Effects of mesoscale eddies on behavior of an oil spill resulting from an accidental deepwater blowout in the Black Sea: an assessment of the environmental impacts

Abstract

Because of the environmental sensitivity of the Black Sea, as a semi-enclosed sea, any subsea oil spill can cause destructive impacts on the marine environment and beaches. Employing numerical modeling as a prediction tool is one of the most efficient methods to understand oil spill behavior under various environmental forces. In this regard, a coupled circulation/deepsea oil spill model has been applied to the Black Sea to address the behavior of the oil plume resulting from a representative hypothetical deepwater blowout. With climatological forcing, the hydrodynamic module based on DieCAST ocean circulation model realistically reproduces seasonally-varying circulation from basin-scale dominant structures to meso- and sub-mesoscale elements. The oil spill model utilizes pre-calculated DieCAST thermo-hydrodynamic fields and uses a Lagrangian tracking algorithm for predicting the displacement of a large number of seeded oil droplets, the sum of which forms the rising oil plume resulting from a deepwater blowout. Basic processes affecting the transport, dispersal of oil and its fate in the water column are included in the coupled model. A hypothetical oil source was set at the bottom, at the northwestern edge of the Shatsky Ridge in the area east of the Crimea Peninsula where the oil exploration/development is likely to be planned. Goals of the study are to elucidate the behavior of the subsea oil plume and assess scales of contamination of marine environment and coastlines resulting from potential blowouts. The two 20-day scenarios with the oil released by a hypothetical blowout were examined to reveal combined effects of the basin-scale current, near-shore eddies, and winds on the behavior of the rising oil plume and its spreading on the surface. Special attention is paid to the Caucasian near-shore anticyclonic eddy which is able to trap surfacing oil, detain it and deliver it to shores. The length of contaminated coastlines of vulnerable Crimean and Caucasian coasts are assessed along with amounts of oil beached and deposited.

Hazard assessment of oil spills along the main shipping lane in the Red Sea

“…11 a) suggest that the chaotic surface conditions resulting from the energetic circulations tend to consistently spread the spilled oil over a wide range, with some of the oil particles being entrained in the circulating eddy-like patterns, along the central axis of the Red Sea. Similar behavior was observed and reported in the Black Sea 60 . In particular, in the year 2013, these patterns tend to split the slick, transporting the oil particles towards the eastern coasts (Saudi Arabian coasts) of the Red Sea, within about 9 days after the onset of the spill.…”

Copernicus Marine Service Ocean State Report, Issue 5

“…Several recent studies of the Black Sea pollution claim that the understanding of the Rim Current behaviour and how the mesoscale eddies evolve would help to predict the transport of various pollution such as oil spills (Korotenko 2018) To summarise, the intensity of the Black Sea Rim Current could give a valuable integral measure for a great deal of physical and biogeochemical processes manifestation. Thus our objective is to develop a comprehensive index reflecting the annual mean state of the Black Sea general circulation to be used by policy makers and various end users.…”

Avaliação do impacto da hidrodinâmica associada a um derramamento de óleo na Bacia de Cumuruxatiba (BA) com base no modelo MEDSLIK-II

“…In autumn and winter, the winds are associated with low temperatures, high humidity and intense rainfall regimes, mostly in April and July (Bittencourt et al, 2000;Lessa & Cirano, 2006). Currently, several studies use computational routines to show how an important, low-cost tool can assist in risk management associated with oil spills (Cheng, 2011;French-Mccay, 2004;Korotenko, 2018). Stringari et al (2013) used an oil spill model to analyses the influence of physical ocean forces in a hypothetical spill on the southern brazilian shelf, in order to assist in emergency decision-making and the assessment of the magnitude of the risks involved.…”

“…According to Protásio et al (2021) the dose rate due to radiation exposure of reference marine biotas such as sole, crab and seaweed can reach 0.5; 0.7; 0.3 μGy.d -1 , respectively. In practice this means that the absence of immediate attitudes can expose the biota to situations ranging from reduced fertility to mortality of adult species (ICRP, 2007;2018), depending on the waiting time for an action takeover.…”