Numerical Model Simulating the Transport of Oil with Deep Water Emission Sources in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract:

Inaccuracies found while attempting to numerically simulate the Deepwater Horizon 2010 (DH2010) spill have shown the difficulties encountered in determining the path and destination of oil spills which emissions sources lie in deep waters (~ 1500m). This work aims to contribute to the understanding of this phenomenon by implementing a passive tracer in the hydrodynamic model ROMS. The DH2010 spill was selected as study case because its records allow to quantify the benefits of the simulation method proposed here. This work presents how this simulation was implemented, the statistical schemes and the results obtained for the DH2010 spill associated areas, plus other areas of interest close to the Mexican Coast in the Gulf of Mexico.