Utilization of the Northern Gulf Operational Forecast System to Predict Trajectories of Surface Oil from a Persistent Source Offshore of the Mississippi River Delta

Autor: Charlie Henry, Amy MacFadyen, Glen Watabayashi, Eugene Wei, Christopher J. Warren
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings. 2014:531-543
ISSN: 2169-3358
2169-3366
Popis: In this paper, we demonstrate the use of a new operational, unstructured-grid hydrodynamic model within the oil spill trajectory model GNOME (the General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment) to examine the transport of surface oil from a known source approximately 10 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Delta. At this location, a cluster of wells and/or contaminated sediments have been persistently leaking small amounts of oil since they were damaged in 2004. Slicks associated with this source are frequently detected in satellite imagery analysis, which indicates they are often oriented in the along isobath direction with typical dimensions of 0.5–2 km by 10–30 km varying with wind conditions. The Northern Gulf of Mexico Operation Forecast System (NGOFS) has recently been deployed by NOAA and includes this region. The underlying hydrodynamic model is an unstructured grid finite-volume model which allows variable grid resolution ranging from 10 km offshore to ~600 m near the coastline. Unstructured grid models are ideally suited for coastal areas as they allow flexible resolution to resolve complex bathymetry and coastlines. However, large model domains combined with high grid resolution can provide a challenge for operational trajectory models as sub-setting the model grid is not as straightforward as in the structured grid case. The utility of any hydrodynamic model for emergency response depends not only on its accuracy, but on the trajectory modeler's ability to access and use the information in a timely manner. As part of this study, we have developed tools to allow the NGOFS results (in addition to other unstructured grid models) to be readily available to GNOME users. Using output from the NGOFS in GNOME, a one year modeled simulation was run in which surface particles were released continuously from the location of the damaged wells. Predicted trajectories of modeled particles less than ~24-hours in age compare qualitatively well with the satellite observations.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: