ABSTRACT
This chapter presents aspects of advanced oil spill modeling. Accurate prediction of an oil spill location in time and its state is crucial in the effort to respond to and mitigate the risks that it poses to ecosystems and economic activities. The chapter starts by introducing the reader to some of the latest advances in subsea oil-plume modeling that are associated with the latest trend in the oil industry for oil exploration in deeper waters. The modeling process is broken down into two spatio-temporal domains. The near-field domain and its main components, the simulation of underwater oil-jets and oil-plume dynamics, are discussed first, and simulation examples are presented from some of the state-of-the-art simulators, with their inputs and results. Second, the far-field domain is discussed, and the long-term circulation and alteration by various processes that an oil spill undergoes are described, as well as the most important modeling inputs. Commercial and open-source simulator examples are shown, including some of their features and outputs. The chapter concludes with the process of creating statistical maps, and how these maps are used for assessing the risk posed by an oil spill to the ecosystems of a specific region. A short summary with the advantages and best uses for the simulators presented herein is given at the end of the chapter.
