A stochastic simulation model of oil spill fate and transport

A. H. Al-Rabeh*, H. M. Cekirge, N. Gunay

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

84 Scopus citations

Abstract

A comprehensive stochastic model is formulated to simulate the fate and transport of oil spills. The model consists of a set of algorithms describing the processes of advection, turbulent diffusion, surface spreading, vertical mechanical dispersion, emulsification, and evaporation.Each algorithm is developed separately and is linked to related processes and to environmental and other parameters. The model requires as input the velocity field of the transporting medium. This can be obtained from a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model for tidal and wind-driven currents forthe region of interest. The oil spill fate and transport model is used to simulate a surface oil spill in the Abu Ali region on the western side of the Arabian Gulf. The simulation results indicate that the model can predict the fate and transport of oil slicks with reasonable accuracy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)322-329
Number of pages8
JournalApplied Mathematical Modelling
Volume13
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1989

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to acknowledge the contributions of Prof. R. W. Lardner and Dr. W. J. Lehr to this work. We thank the KFUPM ResearchI nstitutea nd the Arabian American Oil Company for support of this re-searche ffort underK ing Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Research Institute Contract No. 24079, and the Arabian American Oil Company and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Petroleuma nd Mineral Resources for their authorizationt o publish this paper. The authors wouldli ke to acknowledget he contribution of two anonymousr eferees.

Keywords

  • advection
  • diffusion
  • dispersion
  • emulsification
  • evaporation
  • oil spill modelling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Applied Mathematics

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