ripple: Oil Spill Modeling towards the Close of the 20th Century: Overview of the State of the Art

Sunday, 27 February 2011

Oil Spill Modeling towards the Close of the 20th Century: Overview of the State of the Art

Mark Reed ^,^,^a, Øistein Johansen^a, Per Johan Brandvik^a, Per Daling^a, Alun Lewis^b, Robert Fiocco^b, Don Mackay^c and Richard Prentki^d

^a SINTEF Applied Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, 7034, Trondheim, Norway

^b Alun Lewis–Oil Spill Consultancy, 121 Laleham Road, Staines, Middx, TW18 2 EG, UK

^c R.J. Fiocco Associates, 77 Pine Grove Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901, USA

^d Environmental Modeling Centre, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario KI9J0 7B8, Canada

^e Minerals Management Service, Alaska Region, Anchorage, USA

Available online 2 June 2000.

Abstract

The state-of-the-art in oil spill modeling is summarized, focusing primarily on the years from 1990 to the present. All models seek to describe the key physical and chemical processes that transport and weather the oil on and in the sea. Current insights into the mechanisms of these processes and the availability of algorithms for describing and predicting process rates are discussed. Advances are noted in the areas of advection, spreading, evaporation, dispersion, emulsification, and interactions with ice and shorelines. Knowledge of the relationship between oil properties, and oil weathering and fate, and the development of models for the evaluation of oil spill response strategies are summarized. Specific models are used as examples where appropriate. Future directions in these and other areas are indicated

Author Keywords: oil spill models; numerical models; review; simulation; oil weathering