The effects of vertical mixing on the transport of oil spills using the OpenDrift ocean trajectory model with ROMS/NorKyst800 forcing from May 5-11, 2011

• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative 2018
• Subjects: oil spill model; wave entrainment; droplet size distribution; vertical mixing; resurfacing of oil; ensemble simulations; Norwegian Sea
• Online Access: https://search.dataone.org/view/R5-x281-000-0010-0001

New parameterizations for physical processes that are related to the vertical transport of oil spills are implemented into the open source trajectory framework OpenDrift. These encompass the wave-entrainment of oil, two alternative formulations for the droplet size spectra, and turbulent mixing. The performance of the integrated oil spill model is evaluated by comparing model simulations with airborne observations of an oil slick. The results show that an accurate description of a chain of physical processes – in particular vertical mixing and oil weathering – is needed to represent the horizontal spreading of the oil spill. Using ensemble of simulations of a hypothetic oil spill, the general drift behavior of an oil spill is discussed. Vertical mixing of oil between the surface slick and entrained oil is identified as a crucial component for the horizontal transport of oil spills, and to explain the differences for drift of various oil types.