spill monitoring handbook / editors: Sharon Hook,
Graeme Batley, Michael Holloway, Paul Irving and Andrew Ross.
9781486306343 (paperback)
9781486306350 (epdf)
9781486306367 (epub)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Oil spills – Australia – Management.
Oil spills – Environmental aspects – Australia.
Oil pollution of the sea – Australia – Prevention.
Environmental monitoring – Australia.
Hook, Sharon, editor.
Batley, Graeme E., editor.
Holloway, Michael, editor.
Irving, Paul, editor.
Ross, Andrew, editor.
363.7382630994
Published by
CSIRO Publishing
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Clayton South VIC 3169
Australia
Telephone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.publish.csiro.au
Cover image courtesy of Nigel Holmes
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Edited by Peter Storer Editorial Services
Cover design by Andrew Weatherill
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Index by Bruce Gillespie
Printed in Australia by Ligare
CSIRO Publishing publishes and distributes scientific, technical and health science books, magazines and
journals from Australia to a worldwide audience and conducts these activities autonomously from the
research activities of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The
views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of, and
should not be attributed to, the publisher or CSIRO. The copyright owner shall not be liable for technical or
other errors or omissions contained herein. The reader/user accepts all risks and responsibility for losses,
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Original print edition:
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Foreword
Oil spill response requires significant amounts of high-value, robust information to allow
decision makers and responders to do the best job possible. The public, through recent
tragic experience here and internationally, has raised their expectations that responders
can and will clean up spills successfully.
Much of what guides spill response are the deceptively simple questions of:
• What happened, where, and how much oil is in the ocean?
• What will happen to the oil, where will it go and what will it affect?
• How much of the pollution can be cleaned up, and by what means?
• What happens to oil not removed from the ocean or shoreline?
• How do we know if the response is working?
The answers to these questions may seem reasonably straightforward. In reality, oil
spills often occur in remote, sensitive and logistically difficult locations, in adverse weather
and with oil that weathers and changes character over time. All of this requires robust
information provided by monitoring, observation, sampling and science.
The Australian National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies first produced
an Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook in 2003 that has been extensively applied and referenced
worldwide. However, response requirements, as well as the science and monitoring availa-
ble to assist the response, have changed dramatically over recent years. The stakes are ever
greater.
The 2016 Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook has been produced by the CSIRO at the request
of AMSA to assist all people responsible for responding to oil spills to have access to the
most up-to-date monitoring science and methods. CSIRO is an independent, trusted sci-
ence adviser to the National Plan. This CSIRO edition of the Handbook has been designed
to be a current reference and to contribute to the better understanding of spills, response
and monitoring into the future. Although designed for Australian use, this Handbook
should also assist worldwide. The contributions of the Australian National Plan Environ-
ment, Science and Technical Network, and their CSIRO science colleagues in producing
this Handbook are recognised and commended.
Toby Stone Ken Lee
General Manager, Marine Environment Director
Maritime Emergency Response Commander CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
v
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Contents
Foreword v
Preface xi
About the editors xii
About the authors xiv
Disclaimer xvi
Acknowledgments xvii
1 Introduction to oil spill monitoring 1
Paul Irving, Sharon Hook and Andrew Ross
1.1 Stages of a spill response 4
1.2 Scale of the oil spill and the response strategy 6
2 Spilled oil: overview of composition, fate, effects and response options 9
Sharon Hook, Andrew Revill and Paul Irving
2.1 Properties of oils 9
2.1.1 Specific gravity (or relative density) 9
2.1.2 Viscosity 10
2.1.3 Surface tension 10
2.1.4 Adhesion or stickiness 11
2.1.5 Pour point 11
2.1.6 Volatility 11
2.1.7 Asphaltene content 11
2.2 Fate of oils in the environment 12
2.2.1 Weathering 12
2.2.2 Summary 19
2.3 Bioaccumulation and toxicity of oil 20
2.3.1 Narcotic toxicity 24
2.3.2 Developmental impacts 24
2.3.3 Phototoxicity 25
2.3.4 Metabolism of oil 25
2.3.5 Trophic transfer of oil 26
2.3.6 Chronic toxicity of oil 26
2.3.7 Indirect effects 27
2.3.8 Summary 28
2.4 Effects of oil in marine habitats 29
2.4.1 Organisms in open ocean environments 29
2.4.2 Organisms in nearshore environments 33
2.5 Oil spill response options 44
2.5.1 Recovery at the source: ship lightering 44
2.5.2 At-sea response options 44
2.5.3 Shoreline response options 49
vii
viii Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook
3 Preparing for oil spill monitoring 53
Paul Irving, Michael Holloway, Sharon Hook, Andrew Ross and Charlotte Stalvies
3.1 Designing a monitoring program 54
3.1.1 Setting objectives 54
3.2 Study design for environmental monitoring 58
3.2.1 Determining the scale and location of the monitoring 58
3.2.2 Critical sampling design considerations 60
3.3 Field sampling program 64
3.3.1 Initial reconnaissance 64
3.3.2 Sampling of waters, sediments and biota 70
3.3.3 Collection of baseline data 72
3.3.4 Time-of-impact data 74
3.3.5 Monitoring QA/QC 75
3.4 Laboratory analyses 79
3.5 Data handling and management 79
4 Responding to an oil spill: initial assessment 81
Paul Irving, Xiubin Qi and Sharon Hook
4.1 Functions, roles and structures 81
4.2 Preparedness and contingency planning 81
4.2.1 Field monitoring capability readiness 84
4.2.2 Team roles and qualifications 84
4.2.3 Health and safety considerations 86
4.2.4 Logistical requirements 88
4.3 The spill response process 88
4.3.1 Spill notification and developing situational awareness 88
4.3.2 Initial assessment 93
4.3.3 Contingency plan activation 95
4.3.4 Response decisions 96
5 Response option assessment 97
Sharon Hook, Paul Irving and Andrew Ross
5.1 Evaluating response options: net environmental benefit analysis 97
5.2 Decision making for shoreline clean-up and assessment 100
5.3 Response evaluation 103
6 Response phase monitoring 107
Andrew Ross, Andrew Revill, Xiubin Qi, Charlotte Stalvies, David Griffin and Sharon Hook
6.1 Introduction 107
6.2 Oil spill trajectory modelling 108
6.2.1 Support to oil spill monitoring 110
6.3 Physical monitoring 110
6.3.1 Verification of spill trajectory 110
6.3.2 Remote-sensing surveillance 113
6.3.3 Sensors 116
6.3.4 Platforms 116
6.3.5 Wide-area coverage 116
6.3.6 Localised coverage 117
6.3.7 Other factors to consider when choosing a remote-sensing method 120
6.4 Vessel-based surveillance 121
Contents ix
6.4.1 Generic vessel operational considerations 122
6.4.2 Visual observations 122
6.4.3 Sea state 123
6.4.4 Oil identification and volume estimation 123
6.4.5 Vessel-based surface slick identification systems 124
6.4.6 Vessel-based water column monitoring 126
6.5 Chemical monitoring 132
6.5.1 Sampling 132
6.5.2 Dispersant efficacy monitoring 134
6.6 Hazard assessment following an oil spill 136
6.7 Habitat monitoring 139
6.7.1 Identification of potential receptors 139
7 Recovery phase monitoring 141
Sharon Hook, Andrew Revill and Michael Holloway
7.1 Monitoring designs to detect impacts and recovery 143
7.1.1 Control-impact or reference studies 143
7.1.2 Gradient designs 144
7.1.3 BACI design 144
7.2 Oil concentration and composition in the environment 146
7.2.1 Hydrocarbon source identification 146
7.2.2 Hydrocarbon biomarkers 147
7.3 Direct laboratory toxicity assessment of environmental samples 152
7.4 Molecular biomarkers 153
7.5 Community structure analysis 155
7.5.1 Ecological variables 157
7.6 Ecosystem recovery 158
References 162
Appendices 182
Appendix A. Standard operating procedure for shipboard collection of surface waters using
wide-mouth jars 183
Appendix B. Standard operating procedure for Niskin bottle collection at depth of waters
for dissolved hydrocarbon analysis 186
Appendix C. Standard operating procedure for the collection of waters for volatile organic
compound (BTEX) analysis 190
Appendix D. Standard operating procedure for shipboard collection of surface oil using
Teflon® nets 192
Appendix E. Standard operating procedure for the collection of thin sheens using
slick samplers 195
Appendix F. Use of sensors for oil spill monitoring 198
Appendix G. Standard operating procedure for grab sample collection of sediments for PAH,
biomarker and TOC analyses 204
Appendix H. Standard operating procedure for collection of overlying waters plus sediment
from corers for PAH and biomarker analyses 206
Appendix I. Standard operating procedure for shoreline sediment sampling with a manual
push corer 209
Appendix J. Standard operating procedure for pre-cleaning of equipment prior to sampling
for headspace gas and organic geochemistry 211
Appendix K. Standard operating procedure for the collection of sediments for molecular
microbial analysis 213