Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Gilchrist, Ryan M.
• Hall, Rob A.
• Bacon, John C.
• Rees, Jon M.
• Graham, Jennifer A.

Titel

Increased dispersion of oil from a deep water seabed release by energetic mesoscale eddies

Ist Teil von

• Marine pollution bulletin, 2020-07, Vol.156, p.111258-111258, Article 111258

Ort / Verlag

Oxford: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Hydrodynamics play a critical role in determining the trajectory of an oil spill. Currents, stratification and mesoscale processes all contribute to how a spill behaves. Using an industry‑leading oil spill model, we compare forecasts of oil dispersion when forced with two different hydrodynamic models of the North-West European Shelf (7 km and 1.5 km horizontal resolution). This demonstrates how the trajectory of a deep water (>1000 m) release in the central Faroe-Shetland Channel is influenced by explicitly resolving mesoscale processes. The finer resolution hydrodynamic model dramatically enhances the horizontal dispersion of oil and transports pollutant further afield. This is a consequence of higher mesoscale variability. Stratification influences the depth of subsurface plume trapping and subsequently the far-field transport of oil. These results demonstrate that the choice of hydrodynamic model resolution is crucial when designing particle tracking or tracer release experiments. [Display omitted] •An oil spill is simulated in the deep Faroe-Shetland Channel, forced by hydrodynamic models with different resolutions.•Explicitly resolving mesoscale eddies leads to dramatically increased pollutant dispersion at and below the surface.•A change in stratification leads to differences in subsurface plume trapping depth and subsequent far-field transport.