UseCase

Accidental oil releases to the sea may have severe environmental, social and economic consequences. Vital natural resources and human enterprises are at risk.

For oil spill decision making, it is essential to be able to predict the fate and effects of the spilled oil.

Fate prediction requires data on the spill (location, time, amount, oil type), the environmental conditions (wind, current), and geography (sea depths, coast line). Effects prediction is based on data about natural resources (e.g. fish populations, protected sites) that may be affected.

Traditionally, oil drift applications have mostly been used to support strategic and tactical decisionmaking.

Typical decisions include “Should the government open region X for exploration?” and “Where should oil booms and chemical dispersants for oil field Y be stored?” Such usage is based on historical input data.

More and more, oil drift models are also used to aid operational decision-making. When an oil spill occurs, oil drift models are tools in the response team’s toolbox. Such use of models is quite different as it requires up-to-date forecast data.