Oil in the Sea IV Phase 1--Inputs

An ad hoc committee on Oil in the Sea IV will provide an update of the previous report’s (Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects, 2003) inventory of the sources, composition, and quantity of hydrocarbon inputs to the marine environment. To the extent possible, the report will identify, categorize, and quantify, these sources of hydrocarbons (and their chemical composition) with an emphasis on North American waters. The committee will examine worldwide data in an effort to place numbers derived for North American waters into a global context.

Specifically the committee will:
1) Examine natural and anthropogenic sources of hydrocarbons entering the marine environment, including but not limited to:
a) Natural hydrocarbon seeps
b) Extraction of petroleum
i) spills from production and drilling platforms
ii) deposition from platform air emission
iii) produced water and gas condensate discharges (disaggregated by platform type, e.g., deepwater, ultra-deep, shallow waters)
iv) leaks associated with platform decommissioning
c) Transportation of petroleum
i) pipeline spills
ii) tanker spills
iii) operational discharges
iv) coastal facility spills
v) deposition from tanker exhaust and VOC emissions
d) Consumption of petroleum
i) land-based runoff
ii) recreational vehicle discharge
iii) spills from commercial vessels > 100 GT
iv) operational discharges from commercial vessels
v) atmospheric deposition from land-based sources
vi) aircraft dumping during emergencies
2) Identify and evaluate, to the extent possible, sources of quantitative information about approaches for estimating the volume of hydrocarbon input to the marine environment worldwide from all sources. Based on these sources, develop and summarize quantitative estimates of hydrocarbon inputs to the marine environment with an emphasis on North American waters and provide estimates of the upper, lower, and most probable values for each subcategory.
3) Review progress in implementing the recommendations from the 2003 report regarding inputs and identify priority recommendations that have yet to be implemented.
4) Provide recommendations to improve estimates of inputs and identify focus areas for reducing hydrocarbon inputs from human activities.

Oil in the Sea IV Phase 2--Fates and Effects
The Committee on Oil in the Sea IV will provide an update of the previous report's (Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects, 2003) assessment of the state of the science on the fate and effects of fossil fuel hydrocarbons in the marine environment.
Specifically the committee will:
1) Assess and discuss the physical and chemical characteristics and behavior of these hydrocarbons, the transport and fate of various hydrocarbon mixtures in the marine environment, and the effects of these mixtures on marine life and ecosystems.
2) Characterize, to the degree possible, the risk posed to the marine environment by fossil fuel hydrocarbon components or type of input, given the range of organisms or ecosystems likely to be affected.
3) Review progress in implementing the recommendations from the 2003 report regarding fates and effects and identify priority recommendations that have yet to be implemented.
4) Provide recommendations to improve understanding of the fates and effects of hydrocarbon inputs from human activities and strategies for reducing the more harmful effects.