tankers as a supplement to pipeline operations. MARAD plans to 

 initiate hull design studies for crude oil carriers in cooperation with 

 industry, because proven designs for Arctic operations do not exist 

 at present. The movement of pack ice, including that in the shear 

 zone described in the chapter on geology and geophysics, will be an 

 important factor in these studies. 



General research studies of the dispersal and effects of oil spills 

 that apply to ship and tanker traffic as well as to the environmental 

 baseline and assessment studies supported by BLM are being 

 conducted by NOAA's NMFS as they relate to commercial fisheries 

 and by DOI's FWS as they relate to protection of coastal wildlife 

 habitats. Complementary studies, largely by universities, are 

 supported through NSF, NOAA's Sea Grant Program, and DOI's 

 Office of Water Research and Technology. 



NMFS research focuses on the potential effects of oil discharges on 

 the commercial fisheries of Prince William Sound, Alaska, and on 

 salmon of the Gulf of Alaska and west coast. The Prince William 

 Sound research conducted at the Auke Bay Laboratory has two 

 emphases: general studies of existing oceanographic conditions for 

 use in evaluating future effects of Alaska Pipeline Terminal 

 operations on the Sound and bioassay (physiological effects] 

 studies, primarily of crude oil on organisms of the area. In the latter, 

 Prudhoe Bay crude oil has been tested for toxicity, particularily to 

 crustaceans such as the Tanner crab. Results demonstrate reactions 

 at relatively low concentrations, as, for example, autotomy (loss of 

 legs], and molt retardation after 48 hours' exposure to modest levels 

 of oil contamination. Kachemak Bay crude oil is being used in similar 

 studies initiated during 1975. 



In a salmon study, conducted by the NMFS Seattle Laboratory, oil- 

 related research showed that juvenile salmon exposed to both 

 aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons were able to purge themselves 

 of much of the accumulated hydrocarbons when transferred to clean 

 water. By the use of spin-labeling techniques to study mechanisms of 

 oil-contaminant activity at cellular and subcellular levels, hydrocar- 

 bons were found to penetrate cellular membranes leading to 

 narcoses with high dosages. 



FWS research focuses on aquatic birds, which are particularly 

 vulnerable to adverse effects from oil spills, and on threatened and 

 endangered species. Birds are among the predators that are attracted 

 to the enriched biologic habitats that form beneath the offshore 

 drilling and production platforms. In cooperation with FWS and a 

 number of conservation groups, industry has established high 

 priority on waterfowl protection and maintains bird rescue 

 capabilities in the event of local accidents. 



FWS has expanded efforts to determine the effects of oil spills on 



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