Communities along the Alaskan coast depend on fishing and hunting to feed themselves and maintain their cultural heritage. Although it seems the Beaufort Sea is remote and pure, oil development and shipping also occur there. These activities increase the risk of oil spills, and spills could endanger the environment that local people depend upon.

In 2016 The Alaska Ocean Observing System was awarded a National Academy of Sciences Synthesis award on the topic “Synthesizing AIS ship tracking data, GNOME oil spill model results, and subsistence use information into a unique, interactive tool to aid research and planning in coastal communities bordering the Alaska Beaufort Sea”. Along with Axiom Data Science and Stephen R. Braund & Associates (SRB&A), the work was completed in November of 2018. The project integrates data products describing vessel traffic patterns and subsistence use data from the communities of Utqiagvik, Nuiqsut, and Kaktovik along the Beaufort Sea coast. These datasets were used to generate an analysis of estimated oil spill risk to these areas and they offer a unique tool for planners and subsistence community members.

For more information see https://osra.axds.co/.