INTEGRATING STATE-OF-THE-ART SHORELINE INTERACTION KNOWLEDGE INTO SPILL MODELING
ABSTRACT An understanding of the complex interaction between oil and shoreline sediments in nearshore areas after an oil spill is essential for more accurate oil spill risk analysis modeling. In particular, an estimation of the degree to which shoreline sediments hold and retain oil during the 10–30 days after a spill is required for modeling the fate and trajectory of oil as it impacts a shoreline and either strands on or penetrates into the sediment or refloats to be deposited elsewhere. A comprehensive literature review of empirical studies, laboratory research, and oil-shoreline modeling was conducted. For a spill risk model to be applied in a stochastic manner, a relatively simple and practical method to estimate the oil holding capacity of shoreline sediments based on shoreline type and oil properties was derived from empirical shoreline cleanup assessment team (SCAT) data and a theoretical hydraulics model. The suggested methodology can be applied by spill modelers needing a way to estimate the amount of oil held by a shoreline upon impact to allow a trajectory model to more accurately project the total spread of oil.