During the week of August 4, 2014, as part of an ongoing effort to prepare for an oil spill in the Arctic, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) joined a team of researchers in Barrow, Alaska, to field test ephemeral data collection methods.

These brand new Arctic data collection guidelines will improve our ability to conduct a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) in the Arctic. The guidelines are aimed at assessing exposure and injury in a wide range of Arctic resources and habitats at risk of being impacted by a marine oil spill. In addition to the field work, this was a great opportunity to continue OR&R’s conversation with the Barrow community and local researchers about Arctic spill response and damage assessment.

These are new protocols NOAA has developed specifically for the Arctic to prepare for the increased threat of oil spills in the region. These protocols are a great step toward increasing our ability to assess injury to the Arctic natural environment from oil spills. Local Arctic community scientists and other stakeholders had direct input in developing these protocols.

For more information, contact Sarah.Allan@noaa.gov.

Go back to OR&R Weekly Report.