CICEET Progress Report for the period 9/01/01 through 3/01/02

Project Title: SUBMERGENCE PLANE OIL CONTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY
Principal Investigator(s): M. Robinson Swift and Barbaros Celikkol

Accomplishments
Scheduled Tasks:
The main tasks for the previous 6-month period included the continuation of experimental work, as well as upgrading designs based on what was learned. The information dissemination task is an ongoing one implying the publication of results and working with potential users of this technology. This last effort is critical to the transition of the developed submergence plane systems to practical, commercial usage.

Progress on Tasks
Since the Piscataqua River Cooperative (PRC) had not scheduled a fall field exercise, we focused on responding to field deployments conducted earlier in the year. The 100 foot Bay Defender (BD) III experiment on May 8, 2001 was successful, but the 40 foot BD II launch from the flat-top barge in the May 24, 2001 exercise at Adams Point experienced difficulties. It was apparent that barge launch and recovery would be expedited if the heavy, rigid end longitudinals were replaced by compliant, lightweight ends similar to those used in the more recent BD III design. It was decided, therefore, to upgrade the BD II design incorporating the improved end configuration. Both systems are valuable since the two sizes are complementary Πeach balancing ease of handling and transport versus slick interception width in different ways. In addition, the PRC presently has a barge suitable for BD II transport and deployment but does not yet have an equivalent vessel for the larger BD III.

Because the submergence plane, gap and aft barrier meet at the ends at different angles in the two designs, a complete re-design development effort had to be initiated. A 1/5 scale physical model was tank-tested to evaluate and validate trial end configurations. An optimum shape was identified, and full-time shop drawings are in preparation. The new ends will be an add-on to the existing main body of BD II and will be interchangeable with the present rigid ones. Arrangements have been made with JPS Industries, Inc of Bristol, NH for assistance with fabric and end flotation work.

With regard to publication, the manuscript describing oil retention effectiveness of flexible, submergence plane barriers was completed and submitted to a refereed journal. This task is important to legitimizing the science behind the concept and thereby acceptance by the industry. The paper was reviewed and accepted for publication by the Journal of Marine Environmental Engineering.

The James River Reserve Fleet, consisting of over 100 aged vessels anchored in the James River, VA, has recently had some oil spills as a result of corroding fuel tanks. Since tidal currents range from one to two knots, conventional oil booms are ineffective, but flexible, submergence plane barriers are capable of containing heavy oil. At the suggestion of CDR Chris Doane, head of the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team, we looked into the feasibility of using Bay Defenders, along with any other best available fast-water technology, to address the situation. A site visit was conducted, and existing contingency plans were reviewed. The value of using submergence plane barriers to recover released oil at the source was described in a report submitted to the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). Contact was also made with the New Jersey Bureau of Emergency Response regarding use of Bay Defender systems to protect inlets.

The historical aerial photos of Padilla Bay taken in 1989 were partially rectified and a photomozaic started.

Quality Assurance checks of the image warp process resulted in recognition of alignment difficulties that would compromise interannual comparisons. After correcting the shoreline, adjustments were made to the 2000 and 1993 aerial photomozaics. (See "Difficulties Encountered" below.)

Assistance was again provided to several coastal decision makers and scientists who were made aware of this project and who wanted assistance in utilizing the method being developed or aspects of it. In August 2001, Suzanne Shull and Doug Bulthuis were invited Newport, Oregon to confer with scientists (Drs. Walt Nelson, Don Young, Ted Dewitt, Bruce Boese, and Patrick Clinton) at the U.S. E.P.A. Environmental Lab located at Newport. Discussions included methods appropriate for mapping eelgrasses including requirements for aerial photography, methods of photo-interpretation, delineation of eelgrasses by automated vs operator methods, methods for georectification, and methods for interannual comparisons. Assistance was also provided to the (tribal) Skagit Systems Cooperative (Douglas Couvelier) in methods for georectification to determine historical changes in stream channel morphology of salmon bearing streams.

Methods development was continued. Two methods for delineating vegetative areas were investigated: 1)raster to vector conversion of polygons drawn on mylar overlay, and 2) automated delineation using grids of the blue, red, and green bands. PROVEC software was tested to assist with making vectors from hand drawn lines.

In January 2002, Padilla Bay NERR hosted a meeting of Puget Sound eelgrass scientists to compare methods of mapping eelgrasses used in the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program with the methods being developed with this CICEET project. The method being developed with CICEET project tends to supplement the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program results and provides data that is not obtained with that monitoring program. The importance of eelgrass in Padilla Bay was indicated at the meeting by preliminary estimates from the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program that Padilla Bay contains one quarter to one third of the basal eelgrass area in the U.S. portions of Puget Sound, Strait of Georgia, and Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Difficulties Encountered
Project activities were adjusted to accommodate the leaving of research engineer Rob Steen in the spring and Brett Fullerton's internship in Germany over the summer (see previous progress report).

Anticipated Success in Meeting Project Objectives in Scheduled Project Period
The project is on the new schedule for completion during August 2002.

Because of the difficulties encountered, a no-cost time extension to June 30, 2003 is requested for this project.

Preliminary Results
Based on previous field deployments and tank-testing, the 100 foot BD III and the smaller BD II with new ends should work well in fast currents beyond the capabilities of conventional boom.

Tasks and activities for next reporting period

Tasks for the next reporting period
Both the modified BD II and BD III will be ready for field testing again in the spring. The last project task is the writing of the final report.

Work plan to accomplish tasks
We will be planning the exercise scenarios with the PRC and the NH Department of Environmental Services. Personnel from MARAD and New Jersey will be invited. Project results will be summarized in the final report.

Expenditures
The project will remain within the original budget.