Call for abstracts

International Oil Spill Science Conference (IOSSC) 2026 is now accepting abstracts for its convening in Montreal, Canada on October 13-16, 2026. 

(1) Abstract submissions do not require an accompanying manuscript   

(2) To facilitate scientific and technical exchange/knowledge transfer; consideration will also be given to the presentation of recently published studies.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Contingency planning, preparation, and prevention

  • Regional response planning
  • Risk assessments
    • Pre- and post-incident spill/baseline monitoring
    • Legacy infrastructure decommissioning/removal
  • Development and application of spill response decision tools
    • Implementation of Net Environmental Benefit Analysis / Spill Impact Mitigation Assessment
  • Spill science and response training

   

• Oil fate and transport 

  • The physics of oil
    • Weathering processes (e.g., photooxidation, emulsification, etc.)
    • Dispersion and particle (e.g., sediments, marine snow, micro-plastics, etc.) interactions
  • Influence of environmental factors and impact on transport, fate and effects

   

• Mitigation 

  • Shoreline spills
  • Marine spills
    • Subsurface and deep-water releases
    • Submerged and sunken oil
  • Inland Spills in freshwater systems (lakes, rivers)
  • Arctic spills

   

• Advances in response technologies and countermeasures 

  • Oil containment and recovery 
    • Technological advances in booms, skimmers, sorbents, etc.
    • Oily wastewater treatment (e.g., decanting) and management
    • Oil spill waste management and disposal 
  • Spill treating agents (e.g., dispersants, surface-washing agents) 
  • In-situ burning 
  • Oil translocation 
  • Natural attenuation and bioremediation

   

• Residual, existing and emerging Challenges  

  • Response to unconventional products (e.g., dilbit, Low Sulphur Fuel Oils, bio-fuels)
  • Improvements in Industrial Control System (ICS) technologies  
  • Improvements in crisis management and emergency response command and control 
  • Advances in data management, software, integrated mapping
  • The application of AI in oil spill science and response.   

   

• Spill identification, detection/surveillance, visualization and monitoring 

  • Oil spill environmental forensics 
  • Development and application of oil sensors
  • Development and application of remote sensing platforms (e.g., satellites, fixed-wing aircraft, drones, AUVs, ASVs, etc.)
  • Integration of systems and monitoring protocols

   

• Oil spill modeling 

  • Oil fate and behaviour (e.g., weathering processes such as biodegradation, oil droplet formation and interactions, etc.) 
  • Oil slick/plume formation and transport 
  • Biological impacts and recovery 
  • Spill response modelling

   

• Consequences of oil spills and clean-up operations 

  • Ecotoxicological effects of spilled/residual oil and biotic and abiotic oil degradation products (exposure risk, toxicity, short and long-term community/population/ecosystem level impacts) 
  • Biological effects of spill response countermeasures 
  • Public health, socioeconomic and ecosystem service impacts

   

• Restoration and recovery  

  • Natural resource damage assessments  
  • Monitoring restoration strategy success and site recovery  
  • Database management, data analysis, modelling 

   

• Spill response to hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) and other contaminants of concern    

  • Risk and impact assessment of HNS and other emerging contaminants of concern to emergency responders (i.e., alternative fuels such as LNG, LPG, methanol, ammonia, biofuels, persistent organic compounds, vegetable oils, plastics, CO₂, etc.)   
  • Development of sensors and application of monitoring systems
  • Response technologies and strategies
  • Development of policies/regulations, science and technological advances to improve preparedness and response capability 

   

• Advancing response through bridging Indigenous and western knowledges   

  • Indigenous-led research 
  • Collaborative research

   

• Case studies and lessons learned     

  • Reports from spills of opportunity and field trials 
  • Analysis of historical spills/studies to understand long-term effects and recovery 

   

• Communication, engagement, and workforce development      
  • Public engagement activities
  • Rights holder / Indigenous (treaty partner) collaboration/ engagement activities
  • Technology/knowledge transfer between the science and spill response community  
  • Improving future research partnerships, collaborations and networks 
  • Oil spill response education and training
  • Improvements in workforce development and retention 
  • Inform policy makers and regulators of advances in spill science and response

The deadline to submit an abstract is March 31, 2026.

Abstracts should not exceed 300 words. All co-author names and affiliations should be included with the abstract submission, and the presenting author must be clearly identified. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed and the decisions on acceptance will be sent to authors by the end of April 2026.

Publication of papers presented at IOSSC 2026 in peer-reviewed journals is encouraged but not mandatory. 

(1) A number of journals have confirmed their interest to publish studies presented at the conference. Authors may independently submit their conference papers directly to the supporting journals before or after the conference.

(2) Negotiations are underway for the publication of special journal issues (led by guest editors) linked to studies presented at IOSSC 2026.

(3) Guidelines for manuscript submissions and the criteria for acceptance following peer-review are journal specific.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@iossc2026.org.