Realize that we as human beings have been put on this earth for only a short time and that we must use this time to gain wisdom, knowledge, respect and the understanding for all human beings since we are all relatives.

Cree Proverb

Beaufort Sea Project Reprints

In the 1970s, the energy (oil) industry and government worked together to do fundamental and important research regarding the impact of off-shore oil exploitation in the Arctic, with much work done on-site in the Beaufort Sea area. To our knowledge, little related work has been done since this ground-breaking work, and yet the summaries and research papers seem to dropped out of the current discussion regarding the impacts of off-shore oil drilling in the Arctic. Further, it seems that the significant questions raised by this research have not been answered in the intervening 30+ years, but largely glossed over.

We are pleased to have received permission from the Government of Canada to reprint these books and bring them back for consideration in the context of renewed interest in Canada and other circumpolar countries in off-shore drilling in the Arctic.

In addition to these scans (PDF format) of the books, we would like to produce a small number of physical copies of the books to be provided to specific stakeholders for their reference. We are seeking assistance with funding that activity. If you are prepared to help, please contact us.

Five books were produced as summaries of the work done.

Birds and Marine Mammals, 1977, 124 pages

Crude Oil in Cold Water, undated, 119 pages

Fishes, Invertebrates and Marine Plants, 1985, 167 pages

Oil, Ice and Climate Change, undated, 103 pages

Oil Spill Countermeasures, 1977, 67 pages

All the above reproduced with the permission of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2010.

The summaries drew upon over 40 technical papers that were written based on the research done. If we can obtain scanned copies of those papers, we will be pleased to post them here. If we obtain hardcopy versions, we will scan them and post them here. Any assistance in receiving this material will be greatly appreciated.

Since we reprinted the Beaufort Sea Reports and technical papers and putting them on-line for public access, we are pleased to see others have used the material.

The Arctic Is Not A Casino: The Beaufort Sea Project and the Enduring Hazards of Arctic Offshore Drilling by Andrew Nikiforuk (for Greenpeace Canada)

The BIOS (Baffin Island Oil Spill) project is not the same as the Beaufort Sea Project. So far (2024), the Government of Canada has not (completely) purged this information content from digital and hardcopy repositories, so you can still access the BIOS reports at this link and elsewhere.
MICROBIOLOGY 2. Biodegradation of Oil

This paper was prepared for the National Energy Board's 2011 Arctic Roundtable, State of Knowledge Review of Fate and Effect of Oil in the Arctic Marine Environment, at which RESTCo was an intervener, and RESTCo also hosted a parallel forum in Ottawa with an audio feed from Inuvik for the live sessions there, and independent presentations during the gaps in the Inuvik scedule.