Oil Spill Response

Oil spill response can be a massive effort requiring large numbers of specialized teams.  Shorelines are typically made up of a variety of different environments and cleanup equipment specific to each type of environment  must be prioritized and allocated.  Using the Aeryon Scout, BP Alaska and the University of Alaska surveyed coastline to collect aerial imagery.  This imagery can be used to assess environmental impact in a specific area and assign clean-up resources and measure the effectiveness of clean-up activities.

Mission Description

During the week of July 11, 2011, BP Exploration Alaska and Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute successfully demonstrated the Aeryon Scout Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MAV) as a valuable tool to gather aerial imagery to aid in oil spill cleanup efforts.  The compact and easy-to-use Aeryon Scout, designed for both surveillance and imaging applications, is uniquely suited to the difficult terrain and conditions seen in Alaska, easily handling the high winds and rain seen frequently in coastal areas.  This demonstration focused on utilizing the small unmanned Scout MAV to improve the effectiveness, safety and accuracy of Shoreline Clean-up Assessment Technique (SCAT) teams.  Testing occurred in both Anchorage, Alaska, at Ft. Richardson, and outside Valdez, Alaska in Prince William Sound.

Use Details

Oil spill response can be a massive effort requiring large numbers of specialized teams.  Shorelines are typically made up of a variety of different environments and cleanup equipment specific to each type of environment (eg. sand, marsh, river mouth) must be prioritized and allocated.  The SCAT process is an integral component of spill response which provides real-time information and recommendations for shoreline evaluation and cleanup operations.  The process evaluates shoreline types, environmental conditions, and available resources to form a plan to minimize harm in the event of an oil spill.  By using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, a team can remotely survey an affected area and provide rapid and accurate geo-referenced imagery for both the planning and evaluating the effectiveness of cleanup efforts.

Spearheading the use of new technologies for environmental protection, BP funded this demonstration and invited other oil producers and environmental agencies.  Over the course of the week, BP and UAF personnel were trained to pilot the Scout and flew in winds in excess of 20 mph with rain several days during the week.  The Scout is flown from a hand-held tablet computer and can be operated by guiding it along a map or by steering it through a video feed which is displayed real-time on the tablet computer.

The largest demonstration was conducted in Prince William Sound, where the Scout was flown over the water and collected imagery of the steep rock cliffs and shoreline, difficult to survey using other techniques.  Video from the Scout was streamed live to spectators, demonstrating the system’s ability to deliver real-time data to situation managers.

Several flights were conducted to survey the coastline.    High-resolution geo-referenced images of the coastline were captured in Prince William Sound and some sample images are given below.  

 

click to enlarge

Mission Complexities

• Potential for windy and wet conditions
• Operation over water
• Steep rock cliffs
• Nearby tree line