ABSTRACT
Search and Rescue (SAR) operations include the management and coordination between the decision and the rescue teams, the prediction of the location of the drifting object and the choice of the search pattern to execute the search operation. This paper addresses the two last problems, corresponding to the operation planning phase. A SAR planning tool based on the Monte Carlo Simulation method is developed to provide decision support on where to allocate the search effort and on which search pattern to use for an efficient and successful SAR operation. The tool incorporates a drift model with uncertainty propagation to define the probability density maps of the object location based on the initial position and the effect of winds and currents. Then, different search strategies are simulated to assess their efficiency. Occurrences in Portuguese waters are used to demonstrate the applicability of the developed search planning tool.
