ERMA^®, an interactive online mapping tool developed by UNH and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has been expanded to include the Arctic to help address numerous challenges posed by increasing ship traffic and proposed energy development.  NOAA and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) called the Environmental Response Management Application, known as ERMA®, an important step forward for the Arctic region. 

Arctic ERMA is a product of a partnership among NOAA, BSEE, Oil Spill Recovery Institute and the University of New Hampshire. ERMA is currently available for eight geographic regions—Gulf of Mexico, New England, Atlantic, Caribbean, Southwest, Pacific Islands, Pacific Northwest, and Arctic.

ERMA^® brings together all of the available information needed for an effective emergency response in the Arctic. In an emergency situation, ERMA^® is equipped with near real-time oceanographic observations and weather data from NOAA, and critical environmental, commercial, and industrial data information from BSEE, and numerous other federal and state response agencies. Responders can further customize the tool with environmental, logistical, and operational data such as fishery closure areas, resources at risk maps, and mariner notices, depending on the need.

ERMA^® was the federal interactive online mapping tool used by emergency responders during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. ERMA^® frequently is used as a planning and management tool in spill drills and trainings. Most recently, Arctic ERMA was used by NOAA, BSEE, and the U.S. Coast Guard during a Chukchi Sea oil spill drill.

Full article                        ERMA^® at UNH:  From the Coastal Response Research Center  and  Research Computing and Instrumentation