Seatrack web: The HELCOM tool for oil spill prediction and identification of illegal polluters

Abstract

Seatrack Web is an online forecasting and hindcasting system for calculating the fate of oil spills at sea developed jointly by SMHI and DaMSA. The system uses forecasted wind and current fields to simulate the drift of particles representing oil or other substances in three dimensions. Seatrack Web has been implemented for several areas, one of which encompasses the HELCOM area (the Baltic Sea) and parts of the North Sea. HELCOM Seatrack Web is fully operational and available 24/7 for authorities and organizations that have been granted login access. The system is accessed via a Java client/server application with a GIS-based user-friendly graphical interface. A number of different oils are handled by the system, from gasoline to asphalt. The drift model includes state-of-the-art oil weathering algorithms for calculating evaporation and emulsification of these oils. The results of a drift simulation include particle tracks, changes in the oil properties and the overall fate of a spill.