A Mathematical Model for Oil Slick Transport and Mixing in Rivers
Abstract
The growing concern over the impacts of oil spills on aquatic environments has led to the development of many computer models for simulating the transport and spreading of oil slicks in surface waters. Almost all of these models were developed for coastal environments. A few river models exist. These models only considered the movement of surface oil slicks. In this study a two- layer model, ROSS2, is developed for simulating oil spills in rivers. This model considers the oil in the river to consist of a surface slick and suspended oil droplets entrained over the depth of the flow. The oil transformation processes considered in the model include advection, mechanical spreading, turbulent diffusion and mixing, evaporation, dissolution, emulsification, shoreline deposition and sinking. The model can be used for simulating instantaneous or continuous spills either on or under the water surface in rivers with or without an ice cover. The model has been implemented for the Ohio-Monongahela-Allegheny river system and the upper St. Lawrence River. This report describes the model formulation and implementation. A case study is presented along with detailed explanations of the program structure and its input and output. Although it is developed for simulating oil spills, the model can be applied to spills of other hazardous materials. Computer models, Oil spills, Oil slicks, Rivers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA269929
Entities
People
- De S. Wang
- Hung T. Shen
- Poojitha D. Yapa
- Xiao Q. Yang
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory