Research Background

In 2012, WWF commissioned RPS Applied Science Associates, Inc. (RPS ASA) to evaluate different types of oil spills most likely to occur in the Beaufort Sea. RPS ASA is a world leader in modelling the transport, fate, and biological effects of oil and chemical pollutants in marine environments. Using cutting-edge computer modelling software, RSP ASA estimated the trajectory future possible oil spills associated with increased ship traffic and offshore petroleum exploration and development in the Beaufort Sea.

Four types of oil spills were analyzed in the study:

• Shipping spill in the eastern region of the Beaufort Sea in the Amundsen Gulf
• Trans-boundary spill types (oil tankers or pipelines) in the waters crossing the Alaska/Canada border
• Shallow water blowout from an oil well close to shore on the Beaufort shelf, an area potentially subject to exploratory drilling
• Deep water blowout from an oil well on the Beaufort shelf break, an area potentially subject to exploratory drilling

Various scenarios were analyzed for each of the four types of oil spill resulting in a total of 22 scenarios of unique oil spills.

Want to know more? Click to view RPS ASA’s full report, as well as WWF’s summary report and factsheet.