Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Search and rescue operations – Indian Ocean"

Abstract A good understanding of the general circulation features of the oceans, particularly of the coastal waters, and ability to predict the key oceanographic parameters with good accuracy and sufficient lead time are necessary for the safe conduct of maritime activities such as fishing, shipping, and offshore industries. Considering these requirements and buoyed by the advancements in the field of ocean modeling, data assimilation, and ocean observation networks along with the availability of the high-performance computational facility in India, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services has set up a “High-Resolution Operational Ocean Forecast and Reanalysis System” (HOOFS) with an aim to provide accurate ocean analysis and forecasts for the public, researchers, and other types of users like navigators and the Indian Coast Guard. Major components of HOOFS are (i) a suite of numerical ocean models configured for the Indian Ocean and the coastal waters using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) for forecasting physical and biogeochemical state of the ocean and (ii) the data assimilation based on local ensemble transform Kalman filter that assimilates in situ and satellite observations in ROMS. Apart from the routine forecasts of key oceanographic parameters, a few important applications such as (i) Potential Fishing Zone forecasting system and (ii) Search and Rescue Aid Tool are also developed as part of the HOOFS project. The architecture of HOOFS, an account of the quality of ocean analysis and forecasts produced by it and important applications developed based on HOOFS are briefly discussed in this article.

Boats and ships are the major modes of transportation among the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands. The Andaman Trunk Road also forms an important part of the transportation system in the Andaman Islands north of Port Blair. The harbor structures in the islands were the most affected during the ground shaking; the result heavily disrupted the lives of the island residents. These transportation systems are expected to be in working condition after a major disaster, to facilitate the search and rescue operations and the relief work in the affected areas. A reconnaissance team surveyed the damage that the 2004 earthquake and tsunami caused to the transportation structures in the islands. Damage was observed in all transportation systems, including harbors, highways, airports, and hangars.

Despite continued advances in life-saving technological devices, communications, and search and rescue, people continue to lose their lives at sea. Search time is a very important factor in determining the success of rescue operations. However, visual searches by aircraft and ship can be restricted by weather conditions and are impossible at nighttime. The personal-use light stick is not bright enough at daytime. Search and Rescue Transponders (SART) for life-saving appliances are too large and too heavy to equip individual personnel, and moreover have limited range. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) using satellite communication also require large and expensive equipment, and generally have an error range of 3 nautical miles. Therefore, a new device that is simple, convenient and efficient is required to reduce search time and prevent loss of life at sea. In this paper, we undertake a study of a new rescue device based on Radar Cross Section characteristics to improve search and rescue (SAR) activities. First, the characteristics of current rescue devices were investigated; the characteristics of Radar Cross Section (RCS), which is the measure of a target's ability to reflect radar signals, were also reviewed. New radar-reflecting rescue devices for personal and life-saving use were also designed, and the RCS of these designed devices was analyzed. The proposed device will aid in SAR activities and save lives.

AbstractThe Mid-Atlantic Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARCOOS) High-Frequency Radar Network, which comprises 13 long-range sites, 2 medium-range sites, and 12 standard-range sites, is operated as part of the Integrated Ocean Observing System. This regional implementation of the network has been operational for 2 years and has matured to the point where the radars provide consistent coverage from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. A concerted effort was made in the MARCOOS project to increase the resiliency of the radar stations from the elements, power issues, and other issues that can disable the hardware of the system. The quality control and assurance activities in the Mid-Atlantic Bight have been guided by the needs of the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Office. As of May 4, 2009, these quality-controlled MARCOOS High-Frequency Radar totals are being served through the Coast Guard’s Environmental Data Server to the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System. In addition to the service to U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue Operations, these data support water quality, physical oceanographic, and fisheries research throughout the Mid-Atlantic Bight.

AbstractIntroduction: On 26 December 2004, a large earthquake in the Indian Ocean and the resulting tsunami created a disaster on a scale unprecedented in recorded history. Thousands of foreign tourists, predominantly Europeans, were affected. Their governments were required to organize rapid rescue responses for a catastrophe thousands of miles away, something for which they had little or no experience. The rescue operations at three international airports in Sweden, the UK, and Finland are analyzed with emphasis on “lessons learned” and recommendations for future similar rescue efforts.Methods: This report is based on interviews with and unpublished reports from medical personnel involved in the rescue operations at the three airports, as well as selected references from an electronic literature search.Results: In the period immediately following the tsunami, tens of thousands of Swedes, Britons, and Finns returned home from the affected areas in Southeast Asia. More than 7,800, 104, and approximately 3,700 casualties from Sweden, the UK, and Finland, respectively, received medical and/or psychological care at the temporary medical clinics organized at the home airports. Psychiatric presentations and soft tissue and orthopedic injuries predominated.Conclusions: All three airport medical operations suffered from the lack of a national catastrophe plan that addressed the contingency of a natural or disaster due to a natural or man-made project occurring outside the country's borders involving a large number of its citizens. While the rescue operations at the three airports functioned variably well, much of the success could be attributed to individual initiative and impromptu problem-solving. Anticipation of the psychological and aftercare needs of all those involved contributed to the relative effectiveness of the Finnish and Swedish operations.

AbstractThe Italian national project MARIS (Marine Robotics for Interventions) pursues the strategic objective of studying, developing, and integrating technologies and methodologies to enable the development of autonomous underwater robotic systems employable for intervention activities. These activities are becoming progressively more typical for the underwater offshore industry, for search-and-rescue operations, and for underwater scientific missions. Within such an ambitious objective, the project consortium also intends to demonstrate the achievable operational capabilities at a proof-of-concept level by integrating the results with prototype experimental systems.

Annually, hundreds of individuals tragically lose their lives at sea due to shipwrecks or aircraft accidents. For search and rescue personnel, the task of locating the debris of a downed aircraft in the vastness of the ocean presents a formidable challenge. A primary task these teams face is determining the search area, which is a critical step in the rescue operation. The movement of aircraft wreckage on the ocean surface is extremely complex, influenced by the combined effects of surface winds, waves, and currents. Establishing an appropriate drift motion prediction model is instrumental in accurately determining the search area for the wreckage. This article initially conducts maritime drift observation experiments on wreckage, and based on the results of these experiments, analyzes the drift characteristics and patterns of the debris. Subsequently, employing a wealth of observational experimental data, three types of drift prediction models for the wreckage are established using the least squares method. These models include the AP98 model, the dynamics model, and an improved model. In conclusion, the effectiveness and accuracy of the three models is evaluated and analyzed using Monte Carlo techniques. The results indicate that the probability of positive crosswind leeway (CWL) is 47.4%, while the probability of negative crosswind leeway (CWL) is 52.6%. The jibing frequency is 7.7% per hour, and the maximum leeway divergence angle observed is 40.4 degrees. Among the three drift prediction models, the refined AP98 drift model demonstrates the highest forecasting precision. The findings of this study offer a more accurate drift prediction model for the search of an aircraft lost at sea. These results hold significant guiding importance for maritime search and rescue operations in the South China Sea.

Earthquakes and their attendant phenomena rank among the most terrifying natural disasters faced by mankind. Out of a clear blue sky—or worse, a jet-black one—comes shaking strong enough to hurl furniture across the room, human bodies out of bed, and entire houses off their foundations. Individuals who experience the full brunt of the planet’s strongest convulsions often later describe the single thought that echoed in their minds during the tumult: I am going to die. When the dust settles, the immediate aftermath of an earthquake in an urbanized society can be profound. Phone service and water supplies can be disrupted for days, fires can erupt, and even a small number of overpass collapses can impede rescue operations and snarl traffic for months. On an increasingly urban planet, millions of people have positioned themselves directly in harm’s way. Global settlement patterns have in all too many cases resulted in enormous concentrations of humanity in some of the planet’s most dangerous earthquake zones. On the holiday Sunday morning of December 26, 2004, citizens and tourists in countries around the rim of the Indian Ocean were at work and at play when an enormous M9 (magnitude 9.0) earthquake suddenly unleashed a torrent of water several times larger than the volume of the Great Salt Lake. The world then watched with horror as events unfolded: a death toll that climbed toward 300,000 that was accompanied by unimaginable, and seemingly insurmountable, devastation to hundreds of towns and cities. For scientists involved with earthquake hazards research in that part of the world, the images were doubly wrenching: the hazard from large global earthquakes has been recognized for decades. Located mostly offshore, the 2004 Sumatra quake unleashed its destructive fury primarily in the sea. The next great earthquake to affect Asia might well be inland, perhaps along the Himalayan front or in central China.

Increased shipping and offshore activities in the Barents Sea need improved emergency response capability in Norway and Russia. In both countries there are several projects and initiatives that aim towards mitigating the consequences from small accidents and larger catastrophes, some coordinated across borders, others not. In this paper we aim towards giving an overview of the current and near future state of emergency response in the Barents Sea. First we describe the emergency response preparedness that is fully operational today. Then we give a brief description of operations and activities we see today and in the foreseen future, and discuss types of challenges and risks associated with them in this particular environment. Using this as a background, we look on Norway’s ambitions for future search and rescue preparedness in the Norwegian Arctic waters and the ways emerging technologies can improve emergency response operations. Finally we give some recommendations on what needs to be done by Norway, Russia and the industrial operators in order to achieve an improved level of emergency response preparedness.

In this paper, we select some of the crucial issues for future search and rescue (SAR) operations in the Barents Sea. The different nations that are involved and the resources necessary to build emergency preparedness due to the climatic conditions are thus important factors. This paper summarizes the state of the art within these areas while also indicating future development needs. The special requirements for life saving equipment on vessels due to the climate and requirement on personal protective equipment related to accidental immersion are also essential and thus presented in this paper. In addition, safe haven designs where the vessel itself is designed to provide shelter for personnel in distress is also a topic chosen to be addressed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the feasibility of providing long-range search and rescue for personnel in the Barents Sea. This may be due to a helicopter ditching or accident while en route to or from an offshore petroleum installation in the Barents Sea or a maritime accident. The paper will propose a combination of a SAR helicopter and multipurpose emergency response vessels. The paper will illustrate improved search and rescue capacity both for personnel involved in the petroleum industry and others i.e., fisheries, maritime transport and tourism. The basis for this paper is petroleum exploration activity in the far North Eastern area of the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. The area is currently being evaluated in a process that most probably will lead to opening the area for oil and gas exploration. There is currently little or no infrastructure in the area beyond the coast. The paper considers a method to provide SAR coverage over a distance of 260 nautical miles with a minimum rescue capacity of 21 persons within two hours. Issues related to survival in cold water, immersion survival suits and performance requirements for search and rescue resources will be considered in order to provide an optimum combination and enhanced probability of survival if an incident should occur. Operational considerations involving departure criteria for helicopter transport should be developed in order to ensure that persons travelling on a helicopter to remote locations in the Barents Sea have a reasonable prospect of surviving a helicopter ditching and subsequently being rescued. Multipurpose Emergency Response Vessels, ERVs, equipped with dual Fast Recovery Daughter Craft, FRDC, capable of operating in an Arctic climate deployed at the remote location and en route together with an onshore based search and rescue, SAR, helicopter may provide a rescue capacity for 21 persons within 120 minutes. As vessels of the type proposed in this paper may be of a benefit to all stakeholders performing activities in the Barents Sea, joint venture financing by the authorities, petroleum, maritime, fishing and tourism industries could be considered.

As the global demand for energy is increasing, oil and gas exploration is moving further north to more remote areas. Offshore activity in these areas is challenging. Arctic-specific environmental conditions, long distances from onshore facilities and general lack of infrastructure are some of the challenges faced. Therefore, new and more robust solutions — both on technological and operational side — are required before commencing operations safely in these areas. In this paper, a helicopter emergency response capacity — with respect to prevailing wind conditions — for operations in the Barents Sea is studied and a method for mapping the rescue capacity in the given area is presented. The goal is to develop a method capable of assessing the probability of a successful rescue at different locations within given time requirements and under prevailing wind conditions. This is accomplished using a simulation model capable to determine how the wind speed and direction affect the search and rescue helicopter operations in the Barents Sea. The simulation model uses historical wind data along a potential route as input for evaluating the flying time to different locations in an area under the given wind conditions. In addition to the wind conditions, the variation in recovery time, and mobilisation time is implemented into the simulation model. By running the simulation model multiple times, probability distributions of the number of personnel which can be recovered within the given time requirements are established. This information is then used to plot isocurves of equal rescue probability on top of a map of the Barents Sea. Based on the results, it is concluded that wind conditions have significant effect on rescue capacity of a helicopter, and thus thorough weather observations should be made before establishing a search and rescue system for a given area.

For any seagoing mission such as rescue missions, coast guard or pilot duties, crew safety is a key parameter. However, in extreme situations there is always a residual risk for crew members to go overboard. In this case the probability of survival is relatively low until today. This paper presents the joint research project “AGaPaS”, which is aimed to significantly raise the chances of survival for a drifting person. The main objective is to develop a self activating, partially autonomously operating rescue system being able to search, find and rescue people gone overboard. The project accounts for all aspects of the rescue process including: • the life jacket equipped with various sensors and a radio transmitter; • the construction of the rescue vessel; • a real time positioning system for the rescue vessel based on Galileo; • a recovery unit for the person overboard; • a recovery system for the rescue vessel; and • the integration into a conventional bridge system. A crucial part of the rescue process is the recovery of the remotely operating vessel including the retrieved person by a mother ship. Similar problems have already been investigated by the Technical University Berlin before [1], [2]. Whereas launching operations are less critical, the recovery of a boat, especially in severe weather, is a challenging task. Therefore, strength analyses, as well as relative motions are to be systematically investigated using model tests and numerical simulations considering a coupled system consisting of the mother ship with an articulated recovery system and the rescue vessel. Furthermore, the manoeuvrability of the rescue system is evaluated at high sea states. As a result of the research project a fully operational testing model at full scale is designed and built.

Over the past decades, various operational drift forecast models were developed for trajectory prediction of objects lost at sea for search and rescue operations. Most of these models are now based on a stochastic, Monte Carlo definition of the object’s initial position and its time-evolving search area through computation of an ensemble of equally probable trajectories (Breivik [1]). Uncertainties in environmental forcing, mainly surface currents and wind, as well as the uncertainties inherent in the simplified computation of leeway speed and direction relative to the wind are also accounted for through this ensemble-based approach. Accuracy of the drift forecast obviously depends to a large extent on the quality of the environmental forecast data provided by numerical weather prediction models and ocean models, but it also depends on the level of uncertainty associated with the estimation of the drift properties (leeway) of the objects themselves. The present work mostly focuses on this second aspect of the problem. Drift properties of objects can be described by means of their downwind and crosswind leeway coefficients, according to the definition of leeway as stated by Allen [2, 3]. Assessment of the leeway coefficients is based on a direct method, which requires measurements acquired during field tests. Such field experiments basically entail deploying one or more objects at sea and simultaneously recording the environmental parameters (namely wind speed and motion of the object relative to the ambient water masses, i.e., its leeway) as well as the object’s position while adrift for periods ranging from several hours to several days. Using this method, a large database providing leeway coefficients for more than sixty object classes ranging from medical waste to a person-in-water to small fishing vessels was compiled over the years by the United States Coast Guard (Allen [2]). More recently additional trials were conducted, which allowed evaluation of new objects, including 20-ft shipping containers. We present in this paper the methods and analysis procedures for field determination of leeway coefficients of typical search-and-rescue objects. As an example we present the case study of a 20-ft container and discuss results obtained from a drift forecast model assessing sensitivity of such a model to the quality of environmental data as well as uncertainty levels of some reference parameters.

Committee Mandate Concern for descriptions of the ocean environment, especially with respect to wave, current and wind, in deep and shallow waters, and ice, as a basis for the determination of environmental loads for structural design. Attention shall be given to statistical description of these and other related phenomena relevant to the safe design and operation of ships and offshore structures. The committee is encouraged to cooperate with the corresponding ITTC committee. Introduction and Metocean Forcing Environment Committee of ISSC, by its Mandate, deals with the Metocean environments. “In offshore and coastal engineering, metocean refers to the syllabic abbreviation of meteorology and (physical) oceanography” (Wikipedia). Metocean research covers dynamics of the oceaninterface environments: the air-sea surface, atmospheric boundary layer, upper ocean, the sea bed within the wavelength proximity (~100 m for wind-generated waves), and coastal areas. Metocean disciplines broadly comprise maritime engineering, marine meteorology, wave forecast, operational oceanography, oceanic climate, sediment transport, coastal morphology, and specialised technological disciplines for in-situ and remote sensing observations. Metocean applications incorporate offshore, coastal and Arctic engineering; navigation, shipping and naval architecture; marine search and rescue; environmental instrumentation, among others. Often, both for design and operational purposes the ISSC community is interested in Metocean Extremes which include extreme conditions (such as extreme tropical or extra-tropical cyclones), extreme events (such as rogue waves) and extreme environments (such as Marginal Ice Zone, MIZ). Certain Metocean conditions appear extreme, depending on applications (e.g. swell seas are benign for recreational sailing, but can be dangerous for dredging operations and are extreme for vessels transporting liquids). This report builds on the work of the previous Technical Committees in charge of Environment. The goal continues to be to review scientific and technological developments in the Metocean field from the last report, and to provide context of the developments, in order to give a balanced, accurate and up to date picture about the natural environment as well as data and models which can be used to accurately simulate it. The content of this report also reflects the interests and subject areas of the Committee membership, in accordance with the ISSC I.1 mandate. The Committee has continued cooperation with the Environment Committee of ITTC and with ISSC Committee V.6 Ocean Space Utilization. The Committee consisted of members from academia, research organizations, research laboratories and classification societies. The Committee formally met as a group in person two times before the COVID onset: in Glasgow, Scotland on the 9th of June 2019, before the 38th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering (OMAE 2019) and in Melbourne, Australia on the 10th of November 2019, following the 15th International Workshop on Wave Hindcasting and Forecasting. It’s also held a number of regular teleconferences: two before the face-to-face meetings and seven after, once international travel was stopped by the pandemic. Additionally, Committee members met on an ad-hoc basis during their international travels in 2019. With the wide range of subject areas that this report must cover, and the limited space, this Committee report does not purport to be exhaustive; however, the Committee believes that the reader will be presented a fair and balanced view of the subjects covered, and we recommend this report for the consideration of the ISSC 2022 Congress. The report consists of 11 Sections: two of which include the Introduction and Conclusions, and nine are the main content. The opening Section 1 outlines and defines Metocean Forcings which can affect the offshore design and operations and are the subject of this Review Chapter. The review of publications starts from progress in Analytical Theory in 2018-2021, Section 2. It covers the basic framework of experimental, numerical, remote sensing and all the other methods and approaches in Metocean science and engineering. Numerical Modelling (Section 3) is one of the most rapidly developing research and application environments over the past two decades, it allows us to extend the theory when analytical solutions are not possible, and to complement (or even replace) some of the experimental approaches of the past. Computer simulations will always need verification, validation and calibration of their outcomes through experiments and observations, particularly in engineering applications and offshore Metocean science. Therefore, Section 4 (Measurements and Observations) is the largest in the Chapter. Section 5 is effectively a modern extension of the measurement section – it is dedicated to Remote Sensing. Over the last four decades, the remote sensing has both become a powerful instrumental tool for field observations and remains an active area of engineering research in its own right as we see through growing developments of new capabilities in this space. While the first five chapters are broadly dedicated to direct outcomes of Metocean research, the rest of the chapters focus more on analysis and indirect outputs. With mounting amounts of collected data: numerical, experimental, remote sensing, - Section 6 discusses advances in Data Analysis, and Section 7 in Statistics, its Theory and Analysis. Section 8, on Wave- Coupled Phenomena, reflects one of the most rapidly developing areas in Metocean science, particularly important in our era of numerical modelling. It accommodates various topics of interactions between small-scale phenomena (waves) and large-scale processes in the air-sea environments: wave breaking, wave-current and wave-ice interactions, wave influences in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) and in the upper ocean, and complex wave-coupled modelling in the full combined air-sea-ice-wave system. Most essential for offshore engineering, is modelling and understanding of Extreme Events and Conditions, which are the subject of Section 9. Last, but not the least, Section 10 discusses Wind-Wave Climate which is connected to the global climate change. This connection is threaded throughout other sections of the chapter and is of utmost significance in offshore Metocean design and planning.