Marine Environment review

1
Marine Environment review

• David Hedgeland, IAGC
• IAGC 2006 AGM
• 7th March 2006

2
Introduction

• Increasing regulatory/public interest in the
  protection of the marine environment
• Material pollution oil spill/leakage/waste
  disposal

• Sound in the marine environment
• Reducing the risk of sound exposure to marine
  mammals
• sound or noise
• Increasing introduction/use of marine mammal
  mitigation measures

3
Regulatory engagement

• Continued dialogue with regulating authorities
  regarding development of marine mammal mitigation
  guidelines/requirements
• Canada Australia
• Completion of U.S. Marine Mammal Commission
  Federal Advisory Committee on Acoustics Impacts
• MMS Alaska Programmatic Environment Assessment
  for Beaufort and Chukchi Seas planning areas
• EU Marine Strategy Consultation Process
• Noise
• ASA standards for the use of PAM as a marine
  mammal monitoring tool.

4
Research activities

• OGP EP Sound and Marine Life JIP
• Industry Research Funders Coalition (IRFC)
• Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM)
• PAMGUARD
• 3D localisation and tracking
• Source Characterisation Study (SCS)
• Marine Mammal observation data resource

5
OGP EP Sound and Marine Life JIP

• Phase I initiated in 2005
• Scoping study and planning exercise
• Focused global approach to addressing research
  needs related to EP Sound and marine life.
• 8 multinational EP companies and IAGC
• Workshop - August, 2005
• Global researchers, regulators and
  representatives from environmental NGOs to review
  the scoping study for applicability and
  achievability.
• SRS Technologies scoping study Completed
  October, 2005
• Identified research objectives
• Partner organisations

• Phase II planning currently underway
• Develop recommendations for Phase II research
  priorities and sequencing
• Develop organisational structure

6
PAMGUARD development

• 2004
• Develop open source architecture
• Modular/flexible to enable future add-on
  development
• Establish website www.pamguard.org
• 2005
• Prototype PAMGUARD open source software with
  equivalent capabilities (limitations) to existing
  commonly used software
• Increase visibility of PAMGUARD to wider
  community
• Email/website/workshops

Good idea. Let us know when its released

• Prototype PAMGUARD 2005 software released via
  SourceForge Jan 06
• 2006
• Initially continued funding via IRFC -
  anticipated transfer to JIP once established
• Research field trials for 2005 software
  March/April
• Continued development, with integration of SWSS
  PAM efforts
• Software maintenance/bug fixes

7
3D PAM localisation/tracking under SWSS

• 2002-4
• Research/development of improved PAM detection
  methods
• Post acquisition data analysis

• 2005
• Real-time tracking
• 3D tracking (azimuth, depth, range) MATLAB
  scripts converted to open source code in
  preparation for integrating with PAMGUARD
• Improve detection range
• Ishmael ported to Linux (1st step towards
  PAMGUARD)

• 2006
• Ishmael and 3D localisation/detection
  functionality integrated into PAMGUARD effort

8
Source Characterisation Study (SCS)

• Regulatory authorities in rule making process for
  US GoM
• Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species
  Act
• Increasing concerns over the output of the air
  gun arrays used in normal seismic operations.
• A broad-band air gun source characterization
  study
• provide information over a range of emission
  angles and azimuths
• help answer many questions related to emission of
  high frequency sound energy from seismic source
  arrays
• Integrating with a planned survey - significantly
  reduced costs
• Minimal impact on survey acquisition
• 2005 proposed study using similar equipment to
  2003 (SWSS) with expanded capability
• 4D GoM seismic survey Q4 2005.
• Water depth (1500 m)
• High density source effort

• Equipment failure during initial deployment -
  postponed
• 2006 - SCS will be transferred to JIP
• Possible alternative survey opportunity in July
  06 with similar source effort

9
Marine Mammal observation data resource

• Readily available information - little or no
  extra cost or effort to industry
• Detail and availability of data varies between
  companies
• Collective industry effort is needed in order to
  establish a regional relevant resource
• Standardise data collection
• Coordinate collation of data
• within individual companies/geophysical industry
• Establish a centralized data resource library
  with access for industry and research/academic
  institutions

• Benefits
• Measurable E performance indicators for
  industry (similar to H, S and traditional E)
• Marine mammal monitoring effort/year
• Delays associated with marine mammals/year
• Positive industry effort within regulatory/public
  policy debate
• Available to members for risk assessment/survey
  planning
• Available to research organisations for
  distribution/abundance analysis

10
Education/communications related activities

• Marine Environment newsletters/updates
• Sep 05
• Feb 06
• Further 3 planned for 2006
• Marine Environment reference resource
• Provide members a reference resource for marine
  environment related issues
• Review of key publications to date - complete
• New IAGC website area under development
• OGP JIP information/documents
• Regulations, scientific studies, research
  activities
• industry reviews of key publication
• Marine Operations/Environment Educational CD

11
IAGC Marine Operations/Environment Educational CD

• Marine equivalent to previous IAGC land CD
• Basic look feel production work complete
• Animation development ongoing

• Draft storyboard distributed to IAGC committees
  for review/comment
• Need
• members to contribute offshore footage

12
Marine environment activities in 2006

• Continued engagement with regulating authorities
  worldwide
• Continued focus on commercial aspects related to
  marine environment issues
• Address continued global interest in marine
  environment issues
• Co-ordinate and provide technical support for
  industry supported research efforts.
• Continued educational activities