Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team  

A Five Day Seminar

Calendar
September 15-19, 2008

Class begins at 8:00 a.m. and adjourns at 5:00 p.m. each day. Ending on Friday by 1:00 p.m.

The Course
This course is designed to provide field training in shoreline characterization and assessment of oil spill impacts on those shorelines and their associated resources. The course revolves around hands-on field exercises in boats and walking the different types of shorelines. Participants will use standardized shoreline assessment forms, global positioning systems and GIS to develop a SCAT database for planners to use in developing protective action and response strategies for different shorelines. Pre-spill shoreline characterizations will also be used in the development of realistic natural resource damage assessments after the spill impacts the area. A reference text complemented by other appropriate materials will be provided to each student during the course.

Upon successful completion of the course, each student will receive a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion from the National Spill Control School, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Classroom/Field Topics
SCAT within the Incident Command System     Roles/Responsibilities of the SCAT
Shoreline Types                                                Predicted Oil Behavior
Response Considerations                                  Oil Coverage Estimations
Sediment Types                                                Degree of Oiling Descriptors
Environmental Sensitivity Index                         Digital Imagery and GPS
GIS for SCAT Documentation                         Standardized SCAT Forms

Field Exercises
This course is primarily a “hands-on” course involving surveys of different types of shorelines and habitats. Open bay systems, marshes, lagoons, Gulf of Mexico, tidal flats, marinas, rip-rap, sand, shell, cobble stone shorelines and more. Field work will include characterizing the shorelines using available data resources, on scene visits, digital images and standardized shoreline assessment forms. Gathered images and data will then be integrated into a GIS format for data management.

Additional Information
Personal floatation devices will be provided during the field exercises, however you may bring your own if you prefer. Exercises include seining, snorkeling, working out of small boats, walking the beach and other activities where we get wet and dirty. Bring swimming gear and work clothes and boots or shoes that you can get wet. Weather conditions in Corpus Christi can be very warm and windy from April to early October, with temperatures in the upper 80’s to low 90’s and winds at 15-20 mph.

Seminar Fee
$795 – Prepaid
Includes reference text and other course materials. For special government/industry group rates, contact the National Spill Control School at (361) 825-3333. E-mail: nscs@tamucc.edu Web Site: http://www.sci.tamucc.edu/nscs