title: Impact on water surface due to deepwater gas blowouts.
abstract: This paper presents a study on the impact of underwater gas blowouts near the ocean surface, which has a greater relevance to assess Health, Safety, and Environmental risks. In this analysis the gas flux near the surface, reduction of bulk density, and gas surfacing area are studied for different scenarios. The simulations include a matrix of scenarios for different release depths, release rates, and initial bubble size distributions. The simulations are carried out using the MEGADEEP model, for a location in East China Sea. Significant changes in bulk density and gas surface flux near the surface are observed under different release conditions, which can pose a potential threat for cleanup and rescue operations. Furthermore, the effect of hydrate formation on gas surfacing is studied for much greater release depths. The type of outcomes of this study is important to conduct prior risk assessments and contingency planning for underwater gas blowouts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA.
authors.forename: Lakshitha T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Premathilake
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA. Electronic address: pyapa@clarkson.edu.
authors.forename: Poojitha D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Yapa
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA.
authors.forename: Indrajith D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Nissanka
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA.
authors.forename: Pubudu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumarage
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005107:Explosions; D005740:Gases; D007700:Kinetics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010578:Petroleum; D011312:Pressure; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012623:Seawater; D013696:Temperature; D014872:Water Movements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Gas surfacing; Gas well blowouts; Risk assessment; Underwater gas spills