Summary experience in the following areas:

Ecology / Fisheries / Forestry / Wildlife Biology / Ornithology / Marine Mammalogy

On its staff FERHRI is having specialists on the marine ecology and separate marine biota components. At a high level they developed corresponding sections and got approval from the State Expertise. For the rest of the mentioned research directions FERHRI usually attracts subcontractors.

Physical and Chemical Oceanography / Arctic / Geotechnical / Pipeline Engineering / Marine Terminals

Since 1980s FERHRI specialists have been carrying out comprehensive oceanographic, hydrochemical, hydrobiological, and geochemical studies along northeastern shelf of Sakhalin Island in relation to possible oil and gas extraction in the region. Specialized observations were carried out at Piltun-Astokh, Chaivo, Arkutun-Dagi, Lunskiy, Kirinskiy, Astrakhanovskaya blocks and other oil-gas fields.

Marine oceanographic investigations involve the following activities:

CTD-calculations from the surface to near bottom waters;
calculation of current velocity and seawater characteristics with the use of autonomous anchor buoy stations;
study of water circulation and structure with the use of ARGO surface and diving buoys;
calculation of current velocity with the use of ADCP Doppler acoustic profilographs;
calculation of current velocity and seawater characteristics with the use of "Flying Fish" system;
sediment sampling with the use of box-corers, piston-corers, multi-corers, and grab dredgers;
seismic and acoustic investigations;
sea bottom video survey;
sounding with the multibeam sonic depth finder.

Marine ecological monitoring includes analysis of trace metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in sea water and bottom sediments, measurements of suspended solids, dissolved oxygen and nutrients, observations of phyto-, ichtio-, zooplankton and benthos and observations of birds and mammals. Results of these investigations allow to estimate the effect and scale of drilling and oil extraction activities on marine ecosystems.

FERHRI specialists have got some expertise in developing environmental documents pertaining to the pipeline laying and marine terminals construction (e.g., Sakhalin II Phase I project, containing underwater pipeline and marine terminal which includes Single Anchor Leg Mooring and Floating Storage and Offloading Unit).

Socioeconomic / Anthropology / Cultural resources

The said activities are performed by FERHRI together with subcontractors.

Environmental protection planning, effect monitoring, waste management

Development of materials substantiating environmental impacts normalization consists of MPD, MPE and MPENI projects.

MPE projects are implemented with the use of "Prizma" certified program ("Logus" Scientific and Production Association production).

MPD projects are implemented with the use of FERHRI's calculating program "MPD-Sea 3.2" developed on the basis of Methods for calculating maximum permissible discharges into sewage water (Kharkov, the USSR State Committee for the Environmental Protection, VNIIVO, 1990). Methods' term was extended with the letter of the Russian Federation Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources Protection No. 07-37/65-1177 of April 15, 1993. FERHRI's program passed certification test in the Federal Center for Geo-Informational Systems of the State Ecological Committee and was registered GOST ROSS RU.ME20.Í00082. At present this program is introduced in a number of the Far Eastern Administrations of Hydrometeorological Service and Committees for the Natural Resources.

Regulations on MPENI standards development were enacted with the Governmental Decree in 2000, and FERHRI specialists took an active part in its elaboration. More than that FERHRI was one of the first who calculated maximum permissible negative environmental impacts using Pollutants transport and sedimentation model and discharges normalization program (MPD-Sea).

Offshore discharge and spill modeling

In the field of Modeling of hydrodynamic processes in the sea, pollutants transport in the marine environment and marine environment impacts (for Sakhalin shelf area) FERHRI has developed a number of calculating methods conforming to the international standards. Computer models of pollutants transport and sedimentation are used during the implementation of EIA, ecological monitoring, and for other purposes as well. Pollutants transport and sedimentation modeling is a program complex that consists of the currents models, turbulence models, typification methods, scenarios development, and etc.

Calculation of pollutants transport and sedimentation in the marine environment is made basing on the Monte-Carlo diffusive-advective model which includes turbulence, sedimentation and boundary interaction parameterization (Kochergin I.E. and Bogdanovsky A.A. being the authors of the model). This model was successfully applied when designing discharges during the implementation of EIA and ecological monitoring under Sakhalin I, II, III, and IV projects to assess water and sea bottom sedimentation pollution zones. In comparison with other models FERHRI's model is having a number of practical advantages and a more qualified sub-model of the marine environment. In 1996-98 and 2000 (under Sakhalin I and II projects) the model passed verification tests for the specification of its semi-empirical coefficients.

So the latest model version takes into account effects of jet sinking and flocculation, sediments bottom transport, solid and liquid boundary interactions, and non-conservative nature of pollutants. The model was successfully applied together with Dr. Patin's approach (i.e. developing criteria of toxic influence on the various marine environment components) in making toxicity assessments. Besides the model and projects containing drilling mud and cuttings discharge calculations were repeatedly approved by the State Ecological Commission of Experts.

Oil spill modeling is used during the implementation of EIA, development of the Contingency Plan for accidental oil spill liquidation, and taking measures in case of the accidents resulting from the oil spills (including Real time forecast systems and training programs for decisions-making). For the purpose of statistical calculation of trajectories, assessment of the shoreline pollution, and forecast of the oil spill behavior FERHRI's specialists have developed their own Methods that involve Scenarios Designing Models, Models of Hydrometeorological Processes in the Marine Environment and Oil Spill Fate Models.

Currents hydrodynamic modeling is made on the basis of an Ekhman-type 3D diagnostic model (Budaeva V.D. and Makarov V.G. being the authors of the model). The model was successfully adapted to the North Eastern Sakhalin shelf, Aniva Bay and Tatarskiy Strait conditions. It was applied during the implementation of Sakhalin I, II, and III projects, and its results were approved by the State Ecological Expertise. Model verification consisted of comparing calculated statistical current characteristics and instrumental observations data.

For the calculations of the Oil film transport and its internal physical and chemical processes the Oil Spill Trajectory and Fate Model (Bogdanovsky A.A., Kochergin I.E. /FERHRI/; Mishukov V.F. /POI/; and Putov V.F. /ECS/ being the authors of the model) is used. This model was applied in the modeling of potential accidental oil spill behavior during the implementation of Sakhalin II, III, and IV projects. FERHRI's reports (with participation of POI, ECS and SOI specialists) have got positive conclusions from the independent institutes, State Ecological Commission of Experts and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. At present everyone is having an open access to the first test version of the on-line real-time oil spill model for the north-east Sakhalin shelf area (in Internet).

Large scale data and document management

Regional Oceanographic Data Center (RODC) was established in FERHRI in 1995 by the order of Roshydromet. RODC is considered to be an official division of the State Environmental Data Fund and a branch of the All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information - World Data Center (Obninsk). FERHRI is also having a leased internet connection line and access to the WMO network. It keeps operative and regime bases of meteorological and oceanographic data and data on the environmental pollution. Detailed information on FERHRI's databases can be found on its English (http://www.ferhri.ru) and Russian (http://rus.ferhri.ru) web-sites.

Risk assessment

FERHRI is having its own methods for assessing extreme hydrometeorological parameters of rare occurrence. These can be applied to both regions provided with the long-term observation series and regions experiencing a lack of observations. FERHRI has already developed and tested its unique method for assessing flood and wash-out risk for the Far Eastern rivers.

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