David Dickins

OrganizationEmailPhoneAddressLa Jolla , California 92037United StatesBioMr. David F. Dickins has over 40 years of project management experience focusing on environmental issues associated with offshore oil exploration and development, and marine transportation in Arctic waters. His company, DF Dickins Associates, founded in Canada's Northwest Territories in 1978, provides engineering research services for government and industry clients in the United States, Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, and Europe. Mr. Dickins has an established worldwide reputation, and is regarded within the scientific and engineering community as an expert on Arctic sea ice and marine environments, oil spills in ice, remote sensing of ice, Arctic shipping route evaluations, and environmental impacts. He has worked on research issues related to cold water oil spill response and recovery for most of his career, including nine large-scale experimental field spills in ice and cold water covering the period from 1974 to 2009.

Over the past ten years, he led a series of joint projects funded by industry and the US Minerals Management Service to test and develop new radar systems for oil in ice detection. In 2004 his firm was contracted to develop a set of Arctic oil spill research priorities for the US Arctic Research Commission. He acted as Project Manager for remote sensing as part of the SINTEF Oil in Ice Joint Industry Project (JIP) in Norway from 2007 to 2010, and currently chairs the Field Research Technical Working group as part of the ongoing Arctic Response Technology JIP. From 2012 to 2014, he served as a member of the NRC subcommittee on Arctic oil spill response. He recently co-authored a guide to oil spill response in snow and ice conditions for the International Maritime Organization and Arctic Council.

Interests

Sea Ice

Science Specialties

oil spills in ice, sea ice, arctic shipping routes, remote sensing, air cushion vehicles

Current Research

Recently completed research includes:- co-author and committee member "Responding to Oil Spills in the US Arctic Marine Environment, National Research Council, 2014; co-author "Guide to Oil Spill Response in Snow and Ice Conditions in the Arctic, for Arctic Council - Emergency Prevention Preparedness and Response, 2015; topic paper author and contributor to "Arctic Potential - realizing the promise of US Arctic Oil and Gas Resources, National Petroleum Council 2015.