title: A numerical oil spill model based on a hybrid method.
abstract: The purpose of this paper is the development of a hybrid particle tracking/Eulerian-Lagrangian approach for the simulation of spilled oil in coastal areas. Oil discharge from the source is modeled by the release of particles. When the oil slick thickness or the oil concentration reaches a critical value, particles are mapped on slick thickness or node concentrations, and the calculations proceed in the Eulerian-Lagrangian mode. To acquire accurate environment information, the model is coupled with the 3-D free-surface hydrodynamics model (POM) and the third-generation wave model (SWAN). By simulating the oil processes of spreading, advection, turbulent diffusion, evaporation, emulsification, dissolution and shoreline deposition, it has the ability to predict the horizontal movement of surface oil slick, the vertical distribution of oil particles, the concentration in the water column and the mass balance of spilled oil. An accidental oil release near Dalian coastal waters is simulated to validate the developed model. Compared with the satellite images of oil slicks on the surface, the numerical results indicate that the model has a reasonable accuracy.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China. gwj5268@126.com
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Y X
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004190:Disasters; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014872:Water Movements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical