Minerals Management Service

The overall objective of the Mechanical Oil Recovery in Ice Infested Waters (MORICE) program is to improve the effectiveness of equipment and techniques for the mechanical recovery of oil spills in ice-infested waters. MORICE is a multi-national effort that has involved Norwegian, Canadian, American and German researchers. Results from previous laboratory, meso-scale phases have been summarized (Johannessen et al, 1996, 1998), (Jensen et al., 1999), (Jensen & Solsberg, 2000, 2001). In January 2002, the full-scale proof of concepts with two different internal recovery units were successfully tested and evaluated at Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility located in Leonardo, New Jersey (Jensen & Mullin, 2002). Results of the Ohmsett tests are presented along with recommendations for developing a commercialized skimmer that will effectively operate in broken ice conditions.

Establishing marine boundaries can be a daunting exercise. Where there is no feasibility or practicality to establishing a physical boundary, the establishment of a reproducible and legally binding boundary holds value. In areas where making physical observations is impractical, boundaries along the earth's ellipsoid can serve a similar purpose.

The oceans represent a vast and largely untapped source for energy production. Our oceans have the potential to provide wave, wind, solar and other resources that can be used to produce abundant, clean and renewable energy to meet the demands of growing consumption. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) plays a significant role in the Nation's efforts to gain energy independence by providing access to the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for responsible development of energy and mineral resources that realizes a fair return to the American people. However, the technology for harnessing these renewable resources to produce energy, as well as knowledge of the potential environmental impacts of these devices, is still in its early stages of development, with great need for additional research. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provided the Secretary of the Interior with the authority to administer OCS renwable energy activities (i.e. production, transportation, or transmission of energy from sources other than oil and gas) not otherwise authorized by existing law. The Secretary delegated this authority to the Minerals Management Service (now BOEMRE). In April of 2009, final regulations were published in the Federal Register that established a program for granting leases, easements, and rights-of-way for renewable energy activities on the OCS. The regulations authorize BOEMRE to issue research leases and grants on the OCS for research supporting future renewable energy development. These research leases can only be held by a federal agency or a state and can only be issued in areas where there is no commercial interest in renewable energy development. This paper describes opportunities for obtaining OCS research leases, particularly in Hawaii, and outlines the process under the BOEMRE regulations for issuing research leases.

In response to the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists from the operational response agencies, the academic community, and the private sector employed the oil spill detection technologies and ocean-observing and modeling resources to map the discharged hydrocarbons and simulated their transport with the aim of aiding mitigation efforts. Numerous types of instruments and sensors were used, many numerical models were applied, and a broad array of scientists were involved. These studies represent a new generation of applied oceanography with a focus on a historical oil spill. Preliminary research results reported in 21 chapters of this book are categorized and summarized.

Use of DSV ALVIN (2006) and ROV JASON II (2007) provided access to never observed or sampled sites of fluid-gas expulsion from the little-studied middle and lower continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico (below water depths of 1000m). Dives were focused on 15 locations selected by 3-D seismic surface attributes and shallow subsurface geologic analyses. The linkage between highly positive seafloor reflectivity and hard bottoms proved to be an efficient indicator of potential sites of interest. Through observation and sampling of reflective sites, starting in the mid-1980s, it has become apparent that most hard bottoms on the northern Gulf’s continental slope are created by the precipitation of authigenic carbonates at hydrocarbon seep sites. Access to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement's extraordinary archive of slope-wide 3-D seismic data made efficient site selection possible. From thousands of sites that display the characteristics of fluid-gas expulsion, 15 were observed and sampled during the 2006 and 2007 cruises. Water depths in which these 15 sites were located ranged from ∼2750 to ∼970m. All sites exhibited evidence of hydrocarbon seepage or more rapid venting. Chemosynthetic organisms, authigenic carbonates, barite, gas hydrates, highly anoxic surface sediments, brine pools, and hydrocarbon-laced brine flows were identified and sampled. High-resolution acoustic Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) data, including multibeam bathymetry, side-scan sonar swaths, and chirp sonar subbottom profiles, were collected at four locations (AC601, WR269, GC852, and AT340). Data sets from the 2006 and 2007 dives resulted in a greatly improved understanding of both cross-slope and along-slope variability in the characteristics of fluid-gas expulsion sites and associated habitats. Our studies confirmed the importance of fluid-gas expulsion processes for sustaining chemosynthetic communities and impacting seabed geology on the middle and lower continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico.