USARC Calls for Arctic Oil Spill Research
The U.S. Arctic Research Commission believes that the U.S. needs a robust research program to address spill response in broken ice, as shipping moves into the Arctic Ocean and offshore oil drilling - in several Arctic nations - moves forward. Mead Treadwell, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, prepared testimony for the August 20 field hearing in Anchorage of the U.S. Senate's Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Treadwell told the committee that, contrary to laws passed by Congress after the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster in 1989, a significant national oil spill research program does not exist, nor is one planned to fit the special needs of the Arctic. It was anticipated that the U.S.
Pribilof Canyon in Bering Sea Mapped
A new high resolution seafloor survey of Pribilof Canyon in the eastern Bering Sea reveals dramatic details of this undersea canyon, and provides information for improved fisheries conservation and management; in particular, provide identification of areas that are potentially hazardous for loss of commercial fishing gear. Previously, only incomplete lower-resolution data were available to describe the morphology of this world-class feature. Pribilof Canyon is one of a family of huge canyons that play a central role in supporting the rich ecosystem of the Bering Sea.