IOSC 2011 Short Courses

Monday, May 23, 2011

IOSC Short Courses will be held on Monday, May 23rd.

These courses are designed to prepare and provide a foundation for participants of the Conference. Please note that the Short Courses are not included in the Conference registration fee. You must register for the Short Courses separately in order to attend.

8:00am - Noon
Title: Introduction to concepts of oil spill fate and transport forecasting
Level: Beginner
Instructors: NOAA
Short course will be a mix of lecture and exercises. Exercises will use the GNOME, ADIOS 2 and ROC tools. This course will introduce the user to the basic theory and practice in oil spill modeling in the maritime environment. Some familiarity with basic oceanography and computer operating systems is expected. Students will be exposed to a variety of tools currently available for conducting modeling and prediction.

8:00am - Noon
Title: Natural Resource Damage Assessment - Key Concepts
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Instructors: Trustee (including NOAA) and Industry Representatives
The Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Regulations promulgated pursuant to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 institutionalized the concept of NRDA and the cooperative NRDA. NRDA practitioners now have a body of experience with cooperative assessments. This session will introduce the NRDA process and explore what practitioners have learned over the last 15 years or so. Participants will learn about NRDA regulation and statutes, trustee roles and responsibilities, responsible party involvement, public involvement, how injury assessments are conducted, how damages are determined, and how restoration projects are selected and scaled. The session will also introduce more advanced topics such as: factors leading to successful cooperative assessments, incentives for cooperation, and multi-party cooperative assessments. The session will include presentations and interactive discussions by speakers who are experienced NRDA practitioners.

8:00am - Noon
Title: Oil Spill Response - A Technical and Strategic Overview
Length: 4 hours: Part 1 - 2 hours; Part 2 - 2 hours
Level: Beginner to Advanced
Instructors: Oil Spill Response Ltd in collaboration with International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF)
This course will run in 2 parts: Part 1 will deal with the fundamentals of oil spill response covering the following subjects: fate and effects of the oil; environmental sensitivities; response options; contingency planning; health and safety issues; compensation funds and legislation; waste management and spill termination. Each subject will include background history and case studies to provideÂ the delegate with underpinning knowledge and signposting to technologies and sciences they will see in the exhibition and hear about in the conference.Â Part 2 considers the structure and soft skills needed to manage an incident. Topics include: Strategic planning; preparing for the event; communication; methods and tools; spill finance; Incident Command Systems; leadership and team building. This will be an interactive session with short syndicate exercises to underline some of the issues discussed. For more information please visit: http://www.oilspillresponse.com/conferences2011_iosc_shortcourse.html

8:00am - Noon
Title: Arctic Oil Spill Response Techniques
Level: Intermediate
Instructors: Alaska Clean Seas
Identify and describe the tactics and techniques used in Arctic oil spill responses, with particular emphasis on cold weather (winter) conditions. Presentations include best available technologies for tracking and delineation of oil on and under ice, and response considerations in broken ice. Course contains overview of North Slope operating areas, cold weather spill site safety, delineation & tracking of oil (on snow and ice, in ice, and under ice), containment & recovery of oil on ice and under ice, containment & recovery of oil in broken ice, current Arctic research & development projects, and case studies of responding to spills in Arctic oil fields.

1:00pm - 5:00pm
Title: Basics of Dispersants and Dispersant Use Decision-Making
Level: Beginner
Instructors: NOAA
The elementary science behind dispersants is presented along with methods for application of dispersants in counteracting the effects of oil spills. Further, the student will survey the decision making processes for arriving at a point where dispersants are either pre-approved for use or are approved for use within the scope of an incident. Case studies are used to illustrate common challenges to the use of this counter measures tool.

1:00pm - 5:00pm
Title: Slow Water and Fast Water Booming Techniques
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Instructors: U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
This short course will be a mix of lecture and case studies involving fast water and slow water booming techniques. This course will introduce the student to the basic theory and practice in booming in dynamic environments typically found in riverine and current affected maritime areas. Some familiarity with oil spill response techniques, including booming, is expected. Students will be exposed to a variety of case studies in order to learn various techniques and strategies for booming in flowing water.

1:00pm -5:00pm
Title: Emerging Mapping Technologies for Improving Preparedness, Response and Restoration
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Instructors: NOAA and USCG
Emerging mapping technologies allow real-time visualization and analysis of complex and diverse datasets to support spill response preparedness, injury assessment and restoration decision making. The use of these tools provides new opportunities to communicate situational awareness and resource allocation issues as well as potential impacts to natural resources and areas of socio economic importance during response. Additionally, tools and data collected during response activities can become resources for both pre-event planning and remedial and restoration activities across the same locations. These collective assets provide significant cumulative benefit to protecting our natural resources as well as our informing response activities. The session will demonstrate examples and case studies of using web-mapping technologies. The session will use different perspectives to spark discussions and illustrate how these emerging tools have been applied to solve particular issues.

1:00pm - 5:00pm
Title: Offshore Oil Spill Response System Performance
Level: Intermediate
Instructors: Al Allen, Spiltec
This course addresses the importance of “oil encounter rate” and other parameters that help determine the overall performance of offshore response systems involved with mechanical cleanup, controlled “in-situ” burning, and the application of chemical dispersants. Important response parameters are identified and used with numerous sample calculations to compare and evaluate the pros and cons of various response options. Realistic spill source considerations and environmental conditions include actual experiences from the Deepwater Horizon Incident, thereby helping response planners, regulators, trainers and field responders to better prepare for and conduct offshore operations. The course includes an introduction to the Response Options Calculator (ROC), a computer model that automates the system performance calculations and provides a mass balance summary of results.