. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. load of sediment, nutrients and larvae into coastal ecosystems. Such waves, Pietrafesa says, might also carry oil. Using sophisticated wave and current-monitoring gear, Pietrafesa has accumulated a collection of data that he says will help scientists predict the path of an oil spill, should one oc- cur. Such information is vital, since the high-energy waves, winds and currents off North Carolina would pose unique problems during a spill. "Our coastline is clearly more energetic than anyplace else on e
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. load of sediment, nutrients and larvae into coastal ecosystems. Such waves, Pietrafesa says, might also carry oil. Using sophisticated wave and current-monitoring gear, Pietrafesa has accumulated a collection of data that he says will help scientists predict the path of an oil spill, should one oc- cur. Such information is vital, since the high-energy waves, winds and currents off North Carolina would pose unique problems during a spill. "Our coastline is clearly more energetic than anyplace else on either the Atlantic or Pacific coasts," Pietrafesa says. And though the oil companies say their engineers can design drilling rigs to withstand such forces, they are tak- ing a hard look at the high currents and deep waters. Wally Worthington, offshore district drilling engineer for Arco Oil and Gas Company, a division of Atlantic Richfield, says that his company's leases are in water 1500 to 2000 ft. deep. When Arco begins its test-drilling, perhaps sometime in 1984, it will use drill ships and the cost will run about $100,000 a day. "We have drilled in waters fifty- eight hundred feet deep in the Mediterranean," Worthington says, "The technology isn't new; it's just unproven, particularly in a high- current area. We have drilled in high currents but not in deep water with high currents. That's why we check, double-check and triple-check our ; To help protect themselves from liability in the event of an oil spill, companies have allied to hire a single contractor to look after their oil-spill cleanup operations in the Atlantic. The contractor, Haliburton Services, says it will set up shop in Morehead City sometime before drilling begins, and will keep gear, such as floating oil- containment booms, ready to go. The firm estimates that it could have a team on the site of a spill two hours af- ter it occurs. But as is the case with drilling rigs,
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