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The second-largest oil pollution incident in the Eastern Mediterranean Levantine basin, following the oil pollution crisis in Lebanon in 2006, is considered to be the oil leakage from the Syrian Baniyas power plant (summer 2021), during which 12,000 tons of oil were released. At the operational phase, the everyday predictions of oil drift were provided using the MEDSLIK and MEDSLIK-II models in the framework of an agreement between the Mediterranean Operational Network for Global Ocean Observing System (MONGOOS) and the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean (REMPEC). In this work, we present a novel post-operational comprehensive model-based analysis, conducting a SAR validation in two model outputs: the MEDSLIK and the OpenDrift models. Each simulation is initiated with the operationally acquired EMSA-CSN and ESA SAR images. Moreover, the high-resolution met-ocean fields (CYCOFOS, SKIRON) are used to force the oil drift and transformation in both models. The spill was developed under the calm-wind conditions that prevailed during the incident. We found that the boundary sea currents developed on the periphery of the Lattakia eddies (anticyclonic and cyclonic) were responsible for the fast westward spreading of the oil spill offshore in the NE Levantine, the north-south pathway bifurcation, and re-landing of oil in the extended coastal area of Lattakia. Model outputs were validated against Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images with appropriate performance metrics, used for the first time, to assess the capacity of a reliable representation of oil spill drift. The intercomparison between the two oil spill models indicated that both models produce almost similar results, while their validation against the satellite SAR observations illustrates moderate accuracy.

Pollution caused by marine oil spills can lead to persistent ecological disasters and severe social and economic damages. Numerical simulations are useful and essential tools for accurate decision making during emergencies and planning response actions. In this study, we applied the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) to determine current data, including seawater velocity, salinity, and temperature, and we obtained the fate and trajectory of spilled oil using OpenOil. Several probable oil slicks around Taiwan were simulated over time (12 months) and space (four spill locations in the marine area of each coastal city or county) using the model. The percentage risk under the effect of an oil spill is estimated. The risk zone of the coastal waters of Taiwan was identified based on the frequency of simulated oil slicks hitting the coast and sensitive resources. This information not only helps authorities guide the preparation of effective plans to minimise the impacts of oil spill incidents but could also be used to improve regulations related to shipping and vessel navigation in regional seas.

This study encompasses the analysis of oil spills occurred in the Gulf of Morrosquillo during the loading procedures of oil tankers in the Coveñas maritime Terminal, by means of numerical simulation experiments of the trajectories and weathering processes of oil spilled, which occurred under specific wind, waves, and ocean currents conditions. A three-dimensional (3D) modelling system, OpenOil, which is part of the open-source OpenDrift trajectory framework was used to simulate two contingencies occurred in July and August 2014. During each event, different volumes of Vasconia crude oil spilled on the sea surface were simulated. The resulting slicks were subject to wind drift, Stokes drift from wave forcing, and ocean currents transporting the oil spilled towards the coast. Oil weathering effects (evaporation, emulsification, and biodegradation) are included in the analysis. To calculate weathering of the oil, OpenOil interfaces with the latest version of the open source ADIOS oil library. It should be noted that meteorological and ocean conditions contribute to the oil pathways that in both periods forced the oil slick towards the central coast of the Gulf. The wind speed is an important factor contributing to the rapid evaporation rates of the oil spilled in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea; hence, allowing a gradual increase of the water fraction, which could lead to the formation of tar balls found in the affected coasts in the areas simulated by the model. The implementation of OpenOil to predict the oil fate and weathering processes in the Colombian basin prove to be a valuable tool that should be used in this maritime terminal to improve planning and preparedness in case of an oil spill. The simulations could be enhanced with higher resolution databases.

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.

Increasing exploration and exploitation activity in the Arctic Ocean has intensified maritime traffic in the Barents Sea. Due to the sparse population and insufficient oil spill response infrastructure on the extensive Barents Sea shoreline, it is necessary to address the possibility of offshore accidents and study hazards to the local environment and its resources. Simulations of surface oil spills were conducted in south-east of the Barents Sea to identify oil pollution trajectories. The objective of this research was to focus on one geographical location, which lies along popular maritime routes and also borders with sensitive ecological marine and terrestrial areas. As a sample of traditional heavy bunker oil, IFO-180LS (2014) was selected for the study of oil spills and used for the 30-year simulations. The second oil case was medium oil type: Volve (2006)—to give a broader picture for oil spill accident scenarios. Simulations for four annual seasons were run with the open source OpenDrift modelling tool using oceanographic and atmospheric data from the period of 1988–2018. The modelling produced a 30-year probability map, which was overlapped with environmental data of the area to discuss likely impacts to local marine ecosystems, applicable oil spill response tools and favourable shipping seasons. Based on available data regarding the environmental and socio-economic baselines of the studied region, we recommend to address potential threats to marine resources and local communities in more detail in a separate study.

The effect of river fronts on oil slick transport has been shown using high resolution forcing models and a fully fledged oil drift model, OpenOil. The model was used to simulate two periods of the 2010 DeepWater Horizon oil spill. Metocean forcing data were taken from the data-assimilative GoM-HYCOM 1/50° ocean model with realistic daily river input and global forecast products of wind and wave parameters from ECMWF. The simulations were initialized from satellite observations of the surface oil patch. The effect of using a newly developed parameterization for oil droplet size distribution was studied and compared to a traditional algorithm. Although the algorithms provide different distributions for a single wave breaking event, it was found that the net difference after long simulations is negligible, indicating that the outcome is robust regarding the choice of parameterization. The effect of removing the river outflow was investigated to showcase effects of river induced fronts on oil spreading. A consistent effect on the amount and location of stranded oil and a considerable impact on the location of the surface oil patch were found. During a period with large river outflow (20−27 May 2010), the total amount of stranded oil is reduced by about 50% in the simulation with no river input. The results compare well with satellite observations of the surface oil patch after simulating the surface oil patch drift for 7−8 days.