Trainee Manual

Train-Sea-Coast Benguela Programme

Marine Pollution Control

Module 4: using geographic Information Systems for Managing Marine Pollution

DETAILED MODULE PLAN.

This module will run for one day in the marine pollution course. In this module the trainees will be introduced to the scope of using a Geographical Information System GIS in assessing the risks attached to a marine pollution event and help develop a contingency plan. This module first examines the well-known Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 and its impact on Prince William Soundand Copper River. The reason to use this case study is that an immense amount of GIS information was collected in the aftermath of the tragedy and this information is freely available. Once an understanding of the nature of the oil spill is discussed a more detailed lecture on GIS will be presented. The third section of this course will examine how a trainee will use the South African Coastal Information Centre online maps for evaluating an oil spill in the mouth of SaldanhaBay. The reasoning for this is that CSIR has done a modelling exercise in the bay which can be used as a simulation for a real life oil spill. The mastery test will be undertaken using a multiple-choice question that is self marked and undertaken by the trainees.

Objectives

  • To understand what information can be obtained from maps, orthophotographs and aerial photographs and how it can be usefully applied.
  • Familiarize yourself with computer-based techniques to mapping and define what a Geographical Information System (GIS) is and how it can be used for zonation of activities and identification of potential problems relating to the coastal environment using St Helena and Saldanha Bays on the West Coast as case studies.
  • Be able to define the differences between a vector and a raster-based GIS and know where the strength and weakness of each system is.
  • Discuss how GIS can be used as a management tool and be developed for modeling and prediction.
  • Discuss how a GIS can be implemented on an Internet.

This course will provide four PowerPoint lecture material with annotated notes.

Time Frame

09h00 – 09h30 Power Point 1 and Discussion

09h30 – 10h00 Power Point 2

10h00 – 10h30 First assessment (Mastery Test)

10h30 – 10h45 Tea break

10h45 – 12h30 Power Point 3 and Discussion

12h30 – 13h30 Lunch

13h30 – 15h00 Power Point 4 and Discussion

15h00 – 15h15 Tea break

15h15 – 16h30 Second Assessment (Mastery Test)

Materials and equipment needed

FOR THE PARTICIPANT

  1. Pens
  2. Trainee Manual
  3. Word document Template to fill in electronically (as M4_Mastery_test_answersheet_1.doc & M4_Mastery_test_answersheet_2.doc)
  4. Computers with Microsoft Word

Reference Material

Web Reference

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Books for an Introduction to GIS

Clarke, Keith C. 2001. Getting Started with Geographic Information Systems, 3rd ed., Prentice Hall Series in Geographic Information Science, Prentice-Hall Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Delaney, Julie. 1999. Geographical Information Systems, An Introduction, OxfordUniversity Press, New York.

DeMers, Michael N. 2003. Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems, 2nd. ed. (update edition), John Wiley and Sons, Toronto.

Longley, Paul A., Goodchild, Michael F., Maguire, David J., and David W. Rhind. 2001. Geographic Information Systems and Science, John Wiley and Sons, Toronto

Books on SouthAfricanCoast Sensitivity

Jackson and Lipschitz 1984 “Coastal Sensitivity Atlas of southern Africa”, Published by the Government Printer

Report on SaldanhaBay

Taljaard, S and Monteiro, P.M.S. (2002) SaldanhaBay marine water quality management plan. Phase I:Situation Assessment. Report to the SaldanhaBay Water Quality Forum Trust. CSIR Report ENV-S-C, Stellenbosch.

MODULE CONTENT

Main Points of Module 4

The formal lectures will consist of four PowerPoint presentations entitled

PowerPoint one Exxon Valdez oil spill 1989 in impact on Prince William Sound and Copper River. (27 slides - no annotation is necessary and is self explanatory)

Lecture1_Exxon_Valdez_Impacts.ppt

Time required 30 minutes

Slide number / Summarised content
1 / Title Page
2 / Map showing the state of Alaska and the site of the ExxonValdez oil spill
3 / Detailed map site of the ExxonValdez oil spill using an enhanced and processed satellite image
4 / Photo of the Valdez oil terminal showing the loading peers where the oil is transferred from mainland to tankers
5 / Photo showing the Exxon Valdez stranded on Bligh Reef
6 / Photo showing transferrance of oil from the Exxon Valdez on two another tanker
7 / Photo showing a boom being deployed to contain any further leakage from the Exxon Valdez
8 / Photo showing spilt oil on the surface of the sea. Despite the measures taken about 1/5 of the Exxon Valdez cargo was spilt
9 / Photo showing sensitive sites that were being protected from the oil spill using booms such as around this salmon hatchery
10 / Photo showing oil washed up on the pebble Beach as a result of the storm that followed the grounding of the Exxon Valdez
11 / Photo showing oil impacting on a rock pool
12 / Photo showing the use of the boom by barge and this skimmer to collect surface oil
13 / Photo showing the use of two boats and the boom and skimmer to concentrate the surface oil
14 / Photo showing NOAA scientists at work at the spill response command centre pool
15 / Photo showing the combined action of times and currents and the impact of the oil on the intertidal zone
16 / Photo showing how many of the beaches were heavily oil during the spill
17 / Photo showing captured oil wildlife being moved to a rehabilitation centre for cleansing
18 / slide discussing methods of cleaning oil on the shoreline
19 / Photo showing the use of high-pressure hot water washing of the rocky shore
20 / Photo use of the boom to prevent oil that is being cleaned from refloating into the ocean
21 / Photo showing how sediment and some oil gets refloated into the ocean during the cleanup
22 / Photo showing case study of pre-high-pressure hot water washing at Block Island
23 / Photo showing the cleansing operation at Block Island
24 / Photo showing an assessment of how deep the oil penetration has gone in to the beaches surface
25 / Photo showing the changing method to determine oil penetration
26 / Photo showing debris that was collected and has been backed during the oil spill. This will be deposited in a landfill site
27 / Photo credits and reference material used

PowerPoint 2 Exxon Valdez oil spill 1989 showing file GIS is the use in the contingency plan.

Lecture2_Exxon_Valdez_GIS.ppt (9 slides-annotation is provided in the PowerPoint presentation)

Time required 30 minutes

Slide Number / Summarised Content
1 / Title Page – GIS coverages used for evaluating the Exxon Valdez 1989 Oil spill
2 / A brief list of coverages useful for assessing the impact of the Exxon Valdez Impact divided into Satellite Images, Digital Elevation Models and actual coverages
3 / A map showing the trajectory of the oils spill (animated GIF)
4 / A map showing the impacts of the oil spill categorised into high, medium, light and very light.
5 / A map showing the impact of the oil spill on recreational sites
6 / A map showing the impact of the oil spill on marine bird colonies
7 / A map showing the impact of the oil spill on Eagle nest sites
8 / A map showing the ranking of the sites based on integrating the previously shown coverages
9 / References

PowerPoint 3 Basics of GIS

Lecture3_GIS_principles.ppt (25 slides-annotation is provided in the PowerPoint presentation)

Time required 105 minutes

Slide Number / Summarised Content
1 / Definitions of GIS
2 / Types of data that can be included in a GIS
3 / History of GIS
4 / How does GIS vary from other Graphics Programs ?
5 / Difference between a GIS and Maps/Atlases
6 / GIS Maps are Customizable
7 / GIS Maps are Searchable
8 / GIS Maps are Updatable
9 / What Computers would you need to run a GIS?
10 / Where can you get GIS data?
11 / Getting Maps and Data into a GIS
12 / Who produces Digital Maps?
13 / Obtaining New Data
14 / Types of GIS
15 / Raster GIS - Gridded Data
16 / Vector GIS - Points, Lines and Polygons
17 / Using a GIS for an Environmental Sensitivity Atlas
18 / Thematic Mapping for Sensitivity-NOAA
19 / List of sensitive Marine Environment-NOAAs
20 / Sensitive Biological Features-NOAA
21 / Symbolization of Sensitive Biological Features-NOAA
22 / Sensitive Human Resources - General description-NOAA
23 / Sensitive Human Resources - General description continued
24 / Symbolization of Sensitive Human Resources - NOAA
25 / Final Sensitivity Atlas-NOAA

PowerPoint 4 case study is simulated oil spill in Saldanha BaySouth Africa.

Lecture4_Contingency_Plan.ppt (21 slides-annotation is provided in the PowerPoint presentation)

Time required 90 minutes

Slide Number / Summarised Content
1 / Title Page
2 / Why SaldanhaBay is Ecologically is sensitive?
3 / A Sensitivity Atlas for SaldanhaBay
4 / Details of the simulation model and the URL from where it came from. This site is currently down, however, you can preview previous simulations that had been run and investigate the variables that we used to run the simulation.
5 / Variables used for this study which is used to determine the impact of the oil spill at the entrance to the Harbour and assess whether MalgasIsland will need a evacuation of its breeding Gannet population.
6 / Start of the simulation showing the first hours of the trajectory of the oil spill.
7 / A map showing how the oil spill is approaching MalgasIsland
8 / A map showing the progress of the oil spill trajectory
9 / A map showing further progress of the oil spill trajectory
10 / A map showing the oil spill almost on MalgasIsland
11 / A map showing how the oil spill virtually leaves MalgasIsland unaffected.
12 / A map confirming that the oil spill did not have a major predicted impact on MalgasIsland.
13 / A map showing the area of interest that needs to be assessed in order to develop a contingency plan
14 / Use of the results of the simulation within a coastal sensitivity GIS
15 / A screenshot showing the old South African coastal information Centre interactive web-based GIS
16 / A screenshot showing the above site with the satellite image selected and zoomed in on SaldanhaBay.
17 / A screenshot showing all coastal sensitivity layers being selected and the various menus for operation.
18 / A screenshot showing how the area of interested drawn as a line and has been defined on the Web-based GIS
19 / A screenshot showing an alternative way of defining an area of interest using a box
20 / A generic report that is generated based on 1:250 000 map sheets.
21 / A screen shot showing how a user can define various reports for each 1:250 000 map sheets

MASTERY TESTS.

Master TEST 1 – Revision (30 minutes)

1) Define what a DEM is and how it could be used together with a Satellite image in undertaking a contingency oil spill analysis?

2) What were the most sensitive biological parameters in the Exxon Valdez oil spill and provide reasons for your choice.

3) Describe events that could have made the Exxon Valdez oil spill even more environmentally damaging.

An Answer Sheet is provided electronically as M4_Mastery_test_answersheet_1.doc

Master TEST 2 – Putting a Contingency Plan into Action (75 minutes)

You have been asked to take responsibility for revising an oil spill contingency plans for your National coast. As the first step you will need to define and describe the spatial data you wish to use in developing these plans. You will need to organize your data under major headings and codes (e.g. Recreation = R) and using a number rank each dataset from 1 equalling the highest rank (=most significant). You can tie scores if you thing they equally important. You will also need to work out whether it is seasonally sensitive or not.You will now need to invert these scores and to do this you will add up the total number of dataset within each major heading and then add 1 and now taking this score you subtract its ranking score – in other words you reverse the ranks

To illustrate this we have identified four recreational datasets, namely bathing beaches R1, general recreational beaches R2, angling sites (R3) and motorboat launch sites (R4). You have a total of four site data sets so the highest bathing beaches will get (4+1)-1 = 4, recreational beaches get (4+1)-2 =3, angling sites (4+1)-3 = 2 and finally motorboat launch sites (4+1)-4 = 1.

You will now need to work out rules that can be used to combine this new scores into an overall prioritization score based on intersections as well. To do this you will need to identify whether the data is highly localized (<100 m coastline) or fairly wide-spread. When combining highly localized data you will use the summation function so where two of these data sets intersect you will sum them in the intersection area. In contrast very wide-spread data you will use the overlay ensuring the highest value is on top. The example below shows the combining rules in graphical form.

The combining rulesets using summation where they are localized and overlap where they are widespread and seasonality. Note some features can be both widespread or localized

Group / Layer / Code / Inverse
Score / Distribution / Seasonal
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Summer/Autumn/Winter/Spring
Recreation / Beach bathing / R1 / 4 / Widespread/Localized / Summer/Autumn/Spring
Recreation / Beach General / R2 / 3 / Widespread / All Year
Recreation / Angling / R3 / 2 / Widespread / All Year
Recreation / Motor-boat launch / R4 / 1 / Localized / All Year

An Answer sheet is provided electronically as M4_Mastery_test_answersheet_2.doc

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