Over the period 2000-2022, Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, Aarhus University (DCE), Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR), and Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) have published seven Environmental Oil Spill Sensitivity Atlases (see references below). Together, they cover all coastal and offshore areas within the Greenland EEZ except for areas north of latitudes 77 and 81.5 N on the west and east coast, respectively. The main purpose of the atlases is to provide oil spill response planners and responders with tools to identify resources at risk, establish protection priorities and identify appropriate response and clean-up strategies in case of a marine oil spill. The work has been financed by the Environment Agency for the Mineral Resources Activities (EAMRA), Greenland Government (and its predecessors).

This particular feature class contains the oil spill sensitivity ranking of Greenland’s offshore areas during winter (January-March), compiled from all seven atlases. The oil spill sensitivity ranks are based on the occurrence of biological resources, human use and sea ice conditions. The feature class contains the following fields:

OS_NO: Unique identifier of the offshore area. Use this id to find further information on the offshore area and its sensitive resource occurrences in the relevant atlas (see the field GoToAtlas).

SensitivityRanking: The relative oil spill sensitivity ranking of the offshore area during winter (January-March), given in the classes Low, Moderate, High or Extreme.

GoToAtlas: The URL of the Environmental Oil Spill Sensitivity Atlas from which the offshore area is derived.

The original atlases contain much more information on the oil spill sensitivity of the offshore areas and the resources that contribute to their sensitivity. Please consult:

Clausen, D.S., Boertmann, D, Johansen, K.L., Potter, S., Myrup, M., Zinglersen, K.B & Mosbech, A. 2022. Environmental Oil Spill Sensitivity Atlas for Northeast Greenland (71-81.5 N). Scientific Report from DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy No. 495. http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR495.pdf

Clausen, D., Johansen, K.L., Mosbech, A., Boertmann, D. & Wegeberg, S. 2012. Environmental Oil Spill Sensitivity Atlas for the West Greenland (68°-72° N) Coastal Zone, 2nd revised edition. Scientific Report from DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy No. 44. http://www.dmu.dk/Pub/SR44.pdf

Clausen, D.S., Mosbech, A., Boertmann, D., Johansen, K.L., Nymand, J., Potter, S. & Myrup, M. 2016. Environmental oil spill sensitivity atlas for the Northwest Greenland (75°-77° N) coastal zone. Scientific Report from DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy No. 196. http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR196.pdf

Johansen, K.L., Boertmann, D., Clausen, D.S., Kyhn, L., Potter, S., Myrup, M., Zinglersen, K.B. & Mosbech, A. 2022. Environmental Oil Spill Sensitivity Atlas for Southeast Greenland (56-71N). Scientific Report from DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy No. 492. http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR492.pdf

Mosbech, A., Anthonsen, K. L., Blyth, A., Boertmann, D., Buch, E., Cake, D., Grøndahl, L., Hansen, K.Q., Kapel, H., Nielsen, S., Nielsen, N., Platen, F. V., Potter, S. & Rasch, M. 2000. Environmental Oil Spill Sensitivity Atlas for the West Greenland Coastal Zone. The Danish Energy Agency, Ministry of Environment and Energy. https://ecos.au.dk/fileadmin/bioscience/Documents/Groenland_Olie/WestGrenlandSensitivityAtlas_62-68_Chapter1-8.pdf

https://ecos.au.dk/fileadmin/bioscience/Documents/Groenland_Olie/WestGrenlandSensitivityAtlas_62-68_Chapter9-16.pdf

Mosbech, A., Boertmann, D., Olsen, B. Ø., Olsvig, S., von Platen, F., Buch, E., Hansen, K.Q., Rasch, M., Nielsen, N., Møller, H. S., Potter, S., Andreasen, C., Berglund, J. & Myrup, M. 2004: Environmental Oil Spill Sensitivity Atlas for the South Greenland Coastal Zone. NERI Technical Report no. 493. https://www2.dmu.dk/1_viden/2_Miljoe-tilstand/3_natur/sensitivity_mapping/58_62/atlas_58_62.pdf

Stjernholm, M., Boertmann, D., Mosbech, A., Nymand, J., Merkel, F., Myrup, M., Siegstad, H. & Potter, S. 2011. Environmental Oil Spill Sensitivity Atlas for the Northern West Greenland (72°-75° N) Coastal Zone. National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University, Denmark. 210 pp. – NERI Technical Report no. 828. http://www.dmu.dk/Pub/FR828.pdf