The Davis Strait - DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi

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12 Preliminary identification of information
needs and knowledge gaps for
environmental management and
regulation of oil activities in Davis Strait
Anders Mosbech (AU) & Fernando Ugarte (GINR)
12.1 Knowledge gaps
In the Davis Strait several knowledge gaps need to be filled in order to: a)
assess, plan and regulate activities so the risk of impacts are minimized; b)
identify the most sensitive areas, and c) provide a baseline for ‘before and after’
studies in case of impacts from large accidents. Moreover, climate
change in the Arctic is rapid, altering the ecological conditions and demanding
long-term studies and monitoring to understand the ecosystem dynamics
and the effects of human activities. Long time series are invaluable and a
coordinated long-term monitoring programme should be considered. A
programme of this kind could take advantage of existing monitoring of utilised
species and of international standards being developed by the Circumpolar
Biodiversity Monitoring Programme under the Arctic Council’s Commission
for the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF).
Below is an annotated list of the main information needs and knowledge
gaps identified in relation to hydrocarbon activities in the Davis Strait assessment
area. This list is not exhaustive; new gaps may appear, for example
when the implications of climate change become more apparent.
Some knowledge gaps are specific to the assessment area while others are
generic to oil activities in the Arctic, cf. the Arctic Council's Oil and Gas Assessment
(Skjoldal et al. 2007). The latter should be addressed by cooperative
international research, and participation by Greenland can secure that specific
Greenland perspectives are included. The most important of these are
also listed below.
12.1.1 Specific knowledge gaps for the assessment area
Location of recurrent offshore hot spots for biological productivity and
biodiversity
Relevance: These hot spots include recurrent (predictable) areas with localised
(in time and space) primary production, high concentrations of fish and
shrimp larvae, zooplankton, seabirds and marine mammals. The sites are
sensitive to oil spills and possibly release of produced water (formation water
with oil residues discharged during oil production).
Methods: Surveys, remote sensing and modelling of oceanographic data.
Shrimp larvae and snow crab larvae distribution, drift and settling in the
Davis Strait
Relevance: The northern shrimp fishery is the single most important industry
in Greenland and snow crab is also an important fishery. The larvae move
passively in the upper part of the water column, where they can be exposed