Arctic Directory: Olgoonik/Fairweather team awarded ANIMIDA III contract

Olgoonik/Fairweather LLC in conjunction with a team of scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Texas at Austin, the Florida Institute of Technology, Battelle Memorial Institute and Kinnetic Laboratories Inc., has been awarded the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management contract to continue environmental monitoring research in the Beaufort Sea. The project is titled Arctic Nearshore Impact Monitoring in the Development Area. ANIMIDA III is a two-pronged monitoring project that includes a separate effort involving the monitoring of Boulder Patch kelp beds in the area around Camden Bay.

The group will conduct comprehensive scientific studies to characterize the lease areas and surrounding environs of the Beaufort Sea that expand beyond past sampling efforts conducted during prior ANIMIDA I and ANIMIDA II work. The duration of the project will span from 2014 to 2017, with field programs planned during the open-water seasons of 2014 and 2015 and through-ice sampling events in the spring of 2015. Data synthesis is planned for years three and four, with the 2014 field season data informing the research for subsequent years.

The ANIMIDA III scientific program will involve interdisciplinary research including benthic ecology, chemistry and physical oceanography. The chemistry work will evaluate the presence of oil industry contaminants, including a selection of metals and hydrocarbons in sediments and biological tissues, to detect possible changes as a result of future oil and gas activities.

Olgoonik/Fairweather LLC is a joint venture with Olgoonik Oilfield Services, a subsidiary of the Alaska Native corporation for the Village of Wainwright and Fairweather Science for more information visit www. fairweather.com/environmentalscience.