Modelling Oil Spill around Bay of Samsun, Turkey, with the Use of Oilmap and Adios Software Systems

Abstract

Bay of Samsun is one of the most important oil transport gateways in Black Sea. The region is surrounded with the coasts which have various levels of environmental sensitivity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the oil spill and predict the future accidents likely to be encountered around the Bay of Samsun. To be well informed about fate, this study makes the best possible use of two trajectory models. One of them, ADIOS (Automated Data Inquiry for Oil Spills), has been applied to natural degradation calculations, and the other one, OILMAP (oil spill model and response system), has been used for surface spread simulation. Hence in order to identify the risky areas three scenarios have been developed. Their results reveal that in case of oil spills, with average environmental conditions, there is a risk of contamination for the city of Samsun. Although the area under the risk is the same, contamination density is totally different depending upon the quantity and the type of spilt oil. The results gained through these efforts are hoped to be useful for many organizations dealing with oil spill response operations and contribute to an effective coordination among the relevant institutions.