The project is a Joint Industry Project (JIP) sponsored by an international partnership of state and federal agencies and private industry which include: Minerals Management Service, Environment Canada, Texas General Land Office, Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Imperial Oil Resources Ltd., U.K. Marine Pollution Control Unit, Swedish Rescue Service and the Canadian Coast Guard.
The Svalbard Shoreline Project was a full and realistic field scale experimental oil spill research program with optional supplementary studies including mesoscale beach basin studies at the Coastal Oil Spill Simulation System (COSS) facility in Texas. The project investigated the effectiveness of mainstream in situ shoreline cleanup techniques (tilling, surf-washing), as well as some of the scientific aspects of oil behavior and oil removal from shorelines by what was commonly referred to as the clay-oil flocculation process. The goal of the project was to deliver both operational and scientific information. This information helped optimize oil spill cleanup by selecting the best technique to suit the conditions and secondly increased knowledge of the best natural processes at work.
The Svalbard Shoreline Field Trials were successfully completed. This included the oiling of the shoreline in July/August 1997, treatment of the oiled plots and four sampling periods. As planned, the plots were established within a continuous stretch of oiled shoreline. A total of 6,000 L of oil were used and applied to a 3 m wide swath of the upper intertidal zone. Treatments were conducted as planned one week after oiling and included in situ tilling (mixing), sediment relocation to the lower intertidal zone (surf-washing), and application of fertilizers to enhance biodegradation.
Initial results look excellent for the surf-washing treatment. Oil removal effectiveness was visually obvious. The differences between sites 2 (low energy) and 3 (high energy) gave good comparison on the treatment scenarios. It also appears that the bioremediation approach was effective and initial results suggest that the addition of fertilizers, both soluble and slow release, was successful in delivering nutrients to the intertidal water on the oil beaches and that the nutrients stimulated microbial activity on the beaches.
A one-year post-monitoring was conducted at Svalbard in July 1998 to satisfy permit requirements to monitor test sites until background hydrocarbon levels are reached. Researchers also examined changes in oil character due to biodegradation and photo-oxidation processes.