Remediation technologies for oil-drilling activities in the Arctic: oil-spill containment and remediation in open water

Abstract

The Arctic Ocean is a large aquatic ecosystem stretching 14,056,000 km² across the Northern Hemisphere, and hosts a multitude of marine species, avian species, and the well-known polar bear in its domain. The Arctic Ocean is the most remote ocean in the world and has been inaccessible to traffic and oil-drilling activities until recent years. However, as transport, trade, and global turnover of petrol and oil products increase and climate changes reduce the glacial surface of the North Pole, the Arctic Ocean is becoming an area of interest for international shipping, offshore, and drilling activities. Nevertheless, this development requires ultimately a parallel implementation of environmental technologies for oil-drilling safety, with particular emphasis on oil-spill remediation in cold and harsh environments. In this context, this study reports on the most recent developments of open sea and coastline oil-remediation technologies for the prevention of damage to wildlife and the Arctic ecosystem as a whole. The review encompasses methods including microbial, chemical, and nanotechnological areas of oil-spill remediation, which are reported in context with the weather limitations of the Arctic wherever available.

Keywords:

• oil spill
• remediation
• chemical
• microbial
• Arctic Ocean
• technologies
• microbial
• nanotechnology