Author(s)

R. Rajar, M. Cetina & D. Zagar

Abstract

As there are two oil terminals in the Gulf of Trieste, a mathematical model for simulation of possible oil spills was developed to be used as a tool at prevention and cleaning measures. A 3D hydrodynamic (HD) model, developed at the University of Ljubljana, was supplemented with transport-dispersion model for simulation of oil spill. A Lagrangian based Particle Tracking Method (PTM) was applied, taking into account basic physical processes as dispersion, mechanical spreading and evaporation. Results of this 3D model are compared with results of two still often used methods: 2D depth-averaged model and an empirical approach, where the surface velocities are approximated with 3% of the wind speed. The 3D model clearly shows higher accuracy, which is especially emphasised in regions with complex bat

Keywords