A subsurface oil spill study: integral ‘plume’ model and lagrangian oil droplets

Despite the imperative to mitigate climate change, most state governments still focus on oil extraction and production. This research aims to tackle the issue of oil entering the ocean from subsurface sources, such as drilling well blowouts or pipeline failures. The objective of this study is to develop a two-stage model for subsurface oil spills. Following a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art models, we delineated a near-field 'plume' phase, where buoyant oil collectively rises, and a far-field stage, characterized by the dispersion of oil droplets through ocean currents and turbulence after reaching a terminal intrusive level due to ocean stratification. UWORM (UnderWater Oil Release Model) includes an integral Lagrangian elements plume model, validated using both laboratory-scale and real-scale experiments in the North Sea. Entrainment is calibrated, demonstrating good agreement with in-situ data and length scales corresponding to different regimes. Following near-far field coupling, Lagrangian Particle Tracking is employed for individual oil droplets via OceanParcels. Size-dependent buoyancy results in the formation of distinct clusters with varying resurfacing times. Both near and far-field components utilize Copernicus Marine Service ocean state data, incorporating 3D fields of currents, temperature, and salinity.