Abstract
Over the latest decades, oil marine pollution has posed a vital threat for global ocean health, since spillages of any scale are related to environmental, social and financial impacts. The worldwide increase in oil and gas demand, and the parallel rise in oil and gas production, exploiting particularly coastal and offshore marine deposits, have significantly increased the risk of accidental oil release to the sea. In the present study, an operational oil spill model was applied to test the oil dispersive properties and to reveal the relative magnitude of weathering processes, after an accidental oil spill release along the main tanker transportation route in the North Aegean Sea. Numerical simulations were implemented using the OpenOil transport and fate numerical model, a subclass of the OpenDrift open-source trajectory framework. This model integrates algorithms with several physical processes, such as oil entrainment, vertical mixing, oil resurfacing and oil emulsification. The oil dispersion model was coupled to real-time met-ocean forecasts received from NOAA-GFS and CMEMS. Present simulation results have focused on the impact of turbulent kinetic energy, induced by the background flow field, on the horizontal spreading of particles, as well as on the evolution of oil mass balance and oil mass properties.
Highlights
The event was related to a heavy storm and unusually high waves, but authorities were unable to identify the source of pollution [7]
The present study focuses on a hypothetical scenario of an accidental oil spill release along the main tanker transportation route in the North Aegean Sea, simulating the transport and weathering processes of an oil spill, coupled with real-time met-ocean forecasts
Throughout the simulation, the trajectories of the particles introduced to the sea surface were closely monitored, and the relative impact of each physical and weathering process was analyzed
Summary
Oil is a fundamental element of modern life, due to the rapid growth of industry and human demand for energy. Operational oil spill numerical models constitute the most essential part in such a response and decision-making system, attempting to forecast the trajectory and the weathering rate of an oil slick These are mostly particle tracking models, following the Lagrangian approach, in which oil particles are released from an initial position at sea and are transported following individual paths, based on the prevailing winds and currents. Oil spill contingency planning should be directly linked to oil toxicity, ecosystem habitat importance, biodiversity indices, economic sectors affected, resources and facilities availability, response/cleanup operational window, and regulatory constraints throughout the time trajectories of oil volume and slick area For this purpose, the present study focuses on a hypothetical scenario of an accidental oil spill release along the main tanker transportation route in the North Aegean Sea, simulating the transport and weathering processes of an oil spill, coupled with real-time met-ocean forecasts.
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