Oil Spill Response

Science Night 2023 – Videos now available

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Systems and Methods: Connecting across the Exxon Valdez oil spill region

Science Night is an annual event hosted by the Prince William Regional Citizens Advisory Council. Topics focus on research related to the safe transportation of oil through Prince William Sound.

Individual presentations can be viewed below, or you can view the full playlist directly on the Council’s Youtube Channel: Science Night 2023

On this page:

  1. Let the Hydrocarbons in Prince William Sound Talk
  2. Forage Fish Update
  3. Tsumani/landslide hazards in Prince William Sound
  4. Alaska Spill Response Wildlife Aid

Let the Hydrocarbons in Prince William Sound Talk: 30 years of Environmental Monitoring through PWSRCAC’s LTEMP

Presenter: Dr. Morgan Bender, Senior Scientist, Owl Ridge Natural Resource Consultants, Inc.

The PWSRCAC’s Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Program (LTEMP) is one of the longest-standing hydrocarbon assessment programs of its kind and provides us with annual data on how and where hydrocarbons enter Prince William Sound and the potential effects they may have on the marine ecosystem. Morgan, an Alaska-based ecotoxicologist, will lead us through the 30-year LTEMP investigative process and major findings to inform and excite Science Night participants on LTEMP’s past, present, and future.

View Let the Hydrocarbons in Prince William Sound Talk directly on YouTube.

Forage Fish Update

Presenter: Scott Pegau, Research Program Manager, Oil Spill Recovery Institute

Forage fish provide a critical link between plankton and large predators like birds, mammals, and other fish. Pacific herring, sand lance, capelin, and juvenile pollock are a few of the many forage fish in PWS. Most of the information we have on forage fish is associated with herring because of its historic commercial importance but there is some information on other species. This presentation takes a look at some of the existing research into forage fish in Prince William Sound.

View Forage Fish Update directly on YouTube.

Advancing our understanding of tsunamigenic landslide hazards in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Presenter: Dennis M. Staley, Research Physical Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey – Alaska Volcano Observatory

Exposure to landslide and tsunami hazards are a part of life for those who reside in the seaside communities of coastal Alaska and the people who work or recreate in coastal waterways. Recently, the recognition of the landslide-generated tsunami hazard posed by the Barry Arm landslide in northwestern Prince William Sound has attracted considerable attention in the public and media, at local, state, and federal governments, and in the scientific community. This presentation focuses on the ongoing effort to assess hazard and warn for a tsunami produced by the Barry Arm landslide, and on scientific investigations into the prevalence of this type of natural hazard at other locations in Prince William Sound.

View Advancing our understanding of tsunamigenic landslide hazards in Prince William Sound directly on YouTube.

Alaska Spill Response Wildlife Aid

Presenter: Bridget Crokus, Deputy Oil Spill Response Coordinator, USFWS Alaska Region

Protecting fish, wildlife, and their habitats is a primary response objective after an oil spill. First-hand accounts of wildlife in or near an oil spill are invaluable to a successful wildlife response. Bridget will present the Alaska Spill Response Wildlife ID Aid, a tool developed to help spill responders “take a wildlife minute” and record the wildlife they see.

View Alaska Spill Response Wildlife Aid directly on YouTube.

Annual Report now available

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Front cover of the report. Image is of a rocky beach in Prince William Sound covered with mussels and other tidal critters. Mountains and ocean in the background. Clicking on the image will download a PDF of the report.The Council’s annual report, Year in Review 2022/2023, is now available. This report covers the many programs and projects we’ve been working on over the past year, such as oil spill prevention and response, environmental monitoring, oil spill contingency plans, operations at the Valdez Marine Terminal, invasive species monitoring, our outreach efforts, and much more. Highlights from this year include:

  • An assessment of risks and safety culture at the Valdez Marine Terminal
  • Ensuring the adequacy of secondary containment liners for the terminal’s crude oil storage tanks
  • Supporting solutions for sustainable funding for state spill
    prevention and response
  • Improvements to how the Council monitors weather and sea currents in our region
  • Monitoring oil spill drills and exercises
  • Reexamining the Council’s position on use of dispersants in our region

Download: 2022-2023 Annual Report

Surveys emphasize importance of protecting nearshore habitat for wintering birds

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Three years of data from surveys of marine bird species is now available online. The data is intended to help identify areas where marine birds tend to congregate in the winter, so that protective measures can be taken in the event of a spill in Prince William Sound.

Previously, most surveys of birds and mammals were conducted in Prince William Sound during spring, summer, or fall. This data from winter adds depth to our understanding of bird populations and the risks posed to birds from an oil spill.

Additionally, these surveys provide baseline monitoring information that can be used to understand the environmental impacts of terminal and tanker operations on marine bird species. The surveys were conducted in winter, which is an important time for marine bird survival given the typically harsh conditions.

Researchers identified 23 distinct bird species. Murrelets were the most common marine bird at 38% of sightings. Pelagic cormorants and common murres were the next most common.

Data available online

The results of the surveys are publicly available online. A map of the data is through the Alaska Ocean Observing System and NOAA’s Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA).

These surveys continue the work done by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council’s Gulf Watch Alaska, which started monitoring in 2007. Datasets from 2007-2023 are available on the Alaska Ocean Observing System’s website (aoos.org).

Download the final report

Marine Bird Winter Surveys in Prince William Sound – 2023

Analysis of genes increases understanding of oil’s effects

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New techniques in the field of genetic analysis are improving our understanding of the effects of oil spills.

Image of a colony of blue mussels on a shore in Larsen Bay, Prince William Sound. The waters and mountains of Prince William Sound can be seen in the distance.
The Council collects samples from blue mussels like these to better understand the effects of oil spills. Photo by Lisa Matlock.

Since 1993, the Council has gathered data on the presence of hydrocarbons in sediments and blue mussels in the region. Samples of sediments and mussels are collected and analyzed for the presence of oil or other pollutants that originate from the Valdez Marine Terminal and tankers that ship oil from there.

In 2019, the Council began looking at new methods to measure the impacts of oil on the environment. In April 2020, a spill from the terminal leaked approximately 1,400 gallons of oil into Port Valdez. This unfortunate incident presented a unique opportunity to learn.

The new research analyzes the genes of blue mussels using a technique known as “transcriptomics.” Transcriptomics involves measuring how particular genes are expressed in an organism. This expression can be affected by conditions in the environment.

The research began in 2019 with a pilot study. The early research looked at 14 specific genes. More recent work expanded the study to over 7,000 genes, and is summarized in a new report sponsored by the Council.

The researchers compared samples of mussels taken from sites near the terminal, near the Valdez harbor, and a third control site. They found some interesting results.

Effects of oil on genes lingers

After the April 2020 spill, the levels of oil in the mussels had declined by August, however the mussel’s genes showed evidence of lingering effects.

Different pollutants have different effects

More recently, researchers tried to identify how the effects differed according to different contaminants. The crude oil-contaminated samples were compared to samples from the Valdez harbor, which were contaminated with pollutants such as diesel fuel or vessel exhaust, and the control site.

Genes such as those associated with stress, neurotransmitters, and the immune system were among those that varied between the three sites.

Results expected to have far-reaching implications

The information in these studies will help improve the Council’s monitoring program in the future. The researchers noted in the report that the findings are not just applicable to Alaska but could potentially improve monitoring in marine environments around the world.

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