There is a need to monitor the in-water concentrations of dispersed oil to determine dispersant efficiency and environmental impacts.   Repeated sampling of the same plume(s) is essential to determine the exposure of water column organisms and to justify the environmental trade-offs inherent in the use of dispersants.  However, locating the dispersed oil plume as it moves over time is a significant challenge.

To address this issue ASA worked with the California Department of Fish and Game, Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR). OSPR is tasked with minimizing environmental impacts to California’s natural resources.  This entails determination of the natural resource impacts of dispersed oil versus other response options so the relative impacts of different options can be used to guide response decisions during future spills. Modeling has been used to evaluate potential impacts to water column organisms.  Up until this time however, little or no field data were available to validate model results.

Above: CODAR measured current velocities collected during the field studies. The red box denotes the area where the dye study took place.

Bottom: SIMAP predicted subsurface plume contours 37 minutes after the dye is released overlaid on the corresponding georeferenced aerial photo of the dye.

To fill this void, fluorescein dye was intentionally spilled into the ocean to simulate a dispersed oil plume.  ASA provided analysis and modeling of the dye transport and dispersion using ASA’s oil spill impact model SIMAP.  The field studies simultaneously measured dye locations and concentrations, winds, and surface and subsurface currents. Surface currents were measured by CODAR, a high-frequency radar system, and subsurface currents were measured by drogued drifters.  The collected field data was then used to calibrate and validate the SIMAP simulations. 

The analysis indicated that dye movements were better represented by the drogued drifters than by the surface CODAR because the dye is dispersed in the water.  The CODAR currents would be predictive of floating oil drift, but would not necessarily predict subsurface oil movement in cases where the wind drift is significant and not aligned with the subsurface currents.  By calibrating and subsequently validating SIMAP using data acquired in the field study, new improvements to SIMAP make it more effective for future sampling efforts and as a tool to predict water column concentrations and the impacts and biological effects of dispersed oil.

For more information contact Deborah French McCay, dfrench@appsci.com

< Left: C-MAP charts are integrated in the system to provide global electronic charts and allow users to plan response strategies integrated with nautical information. C-MAP is a world leader in precision navigation on the sea with advanced charts and charting systems.

Above: Dr. Sasha Zigic, from Asia Pacific ASA, on the FPSO in Korea where he provided Version 6.0 installation and preliminary training before it started its journey to Angola.  Additional training will be provided for the emergency response team in Luanda in February.

Modeling for Marina Expansion

In designing the new construction or expansion of a marina, it is important to consider the project’s effect on local beach stability, water circulation, and flushing.  Comprehensive planning also considers such issues as reducing wave dynamics in the marina in order to increase the number of mooring spaces, and minimizing sediment transport inside the marina in order to reduce dredging costs. Bahia Marina in the city of Salvador, Brazil, contracted with ASA South America (ASASA) to evaluate several development alternatives for their proposed expansion.  To provide an objective assessment of the various alternatives, ASASA performed wave modeling, hydrodynamic modeling and flushing analyses.  Wave modeling was done using the SMC modeling system, a comprehensive shallow water wave propagation model developed by the Group of Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering (GIOC) of the Cantabria University and the Dirección General de Costas del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente de España.  To enhance the utility of the SMC modeling system, ASASA integrated a graphical user interface that incorporated geographic information system (GIS) and environmental database inputs.  The hydrodynamic and pollutant transport modules of ASA’s WQMAP were used for the hydrodynamic modeling and flushing analyses.  The multiple modeling analyses enabled Bahia Marina to select the best configuration for its expansion based on the alternative that enhanced flushing of the waters inside the marina while maintaining the stability of the neighboring Preguiça Beach.

For more information contact Eduardo Yassuda, eyassuda@appsci.com.br

Wave Model showing the propagation of the wave train. The figure on top shows the present condition (before expansion), while the figure on the bottom shows the propagation for the selected alternative.

• From 9-12 October, Eric Comerma provided an OILMAP for ArcGIS refresher training course to the AGIP-KCO Oil Spill Response team in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. The training focused on specific modeling capabilities in OILMAP, including oil-ice and oil-reed bed interactions.

• Eric Comerma, with Art Allen of the US Coast Guard, attended the SAR-Drift Conference held during Science and Technology Week, 16-20 October, in Brest, France.  Eric presented the Global Environmental Data Server (EDS) developed as a component of the USCG Search And Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS).

• Kelly Knee demonstrated OILMAP at The Bahamas 2nd Annual Oil/Chemical Spill Response Conference held in Nassau, The Bahamas from 30-31 October.  The demonstration focused on using OILMAP in emergency response situations.

• Mark Wholey attended a technical workshop in Silver Spring, MD, on 2 November, for users of the National Weather Service’s National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD). Updates were provided on the latest analysis and techniques implemented by NWS, including XML and GIS applications. Significant discussion surrounded the need to distribute NDFD and other environmental data in the Open Geospatial Consortium’s (OGC) Web Mapping Service (WMS) standard. ASA has proven the ability to integrate the NDFD data in WMS compliant mapping applications. Examples are available at http://demo.asamap.com.

• Deborah French McCay presented “Toxicity of Short-duration Exposures to PAHs After Oil Spills: With and Without Dispersant Use” (coauthored by Jill Rowe, Walter Nordhausen of California Fish and Game, and James Payne of Payne Environmental Consultants) at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), held 5-9 November in Montreal, Canada. This modeling study quantified the maximum potential impact to water column biota from a single application of dispersant, as compared to reduction of wildlife oiling on the water surface, using the common denominator of area affected and integrating water column effects over the surface mixed layer.

On 8-9 November, Eric Comerma in collaboration with Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana provided OILMAP and oil spill trajectory model training to responders and environmental evaluators at PEMEX in Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico.

• At the Scientific Conference on Chemical & Biological Defense Research, which took place 13-15 November in Hunt Valley MD, Deborah French McCay and Matthew Ward presented “Development of an HPAC/JEM Waterborne Chemical and Biological Agent Transport Modeling Capability”.  This model system is an extension of ASA’s CHEMMAP.

• As part of ASA’s continuing support of the US Coast Guard’s emergency response planning, on 1 December, Mark Wholey delivered a Web site to the US Coast Guard Research and Development Center for the Environmental Data Survey used in conjunction with SAROPS planning. The site is used to gather information regarding environmental data providers, thereby enhancing the Coast Guard’s knowledgebase of available resources for search & rescue.

• On 7-8 December Nicole Whittier conducted an OILMAP training course for Dominion Energy New England. The course included hands-on training with OILMAP's oil trajectory and fate model as well as the stochastic model.  Dominion uses OILMAP in their oil spill response at their Brayton Point facility.

• In mid December Eoin Howlett provided OILMAP training to PDO Oman in Muscat. PDO have upgraded to the latest version of OILMAP and are discussing the linkage of their oil spill response capabilities with their enterprise GIS system.

• On 12-13 December, Deborah French McCay presented “Biological Effects and Restoration for Submerged Oil Spills” at the Coastal Response Research Center Workshop at the University of New Hampshire entitled “Submerged Oil – State of the Practice”.  The primary focus of the presentation was to discuss the potential effects of exposure to submerged oil on natural resources and services.  Approaches for quantifying the scale of restoration were also presented.

Kelly Knee and Mauricio Person Lammardo conducted an OILMAPLand and AIRMAP training course for Compañía Operadora de Gas del Amazonas (COGA) in Lima, Peru on 12-14 December.  The course included hands-on training with OILMAPLand’s land surface and surface water network models and the link to AIRMAP’s atmospheric dispersion model.  COGA uses OILMAPLand and AIRMAP to predict the fate of pipeline breaches.

From 20-22 December, Sasha Zigic together with Ito Naganori from Science and Technology Japan, delivered OILMAP and conducted a training course for senior staff of Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC). JOGMEC is a Japanese government agency responsible for maintaining a stable supply of natural resources and energy, as well as supporting Japanese companies engaged in oil and gas exploration and production.  As part of this support, the HSE Evaluation Team purchased ASA’s OILMAP to check and evaluate the reliability of an EIA report, which JOGMEC may receive from private oil companies.

• Jill Rowe and Deborah French McCay spent 9-12 January in Puerto Rico for the kick-off meeting of the Vista Bella Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment.  They met with the oil spill trustee council, including the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources.

• Scott Langtry and Marc Zapata delivered the ASA components of a new incident management system to Maritime New Zealand in late January, installing multiple copies of OILMAP V6, SARMAP V6 and viewer versions of this software onto a network of workstations located in multiple centers in Wellington and Auckland. Eoin Howlett assisted in configuring ASA's Environmental Data Server to link the multiple stations and bring in external weather data.

Carlos Simao traveled half-way around the world to work with the APASA team in Perth for two months of training and cultural exchange. Carlos found the experience to be a great opportunity to learn new technical skills, a new culture, and improve his English.

• During the month of January, Oleg Makarynskyy carried out bathymetric measurements and drogue observations within Koolan Island channel in the remote Kimberly Region of Western Australia, an area that is affected by very large tidal fluctuations. Field measurements will be used to refine hydrodynamic and discharge modeling to investigate the impact of dewatering an open-cut iron-ore mine into the channel. The study, being carried out in collaboration with Oceanica Consulting Pty., will apply ASA’s HYDROMAP and MUDMAP models.

• In January, Andrea Gallo Xavier left ASA to join Petrobras HES.  As a senior oceanographer and director, she exemplified superior research work and excelled at client relationships and project management. We thank her for her dedicated work here at ASA, and wish her well in her future endeavors.

Brooke Longeval has joined ASA as a biologist.  Brooke holds a BA in Biology from Boston University and a diploma in yacht design from the Landing School (Kennebunkport, ME).  Currently she is a PhD candidate in Biological Oceanography at URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography and hopes to complete her dissertation on the size spectra of fish populations in Narragansett Bay in 2008.  She will be applying her varied background in biology, oceanography, GIS and the marine industry at ASA.

Melanie Schroeder has joined ASA as a marine biologist.  She recently received her MS in Fisheries Science from the University of Rhode Island.  Her biological and ecological modeling skills will be utilized by several ASA oil spill and bio-monitoring projects.

Andrew Vidal has joined ASA as a GIS Analyst. Andrew received his BS in Geography from Bridgewater State College. His previous experience includes providing GIS services for a regional government agency in Massachusetts. Andrew’s GIS skills are in high demand by numerous projects at ASA.

• On 1-2 February Deborah French McCay will present or co-present two papers at the Dispersed Oil Research Forum in Redbank, NJ, organized by the Coastal Response Research Center of the University of New Hampshire. The papers are “Predicting PAH Toxicity Under Varying Dispersant Scenarios” by Deborah French McCay, Jill Rowe, Walter Nordhausen, and James Payne; and “Field Verification of Dispersed Oil Fate and Transport Modeling and Linking CODAR Observation System Data with Model Predictions” by James Payne, Deborah French McCay, Eric Terrill, and Walter Nordhausen.

• Jill Rowe, Deborah French McCay and Melanie Schroeder will be attending a short course on Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) hosted by the North Atlantic Chapter of SETAC (Society for Environmental Toxicology and Analytical Chemistry) on 5-6 February in West Greenwich, RI.

• Nicole Whittier will be presenting at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Spring National Meeting in Houston, TX from 22-26 April. The paper, coauthored by Malcolm Spaulding, Craig Swanson and Kathy Jayko, is entitled “Fully Integrated GIS Based LNG Consequence Model for Spills on Water”. The paper describes ASA's adaptation of its spill modeling technology to LNG accidental or intentional spills with a new model called LNGMAP.