As Arctic sea ice retreats, human activity in the region increases, but the region remains hazardous.
In late December 2012, energy company Shell Global attempted to tow its Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Kulluk across the Gulf of Alaska. The Kulluk had spent the summer drilling for oil in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, and Shell wanted to move the rig toward Seattle. A series of small disasters—“towing-component failures” according to a later report by the U.S. Coast Guard—left the rig grounded near Sitkalidak Island, and left the Coast Guard scrambling to rescue the rig’s 18-member crew in dark, cold, windy conditions.
The Kulluk incident could have been far worse. No lives were lost, and the rig’s oil tanks weren’t breached, averting a massive spill. Reflecting on the Kulluk, the Coast Guard concluded that “any marine company intending to work in Arctic regions should develop specific operating procedures, policies, guidelines, checklists, and job safety aids for any operations taking place in Alaska to provide crew with appropriate knowledge.”
As human activity in the Arctic increases, “appropriate knowledge” will include operational forecasts of sea ice cover and thickness over the next several days and weeks. It’s an increasingly important challenge for NOAA, the U.S. agency tasked with providing the weather forecasts and coastal navigation charts that help people safely use the nation’s coastal waters for recreation and commerce.
Continue reading at NOAA Climate
Image via NOAA Climate
