Services
Scientific Support of Oil Spill Response
Leadership for shoreline response operations encompassing shoreline assessment (SCAT), cleanup, inspections, and damage assessment.
Natural resources damage assessment
Unique combination of technical expertise, from pre-planning through restoration, supports critical operational decisions in the context of NRDA and restoration concerns.
Coral Grounding Assessment and Restoration
Support for coral reef damages from ship casualties, anchor damage, oil and chemical spills and wreck removal alternatives among others.
PREVENTION & PLANNING
Spill response, prevention and contingency planning including national planning initiatives (typically through IMO and/or UN programs), integrated response plans, fleet plans, spill and operations manuals, and practical guidelines for response personnel.
Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT)
Polaris scientists helped develop the SCAT process in the 1980s and have performed SCAT leadership and management functions for many significant spill events.
Technical Training
Wide range of training courses that cover a variety of oil spill planning and response topics.
Aerial Video Surveys and Mapping
POLARIS scientists continue to pioneer the use of aerial video surveys for shore-zone mapping, coastal inventories, and oil spill countermeasures planning.
Restoration
Technical representation for responsible parties on restoration projects including: trustee liaison, assessment of alternative restoration/ compensation, project design/coordination, and monitoring.
About Polaris
POLARIS APPLIED SCIENCES, Inc. (POLARIS) was created in 1998 from the merger of three highly successful companies with a broad range of capabilities in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial oil and chemical spill response.
POLARIS’ scientific support staff for oil spill response includes internationally recognized leaders in shoreline treatment operations, shoreline geomorphology, pre-spill planning, technical training of spill responders, and environmental assessment.
Our scientists offer a combined total of over 100 years of response experience from more than 200 spills and groundings. POLARIS has provided clients worldwide with spill planning, spill and grounding response, scientific support, shoreline cleanup assessment technique (SCAT) training and implementation, natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) and environmental restoration services.
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Rapid response, worldwide coverage
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Decades of experience with NRDA projects
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World class plans for marine, coastal and inland operations
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Highly skilled and experienced instructors, proven materials
OUR TEAM
Click here for full bios
Greg E. Challenger, M.S.
Dr. Elliott Taylor
Andrew W. Graham, M.S.
Teresa L. Allard
Jose M. Rios, M.S.
Travis M. Scott, M.S.
Dr. Stephan Gmur
Colin McWilliams, M.S.
Alison Craig, M.S., M.P.A.,
Gary S. Mauseth, M.S.
Contact Us for More Information
Latest news
Clean Waterways (4-5 April 2018)
Elliott Taylor co-chaired the session on “Non-Floating Oil: Response Tools for Assessment, Tracking, Containment and Recovery” during the 2-day conference held in St. Louis, Missouri. He and Travis Scott also co-authored the presentation entitled “River SCAT – Recent Lessons Learned” presented by Dr. Ed Owens of OCC. Colin McWilliams presented “Industry Contingency Planning on High Read more about Clean Waterways (4-5 April 2018)[…]
Coastal Spill Response Training for Ditidaht (19 – 20 April 2018)
Dr. Elliott Taylor and José Ríos delivered a two-day course for the Ditidaht First Nation at their community on the shores of Lake Nitinat, BC. The course focused on the basics of oil spill behavior and operational response, both in the nearshore and along the shoreline. Discussions centered on the potential roles as first responders Read more about Coastal Spill Response Training for Ditidaht (19 – 20 April 2018)[…]
Florida Power and Light – Training and Spill Exercise (10-11 April 2018)
Greg Challenger and Elliott Taylor provided a half-day overview training session for FPL personnel leading up to their 2018 spill exercise in Juno Beach, Florida. During the exercise, Dr. Taylor provided support to the SCAT Group, Environmental Unit, and Planning Section
Interspill 2018 (13 – 15 March 2018)
Dr. Taylor, Mr. Challenger, and Mr Graham attended and presented papers at the 2018 Interspill Conference in London. Presentations encompassed “Challenges in the Implementation of the OPRC Convention” (Taylor), “Environmental Considerations in Wreck Removal” (Challenger), and “Polaris Integrated SCAT Management Application (PRISM)” Graham. http://www.interspillevent.com/Conference/
Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) Training for BCMoE (5 – 7 March 2018)
Dr. Elliott Taylor and Dr. Stephan Gmur led a 3-day SCAT course in Victoria BC for staff primarily of the BC Ministry of Environment and also including Canadian Coast Guard. The course encompassed classroom and field training under very favorable weather conditions.