RESEARCH NEEDS IN OIL SPILL RESPONSE

摘要

As funding for spill research and development (R&D) has declinedrnin recent years, partnerships among relevant federal and staternagencies, industry and academia have increased in importance. Inrnorder to encourage thinking about spill R&D, develop agreementrnon research needs and foster these partnerships, the CoastalrnResponse Research Center (CRRC), a cooperative program betweenrnthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationrn(NOAA) and the University of New Hampshire (UNH), hosted arnthree day workshop in November 2003 to identify applied sciencernneeds that could improve decision making across the continuum ofrnoil spill preparedness, response and recovery. The emphasis wasrnon research that could decrease the impact of spills on NOAA trustrnresources or enhance the recovery of the impacted resources.rnMore than 30 experts in the areas of spill processes, responserntechniques and habitat restoration participated in the three dayrnworkshop. The group included scientists from federal and staternagencies, industry and academia. The goals of the workshop werernto identify knowledge gaps in the area of spill response andrnrestoration and determine the best approach for addressing theserngaps.rnStarting with six categories: Fate and Transport of ReleasedrnMaterials; Effects of Spills and Spill Response on Organisms;rnEffects of Spills and Spill Response on Habitats; Social and EconomicrnConcerns and Needs; Quantitative Metrics for Use in InjuryrnDetermination and Restoration; and Restoration Methods, thernparticipants identified over 80 areas of need, including a broadrncategory of communication, and evaluated them with respectrnto their technical feasibility and potential impact on resourcernrecovery.