SCAT Working Groups

Overview of SCAT Working Group Activities and Outcomes

The SCAT for Tomorrow workshop held in Mobile, AL in January 2017 led to the formation of 3 “Working Groups” to address key issues identified in that workshop.

  • Working Group members can self-select which group they wish to participate.
  • The first task for each group is to refine and approve the description and goals for the working group.
  • Groups can decide how often and the format in which they meet.
  • Each group will present a brief out on their progress at Clean Gulf (December 5-7, 2017).

Clean Gulf Presentations: 

Technical Working Group

Lead: Zach Nixon                                                        

Description: This working group will address the technical aspects of maintaining NOAA’s SCAT Data Standard including modifications to the standard, and provide a forum for participating developers of SCAT data management tools to improve their products while ensuring the greatest degree of interoperability among those tools.

Tasks:   

  1. Address issues of data interoperability between various SCAT data management systems
  2. Continue refinement of the NOAA SCAT Data Standard
  3. Develop and share “test data” sets to be used in evaluating the interoperability of SCAT data management systems and “truth” data to be used in drills and exercises.
  4. Identify data management issues arising from the incorporation of new methods and technologies in SCAT such as drones, dogs and electronic field data collection.

Policy and Management Working Group

Lead: Michele Jacobi and Carl Childs

Description: This working group will work to develop best practices for SCAT response guidance and develop templates and workflows to facilitate sharing of SCAT data and information products. Activities will need to be well coordinated with Technical working group and Practitioner working group.

Tasks:

  1. Draft standard SCAT text for inclusion in data sharing agreements.
  2. Work with the Technical Working Group to develop data exchange protocols and workflows for information products.

SCAT Practitioner Working Group

Lead: Carl Childs and John Tarpley

Description: This working group will seek to increase opportunities to test SCAT data management tools and practices during drills and exercises.

Tasks:

  1. Find or develop opportunities to drill SCAT data management and operationally test SCAT data management systems (QA/QC, dataflow, exercise data sharing agreement . . . ).
  2. Coordinate with the Technical Working Group to validate the sample “test” data and generate “truth” data compatible with the NOAA SCAT Data Standard.
  3. Identify operational issues arising from the incorporation of new methods and technologies in SCAT such as drones, dogs and electronic field data collection

News and Events

A SCAT Working Group meeting was held in conjunction with Clean Gulf (New Orleans) on Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 12:30 - 2:00 pm CT in conference room 340.

Resources

  • The Emergencies Science and Technology Section (ESTS), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), has recently released the third edition of “Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) Manual” in French and English versions. The second edition was prepared in 2000 and has been incredibly popular with oil spill response organizations, local stakeholders, Indigenous Peoples and other groups. Several thousand copies of the SCAT Manual third edition, will be distributed to oil spill responders throughout Canada and internationally. For more than forty years, ESTS has recognized the importance of technology transfer and outreach to the spill response community. This has included developing tools such as guides and manuals whose purpose is to translate current scientific knowledge into best practices for oil spill preparedness and response. Information summary.
  • NOAA OR&R Response Data Management Plan (2018)
  • NOAA OR&R Generic Response Data Streams (2018)
  • SHORELINE CLEANUP ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE (SCAT) MANUAL, THIRD EDITION - ISCO.org – 2/1/19
  • International Oil Spill The Emergencies Science and Technology Section (ESTS), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), has recently released the third edition of “Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) Manual” in French and English versions.