Oil spill transport modeling in shelf, estuary, and intracoastal regions

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

The main goal of this research is to further develop, apply, and analyze a computational tool that can be used to examine the transport tendencies along the U.S. East Coast including Florida, Georgia, and both Carolinas as they relate to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The central piece of this computational tool will be the Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) hydrodynamic model. ADCIRC is a finite element model for solving time?dependent, free surface circulation and transport problems in two? and three?dimensions. Existing finite element meshes of the region will be further developed to provide an unprecedented level of resolution and physical detail, including detailed coverage of coastal rivers and lagoons, tidal creeks, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, and tidally flooded marshes. The ability to accurately simulate the tidal dynamics of this region, as well as hurricane storm surge, will be coupled with recent and ongoing development of the transport capabilities of the ADCIRC model using discontinuous Galerkin methods. The integration and further development of these three key components, i.e., the high-resolution finite element meshes, the ability to accurately simulate tidal and storm surge dynamics, and robust, mass-conserving transport algorithms, will provide a powerful computational tool that will be used to simulate the transport tendencies of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along the U.S. East Coast. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010 as a result of an oil well blowout that caused an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform located forty miles southeast off the Louisiana coast. A major and immediate concern related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the possibility of the oil slick reaching the Loop Current ? a warm ocean current that enters the Gulf of Mexico flowing northward through the Yucatan Strait and that exits flowing east through the Florida Straits continuing northward along the east coast of Florida as the Gulf Stream. Oil entering the Loop Current would eventually be transported far afield to the Atlantic Ocean where the presence of large-scale eddies that separate from the western edge of the Gulf Stream have the potential to carry oil toward the U.S. East Coast. There is additional concern regarding the transport of oil that may occur during the upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season, which has been forecasted by NOAA to be an ?active to extremely active? hurricane season. The transport of oil towards the U.S. East Coast ? by means of reaching the Loop Current or from the onset of a hurricane ? would obviously have a major detrimental impact on the coastal environment, severely damaging their beaches and coastal wetlands, which serve as critical habitats to the fish and wildlife. The primary objective of this proposal is to provide a computational tool that will be used to help analyze and assess possible damage from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along the U.S. East Coast including Florida, Georgia, and both Carolinas. Specifically, the fate and transport of oil spill remnants (e.g., tar balls) entrained in Gulf Stream eddies and feeding the U.S. East Coast will be modeled along the shelf and into the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and estuarine systems. Using available data sources, simulations will be performed to ultimately identify areas especially susceptible to receiving transported oil and likely areas of deposition. The model and results will also be transferable to other regions of the Gulf of Mexico.