THE BIOS PROJECT—FRONTIER OIL SPILL COUNTERMEASURES RESEARCH

Abstract

ABSTRACT After 18 months of planning, the Baffin Island Oil Spill (BIOS) Project was formally initiated in March 1980. This project marks a major new initiative in oil spill countermeasures development for Canada's northern frontiers. The primary objectives of this internationally funded project are (1) to determine if the use of chemical dispersants in the Arctic nearshore will reduce or increase the environmental effects of spilled oil, (2) to assess the fate of oil, and (3) to compare the relative effectiveness of other shoreline protection and cleanup techniques. This paper outlines the background and scope of the 4-year project and provides an overview of the first field season's results. Highlighted are the preliminary oil discharges, which took place in August 1980, and which marked the start of studies on the long-term fate of oil on Arctic beaches. In addition, the results of the baseline physical, chemical, and biological studies are presented. The physical program included detailed oceanographic, meteorological, and geomorphological studies. The chemical program determined the background hydrocarbon concentrations in the sediments, the water column, and the tissue of selected macrobenthic species; and also the environmental chemistry of the study area. The biological program characterized the macrobenthic flora and fauna and the micro-organisms that are potentially capable of biodegrading the oil. The physical, chemical, and toxicological properties of the oil were measured in laboratories and in the field. The ramifications of these results on the design of the oil spills scheduled for 1981 are discussed.