Application of GIS Technology to Support Remediation of Petroleum Contaminated Soils on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Author: John A. Lindsay
Organization: NOAA, NOS

7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
USA

Phone: 206-526-4560
Fax: 206-526-6865
John.Lindsay@noaa.gov

Two hundred years of sealing operations left debris and contamination at more than 40 sites on the Bering Sea Islands of St. George and St. Paul, which serve as rookeries for 80 percent of the world's northern fur seal population.

GIS technology serves to inventory and characterize site features including boundaries, extent of contaminants, historic sampling locations, results, and sensitive species habitat locations. Navigation charts and orthorectified aerial images will serve as basemaps. Contaminant interpolation and mass/volume calculations direct the remedial activities.

GIS training is being provided to the Pribilof people to support environmental stewardship, land management, and economic development.

Keywords: Remediation, Restoration, Contaminated Soils, Tribal, Aleut, GIS, GPS, Aerial Orthophotography, Interpolation, Training, Fur Seals, Pribilof Islands, and Bering Sea