Abstract
Facing great obstacles to eradicate environmental hazards generated by oil spills, it is crucial to establish actions against such accidents. In this context, the focus of this study is to analyze oil spills at the harbor region of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul. The Easy Coupling Oil System (ECOS) model was used to model the oil spills under different environmental conditions simulated by the hydrodynamic model Telemac-3D, with the intention to identify the main forces controlling the movement of the oil slicks over a year of averaged hydrodynamic conditions from 2003 to 2015. The computational domain comprises the Patos Lagoon, the harbor area of Rio Grande and the Southern Brazilian Shelf. For the oil spill simulations, eight distinct events were defined considering both flood and ebb conditions in the estuarine region of the Patos Lagoon. The oil spill simulations showed that, in ebb conditions, the oil slick movement is mainly ruled by the currents, moving towards the outflow. After a few hours, the wind action makes the slick move towards the margins of the waterway. In flood conditions, on the other hand, the oil slick drifts to the interior of the estuary, following the dominant currents and the local winds.
Highlights
The crescent utilization of the coastal areas for the most distinct economic purposes promotes the occurrence of hydrocarbons spills and associated environmental impact [1]
The results differ from previous hindcast works in the Patos Lagoon Estuary, such as [26,27,28,29] works, based on realistic scenarios
The flood conditions are associated with the south winds, which promotes secondary effects, resulting in flux towards the north region of the estuary
Summary
The crescent utilization of the coastal areas for the most distinct economic purposes promotes the occurrence of hydrocarbons spills and associated environmental impact [1]. These spill events are related with the extraction, transport and storage of the oil in the sea and coastal regions [2]. The petroleum and derivatives are formed by hydrocarbons composed of aliphatic and aromatic substances with the presence of dissolved metals. Their properties and compositions are variable, according to the origin (natural or anthropic) and refinement process [3]. Marine tanker transportation represents 23.5% of the total amount of oil spilled in seas, and only approximately 10% of this amount is caused by accidents involving tankers [6]
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