Sonar Spots Invisible Arctic Oil Spills - Scientific American

Sonar Spots Invisible Arctic Oil Spills - Scientific American:

 The next big oil spill could be out of sight. Climate warming has packs of Arctic sea ice in retreat, opening up vast areas for oil and gas drilling. That is posing a new problem for spill detectors: There is still a lot of ice in the region, and people cannot see through it. Remember that giant oil slick on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout? Off the north coast of Alaska that kind of slick would likely be shielded by miles of drifting ice. “The risk of a serious oil spill in the Arctic is escalating,” the National Research Council warned in a report just last month. And, the council added, the U.S. is not ready to respond.

 

  

North of Alaska, large orange-and-gray zones show oil and gas
exploration areas in the Arctic. Bright orange dots are active oil and
gas leases; purple dots are wells. (Click here to view map)