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Oil spill in the arctic

The Report Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment 2014 is now available to the public.

The risk of a serious oil spill in the Arctic is escalating due to potential increases in shipping traffic and oil and gas activities. To provide an effective response effort in challenging Arctic conditions--and minimize impacts on people and sensitive ecosystems, a full range of oil spill response technologies is needed.

This report assesses the current state of science and engineering regarding oil spill response in Arctic waters and identifies key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues.

Maps developed for the report are available for download as high-quality, print-ready files.

The Report was prepared by the Committee on Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment; Ocean Studies Board; Polar Research Board; Division of Life and Earth Studies; Marine Board; Transportation Research Board and National Research Council.

Click here to download the full version of the Report.

The video presented below was created as a short summary of the report.