A 30-Year Probability Map for Oil Spill Trajectories in the Barents Sea to Assess Potential Environmental and Socio-Economic Threats

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.

Protection of water supply sources from the emergency oil spill on the water surface

The article provides an algorithm for organizing oil spill response on the water surface, as well as the results of the analysis of existing methods of oil and oil product spill response. In order to improve the complex of measures to eliminate oil spills on the water surface, the main requirements for oil-absorbing materials are given. It is shown that the localization and elimination of oil and oil products spills on the water surface due to the destruction of the underwater passage of the main oil pipeline requires a set of works that require the use of various methods and the use of the necessary technical means. The developed set of measures for organizing work in response to oil spills on the water surface and the results of the analysis of existing methods for responding to oil and oil products spills will reduce the time for containment and response to the spill, taking into account the optimal choice of technology for cleaning the coastal strip from oil pollution.

Protection of water supply sources from the emergency oil spill on the water surface

The article provides an algorithm for organizing oil spill response on the water surface, as well as the results of the analysis of existing methods of oil and oil product spill response. In order to improve the complex of measures to eliminate oil spills on the water surface, the main requirements for oil-absorbing materials are given. It is shown that the localization and elimination of oil and oil products spills on the water surface due to the destruction of the underwater passage of the main oil pipeline requires a set of works that require the use of various methods and the use of the necessary technical means. The developed set of measures for organizing work in response to oil spills on the water surface and the results of the analysis of existing methods for responding to oil and oil products spills will reduce the time for containment and response to the spill, taking into account the optimal choice of technology for cleaning the coastal strip from oil pollution.

Numerical Modelling of Oil Spill Transport in Tide-Dominated Estuaries: A Case Study of Humber Estuary, UK

Oil spills in estuaries are less studied and less understood than their oceanic counterparts. To address this gap, we present a detailed analysis of estuarine oil spill transport. We develop and analyse a range of simulations for the Humber Estuary, using a coupled hydrodynamic and oil spill model. The models were driven by river discharge at the river boundaries and tidal height data at the offshore boundary. Satisfactory model performance was obtained for both model calibration and validation. Some novel findings were made: (a) there is a statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference in the influence of hydrodynamic conditions (tidal range, stage and river discharge) on oil slick transport; and (b) because of seasonal variation in river discharge, winter slicks released at high water did not exhibit any upstream displacement over repeated tidal cycles, while summer slicks travelled upstream into the estuary over repeated tidal cycles. The implications of these findings for operational oil spill response are: (i) the need to take cognisance of time of oil release within a tidal cycle; and (ii) the need to understand how the interaction of river discharge and tidal range influences oil slick dynamics, as this will aid responders in assessing the likely oil trajectories.