This Center-funded project was awarded through a Request for Proposal submission and review process and is being conducted in cooperation with NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration with Merle Consulting at Lakeland College in Canada.
Project Investigators:
- Dr. J. Brian Mitchell, Merle Consulting SAS
- Mr. Shawn McKerry, Lakeland College (Canada)
- Mr. Wayne Rose, Lakeland College (Canada)
Project Oversight Committee:
- Nancy Kinner, Coastal Response Research Center, UNH
- Lisa DiPinto, NOAA OR&R
- Daniel Levine, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, Protected Resources Division
- Eric Vichich, NOAA Fisheries, Office of Habitat Conservation, Restoration Center
- Rebeccah Hazelkorn, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, Protected Resources Division
- Kevin Kirsch, NOAA OR&R Assessment and Restoration Division Southeast Regional Office
- Brian Gullett, U.S. EPA
- Teri Rowles, Sarah Wilkin, NOAA Fisheries
Project Overview:
The Request for proposal issued by the University of New Hampshire calls for a system capable of measuring the gradient of volatile organic compounds and aerosols up through the air column in close proximity to a surface oil slick. In order to achieve this, we propose to employ a Drone to loft a sampling package (hereafter “Airborne Sampling Package”) consisting of commercially available VOC and aerosol measuring instruments. These instruments will be qualified in Stage 1 laboratory testing using fresh, weathered and emulsified oils, floating on a sea water surface. These tests will be performed at the Lakeland Emergency Training Facility in Vermilion, Alberta, Canada using a 2m diameter, water tank into which oil samples can be added in order to create floating oil layers of varying thicknesses. The Ground Sampling Package will be used in these tests to measure the desired concentration gradient, in parallel with measurements taken using a portable mass spectrometer and an aerosol sampling package able to measure particle size distributions over a range from 10nm to 10μm. The sampling heads of the different instruments will be displaced over the heights above the surface of interest to the project (1-2m) to determine the concentration gradients of VOCs and aerosols. These measurements will provide a benchmark for future studies just employing the In-situ sampling package. Deliverables will include the tested Airborne Sampling Package and reports describing the results of stage 1 & 2 tests and a webinar summarizing the program, its results, and advice on the deployment of this In-situ package.
Project Objectives:
- A system capable of measuring the gradient of volatile species and aerosol/droplets in close proximity (1-2 metres) to the surface of water contaminated by an oil slick.
- The evaluation of the system to respond to different oil types (fresh, weathered, emulsified).
- The evaluation of the system to respond to different surface conditions due to wind, wave and weathering action.
- The ability of the system to be able to perform in-situ sampling even in areas not accessible to human responders.
- Rapid, real- or near-real time data reporting.
- The capability of performing QA/QC on the data by comparison with lab-based chemical analysis.
- Data intake and delivery compatible with NOAA’s data Integration and Visualization. Exporting and Reporting Platform (DIVER) and with NOAA’s Environmental Response and Management Application (ERMA).
Project Dates:
June 28, 2024 - October 28, 2025
