Oil Spill Dispersion Forecasting Models

Oil spill models are used worldwide to simulate the evolution of an oil slick that occurs after an accidental ship collision or during oil extraction or other oil tanker activities. The simulation of the transport and fate of an oil slick in the sea, by evaluating the physicochemical processes that take place between oil phase and the water column, is the base for the recognition and assessment of its environmental effects. Numerous oil spill dispersion models exist in the bibliography. The contribution of this chapter is the introduction of a 3D oil slick simulation model developed by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, which has been recurrently used in different updated forms and applied in operational mode, since 1991 when it was originally created. The model has been tested in various hypothetical scenarios in North Aegean Sea, Greece, and responded with great success. Findings of the present study highlight the existing experience on the subject and denote the applicability of such models in either tracing the source of a spill or in predicting its path and spread, thus proving their value in real-time crisis management

Multi-Criteria Analysis of Different Approaches to Protect the Marine and Coastal Environment from Oil Spills

Marine pollution has many different sources. This study focuses on oil spills that may occur after a ship collision or during oil extraction and other oil tanker activities. The most critical oil spill accidents are presented, followed by the regulatory framework on maritime oil spill management. Among the measures taken towards the protection of the marine and coastal environment from oil pollution are floating booms and barriers, oil collecting materials and vessels, absorbent materials, chemical dispersants, other chemicals, physical degradation, biodegradation, on-site oil burning. These measures may assist coastal facilities and local authorities in their strategic development of oil spill mitigation planning and response towards coastal and marine protection from oil spills. In the present paper, the aim is to rank the approaches of dealing with the oil spill by means of a multicriteria method. The theoretical background of the selected multicriteria method, called PROMETHEE, is briefly presented; necessary to understand the ranking of the treatment approaches as well as the subsequent findings of the possible criteria for the analysis. Almost all of the scenarios evaluated rank floating booms and barriers as the most suitable methods to deal with oil spill containment, followed by oil collecting materials and vessels