scholarly journals Pathways of Oil Spills from Potential Cuban Offshore Exploration: Influence of Ocean Circulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 535
Author(s):  
Yannis Androulidakis ◽  
Vassiliki Kourafalou ◽  
Lars Robert Hole ◽  
Matthieu Le Hénaff ◽  
HeeSook Kang
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Florida Current ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
Oil Exploration ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
Straits Of Florida

The DeepWater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) in 2010 raised the public awareness on potential spills from offshore exploration activities. It became apparent that knowledge of potential oil pathways in the case of a spill is important for preparedness and response. This study focuses on such scenarios from potential oil spills in the Cuban Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), a vast area in the GoM and the Straits of Florida that has not received much attention in oil spill studies, even though this region has been under evaluation for oil exploration. The Cuban EEZ is also in the crossroads of heavy tanker traffic, from the areas of intense oil exploration in the Northern GoM to the adjacent Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The study also evaluates how the oil transport and fate are influenced by the main circulation patterns of the GoM, such as the Loop Current (LC) system and the mesoscale dynamics inside the Straits of Florida, such as the Florida Current (FC) and the accompanying cyclonic (along the northern Straits) and anticyclonic (along the Cuban coasts) eddies. We used oil spill numerical simulations, in tandem with high resolution data-assimilative ocean simulations, to test the fate of potential oil spills originating from different release sites within the Cuban EEZ during a six-year period (2011–2016) to exhibit certain aspects of interannual variability of ocean dynamics. The LC extended and retracted phases in the GoM interior revealed different impacts on the oil fate depending on the release site. The meandering of the FC, which is strongly related to the mesoscale eddies that evolve inside the Straits of Florida, controlled oil pathways either towards the northern Straits or along the Cuban coast. The most likely scenario for oil stranding at southern Florida is from oil released at the deep central Straits of Florida. Oil release near the Yucatan Strait and in the deep Gulf interior showed the highest risk of overall oil beaching at the Gulf beaches. The regional (e.g., LC) and local (e.g., eddies in the Straits) dynamics are proven to be significant indicators to predict the oil fate and stranding along the Gulf coasts, which should lead to improving planning and preparedness in the case of a spill in the Cuban EEZ.

scholarly journals The Role of Mesoscale Dynamics over Northwestern Cuba in the Loop Current Evolution in 2010, during the Deepwater Horizon Incident

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Yannis Androulidakis ◽  
Vassiliki Kourafalou ◽  
Matthieu Le Hénaff ◽  
HeeSook Kang ◽  
Nektaria Ntaganou
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Florida Current ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
Straits Of Florida ◽  
Eddy Activity ◽  
Mesoscale Dynamics ◽  
Resolution Model ◽  
Yucatan Channel

The Loop Current (LC) system controls the connectivity between the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) region and the Straits of Florida. The evolution of the LC and the shedding sequence of the LC anticyclonic ring (Eddy Franklin) were crucial for the fate of the hydrocarbons released during the Deepwater Horizon (DwH) oil spill in 2010. In a previous study, we identified LC-related anticyclonic eddies in the southern GoM, named “Cuba anticyclones” (“CubANs”). Here, we investigate the relation between these eddies and LC evolution in 2010, focusing on the DwH period. We use high-resolution model results in tandem with observational data to describe the connection between the LC system evolution within the GoM (LC extensions, Eddy Franklin and LC Frontal Eddies—LCFEs) and the mesoscale dynamics within the Straits of Florida where CubANs propagate. Five periods of CubAN eddy activity were identified during the oil spill period, featuring different formation processes under a combination of local and regional conditions. Most of these cases are related to the retracted LC phases, when the major LC anticyclone (Eddy Franklin in 2010) is detached from the main body and CubAN eddy activity is most likely. However, two cases of CubAN eddy presence during elongated LC were detected, which led to the attenuation of the eastward flows of warm waters through the Straits (Florida Current; outflow), allowing the stronger supply of Caribbean waters through the Yucatan Channel into the Gulf (inflow), which contributed to short-term LC northward extensions. Oceanographic (LCFEs) and meteorological (wind-induced upwelling) conditions contributed to the release of CubANs from the main LC body, which, in tandem with other processes, contributed to the LC evolution during the DwH oil spill incident.

Reconstruction of anthropogenic environmental changes from a Cuban coral over the last 175 years

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Harbott ◽  
Henry C. Wu ◽  
Henning Kuhnert ◽  
Simone A. Kasemann ◽  
Carlos Jimenez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Florida Current ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Important Region ◽  
Warm Surface Water

<p>Ocean warming and ocean acidification (OA) are increasingly influencing marine life. Parts of the increasing amount of CO<sub>2</sub> in the atmosphere will eventually get absorbed by the ocean, which changes the oceans carbonate chemistry and threatens the ecological competitiveness of calcareous marine organisms. Currently,  the global coverage of studies on the development of pH since preindustrial times is sparse. An important region to study environmental and climate variations is the northwestern coastal part of Cuba where the Loop Current (LC) joins the Florida Current and contributes to the Gulf Stream. The tropical Atlantic is a primary region for the formation of warm surface water of the thermohaline ocean circulation and the Caribbean in particular as a habitat for coral reefs in the Atlantic making them susceptible to changes in water temperatures and carbonate chemistry. This provides a unique chance to study multiple aspects of the implications of anthropogenic activities such as changes in SST, ocean pH, and carbonate chemistry using the coral skeletal geochemistry as an archive of climate and environmental changes. Here we present results from a multi-proxy approach for the reconstruction of environmental change and natural climate variability from a North Cuban Siderastrea siderea coral. The sub-seasonally resolved records indicate interannual to decadal changes in SST and seawater carbonate chemistry since 1830 CE. The comparison with pH will provide clues on whether the regional climate variability has been directly affected by atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> forcing.</p>

scholarly journals Transports through the Straits of Florida

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hamilton ◽  
Jimmy C. Larsen ◽  
Kevin D. Leaman ◽  
Thomas N. Lee ◽  
Evans Waddell
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Florida Current ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
Straits Of Florida ◽  
Key West ◽  
The North ◽  
Side Channels ◽  
Yucatan Channel ◽  
Accurate Indicator

Abstract Transports were calculated for four sections of the Florida Current from Key West to Jupiter, Florida, using a moored current-meter array and voltages from cross-channel telephone cables at the western and northern ends of the Straits of Florida. In addition, moored arrays were used to estimate transport through the Northwest Providence, Santaren, and Old Bahama Channels that connect the Florida Current to the southwestern part of the North Atlantic Ocean. Transport measurements were obtained for an 11-month period from December 1990 to November 1991. Mean transports of ∼25 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) for the flow across the western ends of the straits, which agree quite well with recent estimates of 23.8 ± 1 Sv entering the Gulf of Mexico through the Yucatan Channel, were obtained from both the Key West to Havana cable and the moored array. This estimate is about 5 Sv less than the generally accepted transport through the northern end of the straits at 27°N. This difference was partially accounted for by inflows through the side channels with more transport from the Old Bahama than the Northwest Providence Channel. The variability in the southern part of the straits was larger than at 27°N and included large diversions of the Florida Current south of the Cay Sal Bank and into the Santaren Channel that were caused by large meanders of the flow. The variability of transport in the side channels contributed to the variability of the Florida Current and reduces the correlations of the transports at the ends of the straits. Therefore, the well-measured transport at 27°N is not an accurate indicator of the transport of the Loop Current out of the Gulf of Mexico.

Submesoscale Instability in the Straits of Florida

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent M. Chérubin ◽  
Nicolas Le Paih ◽  
Xavier Carton
Keyword(s):  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Bottom Layer ◽  
Shear Instability ◽  
Florida Current ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Florida Shelf ◽  
Straits Of Florida ◽  
Shelf Slope ◽  
Vorticity Flux

AbstractThe Florida Current (FC) flows in the Straits of Florida (SoF) and connects the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf Stream (GS) in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Its journey through the SoF is at time characterized by the formation and presence of mesoscale but mostly submesoscale frontal eddies on the cyclonic side of the current. The formation of those frontal eddies was investigated in a very high resolution two-way nested simulation using the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS). Frontal eddies were either locally formed or originated from outside the SoF. The northern front of the incoming eddies was susceptible to superinertial shear instability over the shelf slope when the eddies were pushed up against the slope by the FC. Otherwise, incoming eddies could be advected relatively unaffected by the current, when in the southern part of the straits. In absence of incoming eddies, submesoscale eddies were locally formed by the roll-up of superinertial barotropically unstable vorticity filaments when the FC was pushed up against the shelf slope. The vorticity filaments were intensified by the friction-induced bottom layer vorticity flux as previously demonstrated by Gula et al. (2015b) in the GS. When the FC retreated further south, negative vorticity West Florida Shelf waters overflowed into the SOF and led to the formation of submesocale eddies by baroclinic instability. The instability regimes, hence, the submesoscale frontal eddies formation appear to be controlled by the lateral ‘sloshing’ of the FC in the SoF.

Responding to Oil Spills Under Ice: Alaska Clean Seas' Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) Training Course

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 300320
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Hall ◽  
Leonard Zabilansky
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Oil Exploration ◽  
Cold Regions ◽  
Training Course ◽  
The North ◽  
Oil Spill Response

The Alaska North Slope region is a demanding operating environment for oil exploration, production and transportation operations. The Arctic Ocean remains frozen for an average of nine months of the year, with only a limited open-water season in the summer. There are long periods of darkness, extremely harsh weather conditions, remote installations and limited infrastructure. As Arctic oil exploration, production and transportation activities expand, there is growing concern about the ability of public and private sector response organizations to effectively clean up oil spills under ice. Alaska Clean Seas (ACS) is the Alaska North Slope oil spill response cooperative based in Prudhoe Bay, AK. ACS oversees the training and coordination of the North Slope Spill Response Team (NSSRT), a volunteer-based organization consisting of personnel from the workforce of ACS' Member Companies and their support contractors. Beginning in January 2012, ACS partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, NH, to develop an Advanced Oil Spill Response in Ice Course. Now in its third year, this partnership has combined the unique facilities, capabilities and ice research history of CRREL with the Arctic response expertise and experience of Alaska Clean Seas to deliver realistic, one-of-a-kind training for recovering oil spilled under ice. Participants have included members of the NSSRT, several federal regulatory agencies and representatives from the Global Response Network. ACS provides response equipment from the North Slope and several vendors have demonstrated additional skimming and pumping systems specifically designed for recovery in ice. Central to the course is CRREL's outdoor saline test basin, a 60′ × 25′ × 7′ refrigerated in-ground tank equipped to grow and maintain a two-foot cover of sea ice. Approximately 600 gallons of Alaska North Slope crude oil are injected under the ice to provide a realistic field scenario to practice response tactics. These tactics include assessment and profiling techniques for safely working on the ice; employing underwater lights and ground penetrating radar for detection of oil under ice; use of augers and chainsaw sleds to cut holes and slots in the ice; deployment of recovery and storage systems to remove oil from an ice environment; and in-situ burning operations in slush and broken ice. This poster highlights the development of the CRREL Training Course and provides guidelines for course content, length, and special considerations for similar advanced field training courses.

Approaches to Nontank Vessel Contingency Planning1

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 (1) ◽  
pp. 503-508
Author(s):  
Elise G. DeCola ◽  
Tim L. Robertson ◽  
Roy Robertson ◽  
Lori Crews ◽  
Mike Munger
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Passenger Ships

ABSTRACT Tank vessels that carry oil as cargo are subject to a number of international, national, and local regulations requiring that the vessel owners plan for and be prepared to respond to oil spills. By comparison, nontank vessels such as freighters, passenger ships, and fishing vessels typically have not been subject to the same level of oil spill prevention and response requirements. However, a number of recent, high-profile nontank vessel oil spills have heightened public awareness of the oil spill risk posed by nontank vessels. In response to such events, several US states have implemented regulations requiring nontank vessels to prepare oil spill contingency plans similar to those required for tankers and tank barges. This paper considers several different approaches to oil spill contingency planning for nontank vessels, focusing on the Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. The authors compare the requirements in place in Alaska, California, Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, and make recommendations to promote a parallel planning process along the Pacific coast of North America.

ECOLOGICAL AND GEOMORPHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE VULNERABILITY OF THE COASTS OF THE KARA SEA TO THE OIL SPILL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Ermolov ◽  
Alexander Ermolov
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
International System ◽  
Kara Sea ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Expert Assessments ◽  
International Systems

International experience of oil spill response in the sea defines the priority of coastal protection and the need to identify as most valuable in ecological terms and the most vulnerable areas. Methodological approaches to the assessing the vulnerability of Arctic coasts to oil spills based on international systems of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) and geomorphological zoning are considered in the article. The comprehensive environmental and geomorphological approach allowed us to form the morphodynamic basis for the classification of seacoasts and try to adapt the international system of indexes to the shores of the Kara Sea taking into account the specific natural conditions. This work has improved the expert assessments of the vulnerability and resilience of the seacoasts.

An assessment of toxic metals content in the marine sediments of the Shuaiba Industrial Area, Kuwait, after the oil spill during the Gulf War

1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 203-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Al-Muzaini ◽  
P. G. Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Marine Sediment ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Gulf War ◽  
Oil Wells ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Sampling Locations ◽  
Very High

A field study was carried out involving seven fixed sampling stations. The sampling locations were selected to cover the distribution of pollutants in the Shuaiba Industrial Area (SIA), which was contaminated with oil released from oil wells and broken pipelines and with a vast amount of burnt and unburnt crude oil from the burning and gushing oil wells. The samples were collected biweekly between July 1993 and July 1994. The concentrations of V, Ni, Cr, Cd and Pb were determined and compared with the previously collected baseline data to assess the degree of environmental damage caused due to the oil spills during the Gulf war. The average concentrations (mg/kg) of various elements in the marine sediment were 17.3 for V, 30.8 for Ni, 55.5 for Cr, 0.02 for Cd and 1.95 for Pb. Our results show that even after the heavy spillage of oil, associated metal concentrations were not very high compared with previously reported base line values.

scholarly journals Next-Generation Smart Response Web (NG-SRW): An Operational Spatial Decision Support System for Maritime Oil Spill Emergency Response in the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6585
Author(s):  
Mihhail Fetissov ◽  
Robert Aps ◽  
Floris Goerlandt ◽  
Holger Jänes ◽  
Jonne Kotta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Spatial Decision Support System ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
The Baltic

The Baltic Sea is a unique and sensitive brackish-water ecosystem vulnerable to damage from shipping activities. Despite high levels of maritime safety in the area, there is a continued risk of oil spills and associated harmful environmental impacts. Achieving common situational awareness between oil spill response decision makers and other actors, such as merchant vessel and Vessel Traffic Service center operators, is an important step to minimizing detrimental effects. This paper presents the Next-Generation Smart Response Web (NG-SRW), a web-based application to aid decision making concerning oil spill response. This tool aims to provide, dynamically and interactively, relevant information on oil spills. By integrating the analysis and visualization of dynamic spill features with the sensitivity of environmental elements and value of human uses, the benefits of potential response actions can be compared, helping to develop an appropriate response strategy. The oil spill process simulation enables the response authorities to judge better the complexity and dynamic behavior of the systems and processes behind the potential environmental impact assessment and thereby better control the oil combat action.

scholarly journals SAR Oil Spill Detection System through Random Forest Classifiers

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2044
Author(s):  
Marcos R. A. Conceição ◽  
Luis F. F. Mendonça ◽  
Carlos A. D. Lentini ◽  
André T. C. Lima ◽  
José M. Lopes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Random Forest ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Feature Space ◽  
Dark Spot ◽  
Sar Image ◽  
Extensive Search ◽  
Gradient Based ◽  
Biological Films

A set of open-source routines capable of identifying possible oil-like spills based on two random forest classifiers were developed and tested with a Sentinel-1 SAR image dataset. The first random forest model is an ocean SAR image classifier where the labeling inputs were oil spills, biological films, rain cells, low wind regions, clean sea surface, ships, and terrain. The second one was a SAR image oil detector named “Radar Image Oil Spill Seeker (RIOSS)”, which classified oil-like targets. An optimized feature space to serve as input to such classification models, both in terms of variance and computational efficiency, was developed. It involved an extensive search from 42 image attribute definitions based on their correlations and classifier-based importance estimative. This number included statistics, shape, fractal geometry, texture, and gradient-based attributes. Mixed adaptive thresholding was performed to calculate some of the features studied, returning consistent dark spot segmentation results. The selected attributes were also related to the imaged phenomena’s physical aspects. This process helped us apply the attributes to a random forest, increasing our algorithm’s accuracy up to 90% and its ability to generate even more reliable results.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document