ASTM F1779-08(2014)

NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
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Designation: F1779 − 08 (Reapproved 2014)
Standard Practice for
Reporting Visual Observations of Oil on Water
This standard is issued under the fixed designation F1779; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision.Anumber in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope 3. Significance and Use
1.1 Thispracticecoversmethodsofreportingandrecording
3.1 This practice can be used by surveillance and tracking
visual observations of oil on water and related response staff to report visual observations. The data produced from
activities.
such observations will provide the basis for preparing maps of
the oil-slick location.
1.2 This practice applies only to visual observations of oil
on water from an airplane or helicopter. While a similar set of
3.2 This practice provides a procedure for reporting the
codes could be used for classifying oil on beaches, this subject
visual observation of oil on water in a systematic manner and
is not discussed in this practice. It does not cover the use of
in a common format.
remote-sensing equipment from aircraft, which is discussed in
3.3 This practice deals with the possibility that materials
a separate standard. This does not include observations of
other than oil might be confused with oil when using visual
dispersed oil.
observation methods.
1.3 This practice is applicable for all types of oil under a
variety of environmental and geographical situations.
4. Observational Methods
1.4 Visual observations of oil on water from the air involve
4.1 The basic information needed from a visual observation
a number of safety issues associated with the operation of
program includes the slick size and location, as well as its
airplanes or helicopters at low altitudes. These are not dealt
characteristics and shape. The location (preferably determined
with in this practice, but the observer should be aware of the
by GPS) and some aspects of the effectiveness of a response
hazards of such operations.
operation can be easily determined from an aerial platform.
Reports on the presence of wildlife and the proximity of oil to
1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as
environmentallysensitiveareasareusefulinformationthatcan
standard. No other units of measurement are included in this
be generated from overflights.
standard.
4.2 Observers of oil on water will generally use either a
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the helicopter or a small fixed-wing airplane. The planes shall be
capableofslow-speedflight(120to240km/h;60to120knots)
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- for extended periods of time and have good forward and side
visibility.Theaircraftshallhaveadequaterangeandendurance
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
consistent with the size and location of the spill.
2. Referenced Documents
4.3 Standardmapsshallbeprovidedtotheobservers,sothat
their data can be easily transferred to a single map or map set
2.1 ASTM Standards:
F2534Guide for Visually Estimating Oil Spill Thickness on for reporting and dissemination. The same maps should be
Water used by the command team and the observers.These maps can
be based on marine charts, topographic maps or special maps
produced for the spill. Useful scales vary from 1:10000 to
1:50000. It is difficult to plot information to the required
This practice is under the jurisdiction ofASTM Committee F20 on Hazardous
accuracy using maps of a larger scale.
Substances and Oil Spill Responseand is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee
F20.16 on Surveillance and Tracking.
4.4 The flight path shall be shown on all maps. The actual
Current edition approved March 1, 2014. Published March 2014. Originally
flight path should be recorded on GPS and can be transferred
approved in 1997. Last previous edition approved in 2008 as F1779–08. DOI:
10.1520/F1779-08R14.
to the map(s) later. An initial proposed flight path should be
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
prepared prior to the flight. During the flight, deviations from
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
this plan may be necessary in order to observe the total area of
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
the ASTM website. the slick.
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F1779 − 08 (2014)
4.5 Typical flight altitudes range from 100 to 1000 m 5.8.7 Ocean features—O (such as convergences).
depending on the type of the spill and on the cloud ceiling at 5.8.8 EXtra features such as ice, debris—X.
flight time. There are flight safety considerations associated
5.9 Each element shall be separated by a forward slash (/)
with low-altitude flying.
exceptforotherpropertieswhichareincludedasagroup.Thus
4.6 The best angle to observe an oil slick is directly above a slick could be described as B/50/W/M. This can be decoded
it looking straight down.This is known as a nadir observation. asaslickcontainingBlackoilwitha50%coverage.Theoilis
The flight path should be adjusted, wherever possible, to in Windrows and a Mechanical response operation is being
provide observers with a nadir view of the slick. For most undertaken.
fixed-wing aircraft, it is not possible to observe directly
6. Voice Communications
downwards, and therefore the flight path should be chosen to
allow for observation of the spill at as near the vertical as
6.1 Need for Voice Communications—Since timeliness is
possible.
very important, rapid communication of observations is essen-
tial. There are many situations that require the use of voice
5. Methods of Reporting
communications,eitherbyradioortelephonetodescribeanoil
5.1 ReportingNeeds—There are a number of characteristics slick. In this case, sufficient information shall be communi-
of the slick that shall be reported in order to provide the user
cated in order to allow the recipient to produce a map of the
of visual observations with the appropriate amount of infor- observations.
mation.Thefollowingcharacteristicsshallbereportedforeach
6.2 Location of Observation—This location shall be re-
slick that is observed during a reconnaissance flight. These
portedinlatitudeandlongitudeoftheapparentcenteroftheoil
observations are a snap-shot in time. Both the location and
slick being observed. If the leading edge of the slick can be
characteristics of an oil slick change rapidly. In order to be
located, its position should be reported. This data can be
useful for responders, the information should be available a
determined using the aircraft navigation instruments or using a
short time after it is obtained (typically less than 3 h).
portable GPS receiver. It shall be reported in degrees, minutes,
5.2 ColorofSlick—Thisshallbereportedasacolorcode,as and seconds or in degrees, minutes with two decimal points. If
follows:
it is not possible to obtain the latitude and longitude of the
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