title: Enhancing the management response to oil spills in the Tuscany Archipelago through operational modelling.
abstract: A new approach towards the management of oil pollution accidents in marine sensitive areas is presented in this work. A set of nested models in a downscaling philosophy was implemented, externally forced by existing regional operational products. The 3D hydrodynamics, turbulence and the oil transport/weathering models are all linked in the same system, sharing the same code, exchanging information in real time and improving its ability to correctly reproduce the spill. A wind-generated wave model is also implemented using the same downscaling philosophy. Observations from several sources validated the numerical components of the system. The results obtained highlight the good performance of the system and its ability to be applied for oil spill forecasts in the region. The success of the methodology described in this paper was underline during the Costa Concordia accident, where a high resolution domain was rapidly created and deployed inside the system covering the accident site.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal. Electronic address: janeiro.jm@gmail.com.
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Janeiro
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zacharioudaki
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarhadi
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Augusto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Flávio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martins
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D007558:Italy; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014919:Wind
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Forecasting; Oil spill; Operational modelling; Tuscany Archipelago