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 OCS Scientific Committee Meeting Summary - Environmental
Studies Program Highlights - National Program
 | Social Science in the ESP. Dr. Rodney Cluck, MMS sociologist, stated that in
1999, the MMS/ESP held a national Social and Economic Planning Conference. Social
scientists from around the U. S. and Canada joined MMS social scientists to discuss
pressing issues in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and the Pacific regions. Indeed, the
conference complimented the ESP planning process; it added methodological insights and was
an open forum for constructive criticism and information exchange. One-year later,
national and regional social scientists in the ESP are using this information to aid in
planning future study efforts. This session discussed major issues, current findings, and
future directions of social science in MMS.
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| Deep Spill Modeling. Mr. Robert LaBelle, Environmental Division Chief, reported
that one area of concern with the increasing industry activity in deep water is the threat
of an oil spill from a blowout or pipeline rupture. This presentation provided a brief
overview of a recent successful field experiment off the coast of Norway where oil and gas
were released at 800 meters and observations were made. The data will be used to calibrate
deep spill trajectory models and support spill response planning. The research is being
sponsored by MMS a long with 23 companies via a Joint Industry Project. |
For more information, contact Julie Reynolds.
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