Langley Research Center Alaska Disasters Double Double Oil and Trouble [Thunder] ["Dramatic Music Mix starts"] ["Dun" Sound] News Reporter 1 [not pictured]: Investigators believe a link in a crude oil... News Reporter 2 [not pictured]: Explosion Occured at an oil well... News Reporter 3 [not pictured]: Department of the environment is looking into a... News Reporter 4 [not pictured]: Cleanup of the oil spill continues on the Santa Barbara Coast News Reporter 5 [not pictured]: Oil continues to impact sea and... News Reporter 6 [not pictured]: The pipeline that leaked thousands of gallons of oil... News Reporter 7 [not pictured]: Oasis Petroleum is the responsible party... ["Dramtic Music Mix" Ends] [Kai Engel "Dancing on the Edge" Music Starts] Will: The decrease in arctic ice cover associated with global climate change has stimulated maritime travel and offshore oil exploration along Alaska’s northern coast. In May of 2015 the United States government conditionally approved energy exploration in Northern Alaska. This increase in traffic elevates the risk of oil spills with operations withstanding long periods of darkness, lack of support infrastructure, and severe environmental conditions. Further, the degradation of hydrocarbons is slow in polar ecosystems, thus an oil spill off the northern coast of Alaska will result in prolonged environmental damage. In an effort to augmet the oil detection process, our team at NASA Langley Research Center has partnered WITH THE United States Coast Guard, Office of Marine Environmental Response Policy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration. As the lead emergency response agency for oil spills in U.S. navigable waterways, the US Coast Guard requires immediate access to geographic and spectral data for strategic oil spill response planning. Amy: The Alaska Disasters team looked to decrease response time for oil and increase monitoring capability. In an effort to expand monitoring capabilities, our team georeferenced data cited in historical literature to establish baseline information about known and possible oil seeps. This allows the Coast Guard to rule out anthropogenic sources of reported oil spills. The dataset was injected into the interactive Arctic Emergency Response Management Application, to facilitate fast visualization and coordination for emergency responders. This static map provides concise latitude and longitude of all identified natural Alaskan oil seeps in an effective way to track and retrieve data for review. This information can be updated as needed and displayed in order to allow the disaster response team to better pinpoint the source of reported arctic oil. Jordan: Due to the complexity of the study area, remotely sensing the presence of oil in an ice-infested region is difficult due to high cloud cover, extended darkness, and challenges in distinguishing oil from its surrounding environment. Therefore, to efficiently identify oil requires a variety of sensors across the electromagnetic spectrum, which are often entangled in a lengthy downloading process. To expedite the oil detection process, the Alaska Disasters team created a python-based tool that allows a user to specify a location and a date range in order to easily pull satellite data for the area of interest. Kristen: Both products created by the Alaska Disasters team are essential for the reduction of emergency response time in the Arctic environment. Because of the physical properties of the region, oil released in icy waters presents a unique challenge as it often becomes trapped under or inside of the ice. Oil spills in the environment are extremely hazardous to animals and is associated with a high mortality rate, with many animals dying from hypothermia, poisoning, or drowning. Because of the residence time of the hydrocarbons and the severity of oil’s impact on this highly productive ecosystem, it is essential to equip emergency response teams with technology that facilitate a speedy response. The NASA DEVELOP Summer 2015 Alaska Disasters project has enabled the US Coast Guard to be uniquely prepared for challenges imposed by the arctic environment. [Music Ends] [Thunder] End.