Researchers hope new techniques will unlock secrets of oil spills in sea ice

The information is important as the region opens up to more industry.

As the Arctic warms, ships transporting oil to and from the region are poised to become more common. And more ships means a higher likelihood of oil spills. This fact has scientists working to figure out more about what happens when oil meets sea ice in the Arctic, in hopes their findings could help with clean-up efforts if and when the region sees an oil spill. “The question came up when Norway was looking for oil in the Arctic — what would be the consequences if oil was trapped in the ice?” said Sönke Maus, a postdoctoral fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and member of MOSIDEO. MOSIDEO is an international research group that — as its longer name, Microscale interaction of oil with sea ice for detection and environmental risk management in sustainable operations, indicates — is trying to fill some gaps in research on sea ice and oil by using innovative techniques and tools. The group is a collaboration between researchers from University of Alaska, Northern Research Institute and NTNU is supported through the end of the year by the Research Council of Norway.