The IOSC is...

...the preeminent gathering of oil spill response experts from around the world!

The International Oil Spill Conference contributes to and enables a culture of preparedness within the oil spill response community, the broader field of incident management, and society as a whole.

It provides a forum for professionals from the international community, the private sector, government, and non-governmental organizations to highlight and discuss innovations and best practices across the spectrum of prevention, preparedness, response and restoration.

IOSC 2011 Paper and Poster Submission Guidelines

Deadline for Abstracts Extended to August 15, 2010

The abstract submission deadline for IOSC 2011 has been extended until Sunday August 15, 2010. This extension was implemented to accommodate prospective authors and subject matter related to the ongoing response to the catastrophic accident aboard the Mobile Offshore Oil Unit Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico.

Authors chosen to present a paper or poster will be notified of their selection in September 2010. Specific guidelines for poster or paper/platform presentation development will accompany the acceptance notices and will be available on this website. As draft papers and posters are developed, they will be peer-reviewed and checked for technical accuracy and format following a firm submission schedule determined by the IOSC.

• To submit a paper, to our Submissions Page.

General Information

• Downloadable IOSC 2011 Call for Papers and Posters (219KB PDF file) - updated 1 June 2010

As an internationally recognized scientific and technical forum, the IOSC is seeking thematically related papers and posters. Selected authors will present their respective papers or posters during platform or interactive discussions during the conference. Poster authors will have their abstracts and paper authors will have their full papers with abstracts published in the IOSC 2011 Proceedings.

Prospective authors can choose either to pursue a paper or a poster for IOSC 2011. The first step for prospective poster or paper authors is to submit an abstract for consideration (see below for more details). Authors whose abstracts are selected by the IOSC's review panels will be invited to prepare a technical paper with a 15-minute platform presentation, or a static poster with an interactive discussion depending on the presentation medium that the author requested.Papers with Platform Presentations

Papers with Platform Presentations

Traditionally, the IOSC solicits a broad range of technical and policy papers under four general subjects: Preparedness, Prevention, Response, and Restoration. Depending on historical events, technological innovations, or regulatory changes, different sub-topics under these four subjects fluctuate in interest between successive IOSCs. For IOSC 2011, the Executive and Program Committees have opted for a different approach. The Committees have developed a specific list of categories that are considered timely and appealing for papers and platform presentations in 2011. Although abstracts submitted for any IOSC themed topic will be considered, a submission has a higher probability for acceptance if it relates to any of the IOSC 2011 Focus Categories listed below. These categories are presented in no particular order.

1. Arctic and Antarctic Spill Prevention and Response
2. Freshwater Spill Prevention and Response
3. Terrestrial Spill Prevention and Response
4. Underwater Response for Benthic Spills or Sunken Wrecks
5. Dispersants
6. Biofuels
7. Exercises and Drills
8. Cutting-edge / Best Available Technologies
9. Oil Skimmer Encounter Rates
10. Economics of an Oil Spill – Social, Commercial, and Regulatory Impacts
11. Offshore Facility and Drilling Issues
12. Developing the Next Generation of Oil Spill Responders
13. Spill Planning and Preparedness
14. International Spill Planning and Cooperation
15. Use of Volunteers During an Oil Spill
16. Future Spill Trends and Factors
17. Extreme Weather / Disaster Preparedness, Prevention, and Response
18. Natural Resource Damages / Restoration
19. Working with Indigenous Populations
20. Spill Mapping and Modeling
21. Biodegradation
22. Caribbean and Latin America Preparedness, Prevention, and Response
23. Long-term Ecological Evaluations and Assessments of Spill-Impacted Areas
24. Evolution and Use of the Tiered Response Philosophy
25. Spill of Opportunity Experimentation
26. Synchronizing Lab and Field Research Processes / Results
27. Safety
28. Developing and Using Lessons Learned from Responses and Exercises
29. Transboundary Movement of Oil Spill Response Equipment and Personnel
30. Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) and Response Methods
31. Waste Management Plans and Issues
32. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Model Principles, Response, and Restoration
33. Recent Case Studies

Posters

Posters allow participants to showcase their work and obtain feedback on ongoing or innovative research or policy development. Posters also provide a forum for ideas that are shorter than a conference paper, of interest to only a few people, or which are best communicated graphically. This particular medium enhances the IOSC by expanding the scope of topics shared and ideas debated. Consequently, abstracts submitted for poster consideration can cover any IOSC related theme and do not necessarily have to fit the 2011 Focus Categories desired for paper / platform presentations. Authors of accepted poster abstracts will have an opportunity to present their poster to interested attendees. At least one of the poster authors is required to register at the conference. Well-crafted posters will tell the story effectively by themselves, but poster authors are expected to be available to describe and discuss their poster work when scheduled during the conference.

Abstract Submissions

Abstracts for proposed papers or posters shall be submitted electronically using an online submission system. This website provides authors with instructions and the means for posting an abstract. Authors must designate that the abstract submission is for a paper or poster - not both. When an abstract is submitted for consideration, it must be categorized by three data fields. Authors will use the first data field pull-down menu to identify what Focus Category best supports the abstract. If the submission does not relate to any of the Focus Categories, it should be classified as "Other".

Abstracts will be assigned to appropriate review committees based on their Focus Category classifications. Authors will use the pull-down menu of the second data field to assign one of the four general subjects for the abstract: Prevention, Preparedness, Response, or Restoration. The third data field requires the author to provide key words that can be searched to find the abstract (e.g., response - mechanical cleanup - backhoes). Key words will be particularly important for those abstracts categorized as "Other".

With the exception of a small number of speakers invited by the IOSC to submit "cornerstone" papers on specific topics, abstracts submitted by prospective authors will be evaluated by independent panels through anonymous peer-review, where the identities of the authors are withheld from the reviewers. Prospective authors are requested to make a good faith effort to preserve their anonymity as they draft their abstracts.

Abstracts must be in English and may not exceed 350 words. They will be judged on relevance, uniqueness/ originality, technical content, and clarity. Several online references exist for writing clear and persuasive abstracts. One recommended resource is a short 1997 article by Prof. Philip Koopman from Carnegie Mellon University entitled "How to Write an Abstract" (http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html).

Questions?

For questions on the submission process please e-mail to: IOSCstaff@uscg.mil