OS4.7 | Monitoring, Modeling and Risk Mapping of Marine Pollution and its Environmental and Socioeconomic Footprints
EDI
Monitoring, Modeling and Risk Mapping of Marine Pollution and its Environmental and Socioeconomic Footprints
Convener: Svitlana Liubartseva | Co-conveners: George Zodiatis, Katerina Spanoudaki, Camille Richon, Luisa Galgani
Orals
| Thu, 18 Apr, 08:30–10:05 (CEST)
 
Room 1.34
Posters on site
| Attendance Thu, 18 Apr, 10:45–12:30 (CEST) | Display Thu, 18 Apr, 08:30–12:30
 
Hall X4
Posters virtual
| Attendance Thu, 18 Apr, 14:00–15:45 (CEST) | Display Thu, 18 Apr, 08:30–18:00
 
vHall X4
Orals |
Thu, 08:30
Thu, 10:45
Thu, 14:00
Oceanographic monitoring and modeling are both widely used to study the pathways and fate of marine pollutants such as anthropogenic hydrocarbons, marine litter and plastic, heavy metals, POPs, HNS, radionuclides, pharmaceutics, etc. This session focuses on monitoring frameworks, computational tools, lab experiments and emerging technologies related to tracing pollutants and their impacts on local, regional, and global scales. Coupling with met-ocean and biogeochemical datasets provided, for example, by the Copernicus Programme will also be discussed. State-of-the-art observational techniques and protocols, ensemble simulations, risk assessment algorithms and decision support systems are solicited topics. Integration of modeling, observations, and experimental data for both data assimilation and model validation are also very welcome.

We welcome studies based on in situ and lab observations, as well as modeling work looking at physical, chemical and biological transformation of pollutants such as fragmentation, degradation, biofouling, ingestion, adsorption/desorption. Discussions about newly discovered phenomena, as, for example, the mucilage outbreaks including harmful algal blooms (HABs), the role of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS), and other ecotoxicological issues are also encouraged.

Studies that link single pollutant effects to broader ecosystem stressors like environmental degradation and climate change are particularly encouraged. Monitoring and modeling the pollutant transport under ice conditions, related to the increase in shipping traffic in the Arctic Ocean as a consequence of Polar ice melting, are also appreciated.

Key questions of the session include: Which factors affect the dispersion of pollutants in the marine environment and how do they influence pollutant fate at the ocean’s surface, in the water column, and sediments, thereby affecting marine habitats and resources?

The impact of other environmental stressors, such as artificial light, noise, and thermal pollution, on marine ecosystems, is a significant topic for discussion.

Orals: Thu, 18 Apr | Room 1.34

Chairpersons: Svitlana Liubartseva, Katerina Spanoudaki, George Zodiatis
08:30–08:35
08:35–08:45
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EGU24-13844
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Daniel Zacharias, Natália Crespo, Natália da Silva, Rosmeri da Rocha, Carine Gama, Sérgio Ribeiro e Silva, and Joseph Harari

In 2019–2020, a “Mysterious” oil spill reached almost 3,000 km of the Brazilian shore. Despite the large affected area, the STFM (Spill, Transport and Fate Model) [1] time-reverse modeling indicated a relatively small Venezuelan oil volume (5000–12,500 m3) [2] and quite far from the coast [3]. These volume and position are consistent with a cleaning bilge tank procedure.

In the following years, at least three similar events were recorded, one on the equatorial coast of Brazil and two in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago (about 375 km from the coast). These events indicated that Brazil was being periodically reached by tar balls and oil slicks from unknown origin. The most likely routes were mapped and computationally tested [3] [4].

The hypothesis is that the oil/waste dumped in international waters by ships on-route to Cape of Good Hope is reaching the Brazilian coast. On that account, 9,000 probabilistic simulations (distributed in 30-year of data), each one with 20,000 Lagrangian elements, were used to estimate the probability of dumped oil residue reaching the Brazilian coast. 

About 20,000 – 35,000 ships navigate this route and the modeling results have shown that up to 28.5 % of large ships could dump oil on-route towards Cape of Good Hope. Inside the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone, the probability of dumped oil/waste reaching the coastline is about 62 % and quickly decreases for more distant dumping zones (Zones 2 and 3). Equatorial and Northeast shores of Brazil are the most vulnerable to oceanic dumping when compared to other regions.

Brazilian Federal Police declared that a Greek-flagged tanker (i.e., Bouboulina) is the main suspect of the 2019’s oil spill [5]. However, the simulation results suggest an alternative hypothesis: The City of Tokyo (VL Nichioh) tanker that crossed Zone 2 area between June 18th and 20th, 2019, towards Venezuela to be loaded. The drift time (72 days) is compatible with the position, also, the loading that would take place in a few days could motivate the tanker to execute a cleaning procedure, accumulating a large volume of residual oil in the bilge tank [4].

 

[1] Zacharias, D.C., et al., 2018. Offshore petroleum pollution compared numerically via algorithm tests and computation solutions. Ocean Eng., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2018.01.007. 

[2] Zacharias, D.C., et al., 2021a. Mysterious oil spill on Brazilian coast: analysis and estimates. Mar. Pollut. Bull., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112125. 

[3] Zacharias, D.C., et al., 2021b. Mysterious oil spill on the Brazilian coast – part 2: a probabilistic approach to fill gaps of uncertainties. Mar. Pollut. Bull., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113085.

[4] Zacharias, D.C., et al., 2023. Oil reaching the coast: Is Brazil on the route of international oceanic dumping?  Mar. Pollut. Bull., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115624. 

[5] Escobar, H., (2019), Mysterious oil spill threatens marine biodiversity haven in Brazil, Science, https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.366.6466.672.  





Keywords:  STFM; Oil spill; Oil dumping

How to cite: Zacharias, D., Crespo, N., da Silva, N., da Rocha, R., Gama, C., Ribeiro e Silva, S., and Harari, J.: Cleaning the bilge tanks: Is Brazil on the route of international oceanic dumping?, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-13844, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-13844, 2024.

08:45–08:55
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EGU24-20650
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ECS
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On-site presentation
Amedeo Boldrini, Nicola Gaggelli, and Steven Loiselle

Plastic pollution is a global issue of growing concern because of the large amount of waste ending up into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, primarily due to inefficient methods of end-of-life treatment. Biodegradable plastics, capable of being decomposed into harmless compounds by microorganisms, are promoted as an eco-friendly alternative to fossil-based polymers. However, environmental impact of these materials is a matter of intense debate, due to the limited knowledge of the release and decomposition of the chemicals they contain and how living species are affected by biodegradable plastic waste.

Since phthalates and other additives are generally not chemically bound to the polymers, a degradation experiment under natural environmental conditions was set up to evaluate the presence of phthalates and the release in natural seawater. Three biodegradable plastic films with similar weight and shape, made up of poly(lactic acid) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) samples were immersed in marine water for 120 days, one exposed to heat and sunlight, the other one shielded from UV light.

The biobag samples were found to contain phthalic acid esters as additives, whether low molecular weight as dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate and dibutyl phthalate, or high molecular weight including di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate and di-n-octyl phthalate. Phthalates are considered as hazardous endocrine disrupting compounds, able to induce toxic effects in humans and aquatic animals. Quantification of these chemicals in examined biobags was performed by means of HPLC-DAD and resulted in concentrations in the μg/g range across all samples.

Results of 1H-NMR analysis of seawater samples after the degradation experiment showed that phthalates leaching occurred in one of the DARK samples; however, quantification through HPLC was not achieved due to the low concentration or modification of chemical structure of phthalate esters through photo- or thermal degradation. Diverse factors can affect phthalate structure in aquatic environments, such as hydrolysis, photolysis and biodegradation, therefore a comprehensive analysis of which degradation mechanisms are involved in biodegradable plastic decomposition is crucial to assess how and at which concentration additives and breakdown products can harm living species.

How to cite: Boldrini, A., Gaggelli, N., and Loiselle, S.: Comparison of Analytical Methods to Determine Phthalates Release from Macroplastic and Presence in Seawater, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-20650, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-20650, 2024.

08:55–09:05
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EGU24-11705
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On-site presentation
Tor Nordam, Raymond Nepstad, Emma Litzler, Knut-Frode Dagestad, and Øyvind Breivik

Models play an important role in oil spill response and contingency planning. They are used ahead of time, to analyse possible scenarios and risks, and they are used during an active spill, to help direct response measures. Given the chaotic nature of both the ocean and the atmosphere, predictions are fundamentally challenging, particularly beyond a time window of a few days. To deal with this challenge, weather forecasters have over the last decade been moving towards ensemble prediction systems (EPS), rather than simply focusing on improved model resolution. The idea is that an ensemble of different, but (ideally) equally likely, predictions will provide useful information about the forecast uncertainty.

Given that EPS weather forecast data is increasingly available, these should be routinely used in operational oil spill modelling. In this talk, we present numerical experiments of hypothetical oil spill scenarios off the coast of Norway, using the OSCAR oil spill model. For ocean input data, we use the operational NorKyst800 ROMS setup provided by MET Norway, and for wind we use the MetCoOp Ensemble Prediction System (MEPS), a collaborative product from the Meteorological institutes of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Due to operational availability, we use only a single realisation of the ocean model, but 30 different ensemble members for the atmosphere model. We investigate the potential for the combination of EPS wind data and deterministic current data to provide added value in a response situation, even though the ocean and atmosphere data will not always be dynamically consistent. Since wind, more than currents, drive stranding and entrainment of oil, the use of a wind ensemble will provide some information about the uncertainty in predictions of surface slick as well as locations and amounts of beached oil.

Additionally, we compare the use of deterministic ocean data and EPS wind data with another setup, Barents 2.5 km, where we use a dynamically consistent set of EPS data for both the ocean and the atmosphere. We show that this latter setup has larger variation between ensemble members, indicating the potential added value for oil spill response in moving towards operational EPS forecasting also for ocean models.

How to cite: Nordam, T., Nepstad, R., Litzler, E., Dagestad, K.-F., and Breivik, Ø.: Use of ensemble prediction systems in operational oil spill modelling, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-11705, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-11705, 2024.

09:05–09:15
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EGU24-13576
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On-site presentation
Yasser Abualnaja, Alexandra Pavlidou, Constantine Parinos, and Ioannis Hatzianestis

As part of the Vision 2030 for economic growth and development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Marine and Coastal Environment Protection (MCEP) Initiative for Saudi Arabia was established (https://mcep.kaust.edu.sa/). In the frame of this project, we traced the discrete sources of pollution in critical hotspot areas including: wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), desalination plants, ports, industries, petroleum platforms, aquaculture facilities and urban development.

In this work, we present measurements of organic pollutants in sediments obtained during a surveillance cruise conducted in June 2021 with the HCMR  R/V AEGAEO, over a north - south coastal transect in the Red Sea. The hot spots areas surveyed, from north to south, were: the area near the Saudi-Jordanian border (Phosphate Terminal in Aqaba Port in Jordan; cross-border pollution) and Haql (desalination, power and WWTP, port activities), Magna (maritime traffic), Tabuk Fisheries (aquaculture activities), Duba (desalination plant), Al Wajh (port facilities; desalination plant), Red Sea Project Lagoon (north and west channels), Yanbu Cement Company (industrial discharges), Yanbu King Fahd Port (industrial and shipping center- the largest in Saudi Arabia), Jeddah Lagoon System (wastewater inputs), Jeddah Mena (port operations), Al Khurma (Jeddah WWTP), Al Lith (shrimp and fish farms), Al-Shuqaiq (desalination plant) and Jizan Economic City (expanding industrial facility).

This is the first broad coverage study in a one-off sampling campaign in Saudi Arabian coastal zone, constituting the first multidisciplinary and geographically comprehensive survey of contaminants. Aliphatic (C10-C40) and polycyclic aromatic (32 substances including both parent and methylated compounds) hydrocarbons (AHC and PAH) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), which constitute important classes of organic contaminants that may cause degradation and pose a risk of serious damage in the marine environment, were determined in surface sediments collected from the coastal zone of the Red Sea. In general, north-south increasing gradients were evident for all pollutants, revealing a link between the hydrographic conditions and biogeochemical properties. AHC concentrations did not exceed 44 μg/g with the exception of Jeddah Mena, Al Khumra and Lagoons, where values almost 200 times higher were detected. Very increased PAH levels (>1000 ng/g) were measured only in the lagoons, whereas moderate pollution was found in Jeddah Mena and Al Khumra. PCBs concentrations were low in all the samples studied. The examination of various molecular indices and ratios revealed a chronic petroleum-associated anthropogenic pressure in Jeddah Lagoons, Jeddah Sea Port and Al Khumrah, whereas some petroleum residues were also found at King Fahd Yanbu Port, shrimp and fish farms near Al Lith and to a lesser extent at Magna. The domestic and industrial activities probably enrich the coastal zone of the Red Sea with organic pollutants. Hydrocarbons were linked with different sources, e.g domestic sewages (detergents) in Jeddah Lagoons and weathered petroleum in Jeddah Mena, whereas in Al Shuqaic hydrocarbons were mostly of biogenic origin. Pyrolytic PAHs predominated only in Jeddah Mena, indicating that limited combustion processes occur in the Red Sea which do not  affect the marine environment. Regarding sediment quality guidelines PAHs concentrations were, in general,  lower than ERL values.

How to cite: Abualnaja, Y., Pavlidou, A., Parinos, C., and Hatzianestis, I.: Organic Pollution in Sediments along the Coastal zone of Saudi Arabia, Red Sea, During Field Survey in Summer 2021, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-13576, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-13576, 2024.

09:15–09:25
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EGU24-13480
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Virtual presentation
Jonathan Raphael and Jason Schatz

We introduce Cerulean, a fully automated machine learning pipeline designed to detect anthropogenic oil pollution across the world’s oceans in near-real-time from Sentinel-1 data. Cerulean is anticipated to provide a vital resource to researchers, environmental organizations, governments, journalists, and other stakeholders, by providing a free and public global monitoring and reporting system for oil pollution.

Cerulean was recently launched and is now accessible to the public via a state-of-the-art map-based interface (cerulean.skytruth.org) as well as an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant API (api.cerulean.skytruth.org). These two interfaces allow unfettered access to our continuously growing database of potential oil slicks, able to be filtered against many different criteria including event timestamp, geographic area of interest, and slick area. Additionally, we cross-correlate each high-confidence slick with our vessel-tracking AIS database and our oceanic stationary infrastructure database to highlight the top three probable sources of each potential slick.

Cerulean’s code is open-source and has been published on GitHub to encourage public scrutiny for review and feedback. Though the model itself is continually being improved upon, and individual slicks should be subjected to expert review, we hope that this tool can immediately become a regular source of high-quality slick candidates for users seeking to test or corroborate their own models and systems, or to review their own sovereign waters. We are also looking for potential partners interested in collaboration to demonstrate novel value pipelines that leverage this new datasource.

How to cite: Raphael, J. and Schatz, J.: SkyTruth’s Cerulean: Public Database of Near-Real-Time Oil Detections, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-13480, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-13480, 2024.

09:25–09:35
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EGU24-4928
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Virtual presentation
Yanan Di, Ruoxuan Zhao, and Jianzhou Xu

Microplastics (MPs, smaller than 5 mm) are ubiquitous and difficult to be degraded in environment. It is more easily to be ingested by the organism and cause a series of harms through the food chain. Based on the survey of MPs distribution in the intertidal zone along our coast and the development of fast MPs detection methods by using Hyperspectral image recognition, we use a typical marine food chain (microalgae-mussels-crabs) to investigate the trophic transfer and the relative toxic effects by environmental MPs. The polyethylene particles (10-45 μm) was selected as representative MPs to investigate the induced biological effects in microalgae, marine mussels and crabs, and the potential mechanisms under different exposure scenarios, including both water-born and trophic transfer exposure. The results showed that the algae could absorb on the surface of MPs, which not only damaged algal cells, but also changed surface characteristics of MPs to affect the feeding of mussels. In addition, MPs could be ingested and accumulated in the consumers with significant exposure concentration dependence and tissue specificity. Biomarkers from different levels in mussels and crabs showed that MPs could induce the increased ingestion rate, decreased lysosomal membrane stability, the changes of the activity of antioxidative responses. In addition, MPs indeed caused more serious stress responses in organisms at higher levels in food chain through the trophic transfer under the mechanism to balance the antioxidant defenses and metabolism system. To our best knowledge, this research is the first study to focus on trophic transfer induced biological responses by MPs in marine organisms. It provides an important research model and scientific basis for the future exploration of eco-toxic effect of environmental MPs.

How to cite: Di, Y., Zhao, R., and Xu, J.: Application of marine organisms at multi-trophic level to study the integrated biological responses induced by microplastics through food-chain, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-4928, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-4928, 2024.

09:35–09:45
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EGU24-15377
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On-site presentation
Jørgen Skancke and Raymond Nepstad

Lagrangian oil spill models, like many environmental models, are constructed from a large set of submodels, each with their own set of parameters and constants. The submodels belong to different domains of science, such as physical oceanography, petroleum chemistry, sediment and coastal geoscience, biochemistry, and ecotoxicology. Generally, these submodels have been derived and fitted to observations independently and within separate contexts, before being combined in some sequence to become the oil spill model. In this way, oil spill models have a large set of input parameters and constants that affect model output. When oil spill models are compared with observed data, it is challenging to know which of this large set of parameters should be adjusted to improve the model's performance against observations. Given the scale of oil spill models, parameters from different submodels can be correlated in non-trivial ways. It is also generally not known to which parameters the oil spill model displays the most sensitivity. This is further complicated by parameter sensitivity being dependent on environmental input such as wind speeds and ocean currents. Here, we present a sensitivity analysis of an idealised oil spill model, with submodels for oil surface spreading, entrainment of oil by breaking waves, resurfacing of oil, emulsification of surface oil by water uptake, and increase in viscosity of oil due because of weathering and water uptake. We discuss our results in context of improving oil spill models from observations, both laboratory data and sea-truth in the form of past spill events. 

How to cite: Skancke, J. and Nepstad, R.: Parameter estimation and sensitivity in Lagrangian oil spill models, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-15377, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-15377, 2024.

09:45–09:55
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EGU24-19655
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On-site presentation
Svetlana Pakhomova, Igor Zhdanov, Anfisa Berezina, Tatiana Polivanova, and Evgeny Yakushev

The present study addresses spatial and temporal distribution of floating microplastics (MPs) in the Eurasian part of the Arctic Ocean. In this study we used a harmonized methods from sample collection to data reporting according to the latest recommendations of AMAP for MPs research. Studies were carried out in 6 cruises: in August-October 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 onboard R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and R/V Akademik Ioffe. A total of 200 surface water samples were collected in the Barents, Kara, Laptev, and East-Siberian seas, comprising by far the most extensive dataset on floating microplastics in the Eurasian Arctic. Floating debris were sampled using a Neuston net with mesh size 0.33 mm, each catch lasted an average 20 minutes. All potential plastic particles were identified on ATR -FTIR (Spectrum Two, Perkin Elmer).

It was revealed that MPs pollution significantly decreases from the West to East in the Eurasian Arctic, from 19.0 µg/m3 in the Barents Sea to 11.2 µg/m3 in the Kara Sea, 3.6 µg/m3 in the Laptev Sea and 2.0 µg/m3 in the East-Siberian Sea. Less MPs were found in the Great Siberian River plumes than in high saline water. The maximum concentration of MPs was found in the Kara Gates Straight (640 µg/m3) in August in the waters flowing from the Barents Sea. This can indicate that the main source of MPs in the Siberian Arctic is located in the Barents Sea.

Variability of MPs abundance was found in the Kara Sea for different years, 1000 – 5000 items/km2 on average without a clear trend. Possible influence of several factors effecting MPs fate here was discussed, i.e. interannual changes in riverine discharge, shipping activity, Atlantic water inflow, ice cover. 

How to cite: Pakhomova, S., Zhdanov, I., Berezina, A., Polivanova, T., and Yakushev, E.: Spatiotemporal trends in microplastic pollution of surface waters of the Eurasian Arctic, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-19655, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-19655, 2024.

09:55–10:05
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EGU24-16287
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On-site presentation
Nan Wu, Stuart Grieve, Andrew Manning, and Kate Spencer

The ocean is considered a sink for plastic waste, with buoyant plastics remaining at the surface for up to 50 years. Removal of plastic waste from the ocean by manpower is not feasible, but natural-based removal strategies are promising. Among these, the biological pump stands out as a crucial process responsible for transferring materials and nutrients from the surface to the deep ocean. In this context, plastic particles can be incorporated into and transported with marine snow aggregates, providing a potential mechanism for removing plastic waste from the upper ocean (human food chain) to the deep ocean. However, the longevity of plastic debris at the ocean surface remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we developed a degradation-aggregation model to predict the longevity of different types, sizes and shapes of buoyant plastics at the ocean surface. 
Our results show that the longevity of plastic debris is primarily determined by the time it takes for plastic debris to degrade sufficiently and become small enough (< 100 µm) to be incorporated into marine snow aggregates. Larger plastics take decades to degrade into small microplastics that can be trapped in marine snow, prolonging their presence in surface waters. Conversely, once microplastics are small enough to be incorporated into marine snow, they can reach the seafloor sediment within two years. Interestingly, our model highlights that vertical settling of microplastics occurs through multiple incorporation and settling via vector transport of marine snow, which differs from previous studies reporting oscillations of microplastics in the ocean subsurface. This study explains the mechanisms of plastic debris removal by the biological pump and the longevity of plastic debris at the ocean surface. In addition, this theoretical model can be extended to different aquatic ecosystems to predict the fate and longevity of plastic debris in different environments.

How to cite: Wu, N., Grieve, S., Manning, A., and Spencer, K.: Modelling the sedimentation of macro-, micro- and nanoplastics in the ocean from surface to sediment, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-16287, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-16287, 2024.

Posters on site: Thu, 18 Apr, 10:45–12:30 | Hall X4

Display time: Thu, 18 Apr, 08:30–Thu, 18 Apr, 12:30
Chairpersons: Svitlana Liubartseva, Katerina Spanoudaki, George Zodiatis
X4.69
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EGU24-2754
Jungkyu Park and Inkwon Um

The government project to publish the geological map of the seabed of South Korea was initiated in 1975. Over the course of 40 years, until 2015, the geological map of the seabed for the regional scale (1:250,000) covering a total area of 350,000 km2 under the jurisdiction of South Korea was successfully completed. Subsequently, starting in 2016, a new seabed mapping program for the coastal zones of South Korea at a more precise scale (1:100,000) has been in preparation.

The geological map of the seabed in South Korea comprises 5 to 8 thematic map sheets, including seabed topography, surface sediment average particle size distribution, surface sediment type distribution, and seabed surface acoustic distribution. These maps play a crucial role in various national infrastructure aspects such as resource development, defense security, educational research, and marine construction. Despite their significance, there exists a lack of public understanding and consensus regarding the necessity and importance of geological seabed maps. This is attributed to their nature as special public goods, not directly utilized by the public and not traded in the market.

In light of this, this study aims to evaluate the economic value of the geological map of the seabed, shedding light on the necessity of its preparation and emphasizing its importance. The study measures the range of applications for the geological seabed map, distinguishes consumers and beneficiaries, and quantifies the value of the geological map of the seabed in South Korea using the conditional value method—an established valuation technique for non-market goods.

How to cite: Park, J. and Um, I.: A Study on the Economic Valuation of the Korean Seabed Geological Map, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-2754, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-2754, 2024.

X4.70
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EGU24-6017
Andrea Cucco, Roberto Sorgente, Giovanni Quattrocchi, Simone Simeone, Andrea Pes, Andrea Satta, Matteo Sinerchia, Angelo Perilli, and Alberto Ribotti

We present the key findings derived from two European projects, SICOMARplus and GEREMIA, which focused on ocean modeling applications to support maritime safety and to safeguard the marine environment in two regions situated in the northern part of Sardinia, Italy. These projects have supported the implementation of two operational numerical prediction systems for pollution risk management at sea, in the Bonifacio Strait and the port of Olbia. The primary beneficiaries of these tools and associated products included fishermen, yachtsmen, seafarers, and individuals working at sea, as well as emergency management entities such as the Coast Guard, port authorities, and the Italian Navy.

Both prediction systems are based on advanced coastal ocean numerical models with high spatial resolution and European cutting-edge meteorological and marine data (i.e., ECMWF and Copernicus Marine Service) to establish environmental conditions at open boundaries.

Considering the SICOMARplus project, the operational products comprise a 3-day forecast of marine parameters, like sea surface temperature, wave direction and height, current speed and direction. Additionally, the system provides Oil Stranding Time and Risk Rank Maps for the Bonifacio Strait and the entire north-western coast of Sardinia.

Regarding the GEREMIA project, the operational products include a 3-day prediction of the speed and direction of surface currents, as well as Water Age within the port of Olbia and the surrounding gulfs system. These insights into water renewal times within the port, under real-time and forecast of the meteorological and marine conditions, serve as a proxy for hazard assessment in the event of a maritime accident. This is particularly crucial when significant volumes of hydrocarbons may disperse in port waters, with implications for the tourism and economic sectors, such as bathing and aquaculture.

Both systems are equipped with web-based interactive graphical user interfaces specifically designed to access operational products, allows users to zoom in on specific areas and to setup and execute numerical simulations in on-demand mode. Users are required to provide their credentials for access to the reserved area, where, after inputting basic parameters, they can perform simulations to predict the surface transport of oil or floating pollutants in north-western Sardinia.

These prediction systems and related products, specifically designed to support stakeholders, prove invaluable in planning and managing at-sea activities, enhancing safety, and reducing potential hazards arising from unexpected accidents.

How to cite: Cucco, A., Sorgente, R., Quattrocchi, G., Simeone, S., Pes, A., Satta, A., Sinerchia, M., Perilli, A., and Ribotti, A.: Operational oceanography in ports and coastal areas, applications for the management of pollution events, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-6017, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-6017, 2024.

X4.71
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EGU24-7079
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ECS
Young Kyoung Song, U-Seong Kim, and Tae-Hoon Kim

While land-basd sources of plastic pollution have garnered increasing attention in recent years, ocean-based sources have been less thoroughly examined. The objective of this study was to quantify and characterize the production of microplastics on the surface of fishing ropes during the operation of a hauler on a fishing boat. The simulation of the fishing process (operating the hauler) was conducted in two phases to assess quantification, size distribution, and shapes of particles produced from the fishing ropes due to mechanical abrasion with the hauler.

Initially, we simulated the fishing operation using the hauler with varying weights at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 kg (weight-varied hauler simulation, WVHS). Subsequently, we simulated the fishing operation using the hauler according to the frequency of hauler operation (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 times) with weights of 5kg and 50kg (frequency-varied hauler simulation, FVHS). All fragmented particles were identified using a FTIR microscope (Nicolet iN10 MX; Thermo Fisher Scientific) equipped with a linear array detector, employing 25 μm steps over one section (~12 × 12 mm) in reflection mode.

In the results of WVHS experiment, the abundance of fragmented particles larger than 10 mm on the surface of the PP rope increased with the weight due to mechanical abrasion. The observed values were 31±1.2 particles/m (5kg), 52±21 particles/m (20kg), 69±44 particles/m (35kg), and 77±5.7 particles/m (50kg) when lifting each weight using the hauler. The estimated regression equation was y=1.383x+15.538 (F=4.585, p=0.001). In the FVHS experiment, the abundance of produced particles peaked at 10 times and subsequently sustained a steady state in particle abundance for the 5 kg weight. For the 50 kg weight, the peak occurred at 5 times of hauler simulation, with subsequent reductions and a steady state in particle abundance. Our research offers essential information to estimate the microplastic production on fishing ropes during hauler operating, providing valuable insights into the impact of fishing activities on microplastic production in marine environments.

How to cite: Song, Y. K., Kim, U.-S., and Kim, T.-H.: Weathering effects on microplastic production in fishing rope hauler operations:  mechanical abrasion , EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-7079, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-7079, 2024.

X4.72
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EGU24-7256
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ECS
Igor Atake, Gabriele Accarino, Marco Carlo, Donatello Elia, Giovanni Coppini, and Giovanni Aloisio

Oil spill incidents can have a significative negative impact on coastal and marine ecosystems as well as human activities. Despite increased maritime safety, the European Maritime Safety Agency's Cleanseanet program detected a substantial increase in spills within the Mediterranean basin. The accurate prediction of the transport and transformation of the oil slick is a key aspect for assessing the impacts of the spill on coastal and marine areas. In this context, numerical oil spill modeling plays a crucial role in understanding unseen impacts and filling observational gaps. Such models are executed according to a set of physical simulation parameters, which are usually hand-picked, relying mostly on the modeler's expertise. Proper selection of such parameters is key for ensuring accurate results. This study proposes a novel technique integrating satellite observations, the Medslik-II oil spill model and Machine Learning for enhancing the oil spill results by optimizing the model parametrization. A Bayesian Optimization Framework was implemented to search for the optimal configuration through the parameter space. A real oil spill case, that occurred in the Baniyas area (Syria) in 2021, was used to validate the proposed approach. Results from early evaluation of such framework are promising and demonstrated that coupling physics- and data-driven techniques can lead to more precise risk assessment and planning for oil spill incidents.

How to cite: Atake, I., Accarino, G., Carlo, M., Elia, D., Coppini, G., and Aloisio, G.: Optimizing Medslik-II: Parametrization through a bayesian search algorithm applied at the Baniyas oil spill incident (Syria, 2021), EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-7256, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-7256, 2024.

X4.73
|
EGU24-8195
Ioannis Hatzianestis, Yasser Abualnaja, Constantine Parinos, Elvira Plakidi, Styliani Chourdaki, and Alexandra Pavlidou

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were determined in surface marine sediments collected from the Jeddah coastal zone (Saudi Arabia), in order to assess their levels, origin, and probable toxic effects on marine organisms. Two marine areas were selected (a) the Jeddah lagoon system, which is an area with shallow depth and restricted water circulation receiving wastewater and (b) Mena Jeddah, an extensive port facility within the Islamic Port of Jeddah, influenced by various activities associated with the port operations. Sediments were collected from 10 stations and PAHs were determined by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. In total thirty-two parent and alkyl substituted compounds were quantified. High PAH concentrations, indicative of an enhanced pollutant burden, were recorded in the Jeddah Lagoon (mean value 5800 μg/kg for total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (∑PAH)), whereas PAH levels in Mena Jeddah were lower (mean value for ∑PAH 615 μg/kg). PAH mixtures were mainly composed of methyl substituted compounds at all lagoon stations, suggesting a petroleum origin, whereas PAH from combustion sources accounted for only 8.5–28.8% of ∑PAH. In contrast, pyrolytic PAHs were found at higher concentrations in Mena Jeddah, where total PAH concentrations were lower, accounting for 39–61% of total PAHs. PAH sources and transport pathways were further examined by using various molecular diagnostic ratios/indices and applying Positive Matrix Factorization, which is a multivariate statistical method capable to calculate source profiles and contributions. Low temperature combustion was found to be the most significant source of PAHs with an average contribution of 41%, followed by high temperature combustion and petrogenic sources (21%) and low MW fossil inputs (17%). Petroleum related pollution seems to predominate in Jeddah lagoons, whereas pyrolytic PAHs produced from low temperature combustion processes were dominant in Mena Jedda. To evaluate probable toxicity risks to marine organisms, PAHs concentrations were compared to sediment quality guidelines, whereas Toxicity Equivalent Quotients (TEQs) of carcinogenic PAHs relative to benzo[a]pyrene were also calculated and used for ecological risk assessment. Based on these criteria it seems that, despite the high total values of PAHs, adverse biological effects are unlikely to occur, while a low to moderate ecological risk was found in the lagoon stations.

This study has been funded by the project “Marine and Coastal Assessment Protection Study for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Coastline” made between the Saudi National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, as part of the Vision 2030 for economic growth and development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

How to cite: Hatzianestis, I., Abualnaja, Y., Parinos, C., Plakidi, E., Chourdaki, S., and Pavlidou, A.: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons distribution, origin and risk assessment in Jeddah marine coastal zone sediments, Saudi Arabia, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-8195, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-8195, 2024.

X4.74
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EGU24-9808
|
ECS
Giulia Gronchi, Nadia Pinardi, Giovanni Coppini, and Gianandrea Mannarini

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.

How to cite: Gronchi, G., Pinardi, N., Coppini, G., and Mannarini, G.: A subsurface oil spill study: integral ‘plume’ model and lagrangian oil droplets, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-9808, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-9808, 2024.

X4.75
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EGU24-11899
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ECS
Arsalan Mostaani, Tor Nordam, Emlyn J. Davies, and Andreas Steinvik

Formation of bubble clouds under breaking waves and whitecaps is a prominent phenomenon in quantifying the air-sea gas exchange process. The size distribution of bubbles will impact the bubble cloud properties such as volume, concentration, and intrusion depth over time and space. The number, size, and shape of the bubbles are highly associated with the intensity of the breaking wave (i.e., wave steepness). While for low-intensity spilling waves, the rolling surface jet and the subsequent secondary (splash-up) jets may generate clouds of bubbles with nearly similar length and time scales, however under high-intensity plunging waves, a more complicated plume-cloud of bubbles may be generated due to the frontal plunging jets. In the case of an oil spill at sea, breaking waves will also lead to breakup and entrainment of a surface slick into smaller submerged droplets.

A series of lab experiments were conducted in a linear wave flume with a piston-type wave maker, investigating bubble clouds and oil droplets and their spatial and temporal properties under 2-D spilling and plunging breakers. In this work, the SINTEF SilCam camera system with a uniform LED backlight was utilized to capture images of the bubbles and droplets at high frequency. The PyOpia open-source image processing library was enhanced and subsequently trained to capture the overlapping bubbles, droplets, and individual bubbles with highly deformed shapes.

In the present poster, results extracted from the image analysis are described. We show depth- and time-resolved size distributions for both bubbles and oil droplets. Some of the size-distribution models and scales presented in the literature, for both air bubbles and oil droplets, are examined to evaluate their performance with current data.

How to cite: Mostaani, A., Nordam, T., Davies, E. J., and Steinvik, A.: Clouds of bubbles and droplets; formation and distribution under breaking waves, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-11899, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-11899, 2024.

X4.76
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EGU24-15185
Emma Litzler, Raymond Nepstad, Tor Nordam, Johannes Röhrs, Kai H. Christensen, and Edel S. U. Rikardsen

Accidental oil spills at sea can have severe environmental impact on the marine
environment. To help quantify the risk of petroleum activities, relevant oil
spill scenarios are simulated ahead of time, to form a picture of possible
outcomes, and to estimate needs for response equipment. Formally, an
Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) may be carried out, in which risk is
quantified by estimating the environmental consequences of different outcomes,
weighted by the probabilities of those outcomes.

Probabilities in ERA are commonly determined by ensemble simulations with an
oil spill trajectory model. Long time series of environmental data are produced
for the relevant area, and the oil spill scenario is simulated repeatedly at
different intervals within the environmental data set. Due to differences in
wind, current and other environmental parameters, the outcome of a scenario
will be different each time, and each simulation in the ensemble constitutes a
sample from the space of possible outcomes.

In this work, we run ensembles with the OSCAR oil spill model, using half a
year of data from 24 different ensemble members of an ocean model EPS (Ensemble
Prediction System) setup for the Barents Sea. We demonstrate that in addition
to the variation in outcomes from running simulations at different times, we
also get variation across the 24 different realisations of the environmental
data. Assuming that each of the ensemble members are equally likely guesses at
the ocean state, the use of the EPS data as input to the oil spill simulations
allow us to explore a larger range of possible outcomes of the oil spill.

The use of EPS in weather forecasting is already common practice, and available
to the public through ranges of uncertainty in weather apps. Given that the
transport of oil at the sea surface is to a large degree controlled by the
wind, the use of EPS data in operational oil spill modelling of ongoing events
is already possible. Making use of such data can help predict significant, but
perhaps unlikely events, such as catastrophic oiling of sensitive beaches.

How to cite: Litzler, E., Nepstad, R., Nordam, T., Röhrs, J., Christensen, K. H., and Rikardsen, E. S. U.: Oil spill risk assessment based on ocean model ensemble prediction system, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-15185, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-15185, 2024.

X4.77
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EGU24-15550
Jaromir Jakacki and Maciej Muzyka

Ammunition dumped in the sea generates specific problems related to decision making about what will happen in the event of a leak and the consequences when it will be taken out of the sea. One of the reasons for the difficulties in making decisions is the lack of knowledge about the dumped material (it may be, for example, chemical munitions), the level of pollution in the surrounding area, and the mobility of the sediments in which it was found. Therefore, the main goal of this work is to develop a model that will be an element of the system providing information on the mobility of sediments and thus the possibility of spreading the contaminated fraction. The whole will consist of several elements, including a demonstrator for analysing the properties of sediments. An important element is to get the real value of the threshold shear stress to calculate the current speed required to resuspend individual particles or upper sediment layers. Additionally, the properties of the sediment will be determined on the basis of the in situ collected samples. All this will allow the development of a model providing information on the mobility of bottom material introduced into the sea depths and, consequently, the contaminated area. The work concerns preliminary activities, and the concept of the system along with preliminary results will be presented. At this stage, the shear stress threshold measurement also requires tuning. It is important to add that this is to be part of a larger system to support the selection of the most appropriate approach when ammunition is found in the Baltic Sea.

 

The results are part of the EU MARTERA project PROBANNT. Study partially financed by the National Centre for Research and Development, Poland

How to cite: Jakacki, J. and Muzyka, M.: Assessment of resuspend bottom material into the water column during the possible removal of dumped ammunition from the sea., EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-15550, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-15550, 2024.

X4.78
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EGU24-18232
Introducing biofouling effects in a lagrangian-tracking particle 3d model
(withdrawn)
Arnau Buñuel
X4.79
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EGU24-19924
|
ECS
Measuring size distribution of air bubbles and oil droplets under breaking waves
(withdrawn after no-show)
Andreas Steinvik, Tor Nordam, Emlyn Davies, Frode Leirvik, and Arsalan Mostaani
X4.80
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EGU24-21393
|
ECS
Anfisa Berezina, Evgeniy Yakushev, Andre Staalstrøm, and Helene Frigstad

Oxygen regime in the vicinity of the sediment-water interface (SWI) was studied with a coupled benthic-pelagic model 2DBP (Yakushev et al., 2020), that considers biogeochemical processes occurring in the water column and the sediments in the same model domain. C-N-P-Si-O-S-Mn-Fe biogeochemical model BROM describes in detail the processes of organic matter mineralization in oxygen-depleted conditions that are vitally important for assessing biogeochemical impacts (i.e., denitrification, metal reduction, sulfate reduction). This allows us to predict changes in redox conditions at the bottom as a function of seasonality (organic matter production and destruction, vertical mixing), anthropogenic (eutrophication), and climatic (temperature and mixing ) factors.

This model was applied to the Western Oslo Fjord subjected to an intensive organic waste discharge in the 1960s-1970s. In this period, it was documented the disappearance of shrimps in the bottom layer and increased primary production in the surface layer.

This work aimed to reconstruct the Oslo Fjord SWI redox conditions in the past decadal period (1930-2023). It was numerically demonstrated the interconnection between an amount of supplying with waste water organic matter and oxygen depletion processes in the bottom layer. It was shown that in the 1970s there was a shift from normoxic to anoxic conditions. It was also estimated the period of the system restoration to normoxic conditions after the improvement of the wastewater plant in the 1980s. This model can be used for analyzing the consequences of future changes under different scenarios of nutrient discharges to the Fjord.

How to cite: Berezina, A., Yakushev, E., Staalstrøm, A., and Frigstad, H.: Modeling the Oslofjord bottom oxygen regime interdecadal changes affected by increased waste water discharge in 1970s, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-21393, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-21393, 2024.

X4.81
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EGU24-21844
Steven Brooks, Samantha Martins, Bavo De Witte, Juan Bellas, Ketil Hylland, Aourell Mauffret, Joachim Sturve, Ed Temperley, Jon Barber, Marina Lipizer, Christos Tsabaris, Evgeniy Yakushev, and Adam Lillicrap

The Horizon Europe project, CONTRAST, will develop an integrated assessment and effect-based monitoring framework (IAF) to measure the impacts of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) on the marine environment, which will contribute to the assessment of Good Environmental/ Ecological Status for application in EU policy (MSFD/WFD). The IAF will involve chemical measurements together with biological effects endpoints optimised to detect the presence and effect of CECs in the marine environment. Chemical prioritisation schemes will identify the CECs that pose the greatest threat to marine life and select which CECs to target in the laboratory experiments, where the effects on organisms and biodiversity will be assessed. In silico, in vitro and in vivo bioassays will be used to determine the mechanisms of toxicity of selected CECs. Providing information on how CECs interact with organisms at environmentally relevant concentrations and which biological effects tools should be used in the IAF to cover the range of toxicity mechanisms that CECs produce. A series of European-wide case studies will be used to test the suitability of the IAF to measure the effects of chemicals including CECs on indicator species and biodiversity and to model fate of CECs in marine environment. The knowledge gained from field testing and laboratory studies will form the basis for guidance documents and policy briefs on best practices for performing an IAF on CECs in the marine environment and help to provide the necessary protection of marine ecosystems.

How to cite: Brooks, S., Martins, S., De Witte, B., Bellas, J., Hylland, K., Mauffret, A., Sturve, J., Temperley, E., Barber, J., Lipizer, M., Tsabaris, C., Yakushev, E., and Lillicrap, A.: Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Marine Environment: An Integrated Effects Assessment Approach (CONTRAST), EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-21844, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-21844, 2024.

X4.82
|
EGU24-15262
George Zodiatis, Giovanni Coppini, Antonio Augusto Sepp Neves, Svitlana Liubartseva, Juan Peña, Andreas Nikolaidis, and Constantinos Hadjistassou

The Port of Limassol is a critical hub for maritime transport and economic activities in Cyprus, and is prone to oil pollution incidents. The port is designated as a refuge for ships in need of assistance, and shelters a myriad of socio-economic resources. In alignment with international agreements and best practices, oil spill simulations are conducted addressing preventive measures and preparedness.

Several potential oil spill scenarios are considered for the Limassol Port Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) qualification. They include small-to-medium volume releases caused by operational activities within the port and/or at anchorage and the vessel lanes at the Limassol Bay. The port calls include container ships, general cargo vessels, passenger and pleasure craft, navy vessels, dry docks, offshore supply vessels related to oil/gas platforms, drill ships, tankers, and vehicle carriers. Given the port traffic and diversity of vessel types three oil spill scenarios are identified within the three tier levels of potential oil spills and three additional specific scenarios were requested to be simulated as part of the Limassol port OSCP. The identified possibilities for oil spill releases due to marine traffic incidents are noted to be possible and not probable. Therefore, six oil spill scenarios were computed for oil spill simulation: 1) during offloading operations within the port, 2) ship collision outside the port’s gate, 3) outside the port from a drifting vessel, 4) ship-to-ship cargo transfers, 5) vessel grounding, and 6) small fishing vessel sinking.

Results of the oil spill simulations from the six scenarios are based on the 96 simulations using the well-established MEDSLIK model for winter (January and February) and summer (July) in 2017 and 2018. Each oil spill simulation spanned 3-4 days, manifesting once per each period. Daily hydrodynamical data of the CYCOFOS forecasting domain downscaled from the Copernicus Marine Service were used, together with the hourly SKIRON winds in the Eastern Mediterranean. Mostly, more than 50% of the initial spillage reached the shoreline of Limassol Bay. The shorter first impact on the beach was less than 24 hours, followed by gradually coastal depositions accompanied by sporadic oil washing off. For the internal oil spill sources, the impact to the port breakwaters is predicted to be at the very beginning of the leakage. Mainly, 35-47% of oil evaporated within less than 20 hours, while for the emulsified engine oil the evaporation reached 55-60%. The simulations indicate that the extent of the impacted shoreline of the Limassol Bay during winter typically exceeded the summer’s extent. In the winter, the oil spills chiefly were predicted to affect the Limassol port and, secondly, the touristic shoreline of the Limassol Bay. Conversely, in the summer, heavier oil depositions are predicted on the touristic shoreline. Nevertheless, insignificant oil depositions are predicted at the entire sea front of Limassol Bay. The simulations revealed that the numerous wave breakers located along the touristic shoreline of the Limassol Bay serve as “artificial booms” and therefore are mostly coated by the spilled oil, preventing the nearby tourist beaches from direct contamination.

How to cite: Zodiatis, G., Coppini, G., Sepp Neves, A. A., Liubartseva, S., Peña, J., Nikolaidis, A., and Hadjistassou, C.: Coastal oil spill predictions for port’s Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) qualification, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-15262, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-15262, 2024.

X4.83
|
EGU24-20977
Katerina Spanoudaki, Sabrina Outmani, Maria Luisa Quarta, Laura Vettorello, Noemi Fazzini, Georgios V. Kozyrakis, Vassiliki Metheniti, Marco Folegani, and Nikos Kampanis

The EU funded Iliad project builds on the assets resulting from two decades of investments in policies and infrastructures for the blue economy aiming to establish an interoperable, data-intensive, and cost-effective Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO). Iliad DTO combines ocean observations, state-of-the-art forecast models, citizen science, AI and advanced computing infrastructures (cloud computing, HPC, Internet of Things, Big Data, social networking, and more) to create high-resolution, multi-variable and multi-dimensional near real-time virtual representations of the ocean. Continuously integrating data from numerous in-situ sensors and satellites, Iliad DTO can provide a platform for researchers, policy makers, the industry, and citizens, to monitor the impact of climate change and human activities on ocean health and productivity and make data driven management decisions for a sustainable blue economy. Several Digital Twin (DT) pilots will be undertaken in key thematic areas such as offshore wind energy, wave and tidal energy, biodiversity assessments, fisheries and aquaculture, marine pollution and more.

The current work presents the Oil Spill Response Digital Twin pilot developed in the frame of Iliad. The DT focuses on Cretan Sea and aims to provide early detection of marine oil spills and operational forecasting of spill trajectories to support immediate response to pollution events, minimizing thus the impact on marine ecosystems, coastal communities and the economy and reducing the time for environmental recovery. A multi-model approach is followed for predicting the fate and transport of oil spills, employing MEDSLIK-II and OpenDrift particle tracking models, coupled to operational, high-resolution numerical weather (WRF), hydrodynamic (NEMO) and sea state (WAVEWATCH III) models for Cretan Sea. Real-time observations (current speed/direction, sea water temperature, wave height) from novel, low-cost on-line sensors are integrated in the DT and assimilated into the operational metocean forecasting chain for validation purposes and for improving models’ forecasting skills. A near-real time automatic oil spill detection system, from Sentinel-1 SAR images, is developed, which allows early detection of marine oil spills and triggers the oil spill forecasting system, producing accurate short-term forecasting of spills’ trajectories and fate. Automatic detection and classification of oil spill events employs a trained FCOS which performs initial object detection, fine-tuned with a dataset of +1000 SAR images, including 4 different classes (oil spill, look-alike, ship, land). Image pre-processing and oil spill mask delineation is performed using SNAPpy-based (Sentinel Application Platform Python toolbox) adaptive thresholding algorithms. The oil spill detection and forecasting system is tested by reconstructing the Ulysse-Virginia oil spill, which occurred off the coast of Corsica on October 7th, 2018. Sentinel-1 images are used to detect and delineate the coverage of the spill, to initiate Medslik-II and OpenDrift models for simulating the oil spill fate and transport. Oil spill predictions are produced using different metocean forcings, highlighting the importance of high-resolution metocean data in accurate forecasting of oil spill trajectories. Quantitative metrics are used to evaluate the ability of the oil spill models to reproduce the satellite oil spill observations. 

 

Acknowledgement: This research has received funding from the European Union’s H2020 RIA programme under GA No 101037643.

How to cite: Spanoudaki, K., Outmani, S., Quarta, M. L., Vettorello, L., Fazzini, N., Kozyrakis, G. V., Metheniti, V., Folegani, M., and Kampanis, N.: A near-real time oil spill detection and forecasting system for Iliad Digital Twins of the Ocean, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-20977, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-20977, 2024.

Posters virtual: Thu, 18 Apr, 14:00–15:45 | vHall X4

Display time: Thu, 18 Apr, 08:30–Thu, 18 Apr, 18:00
Chairperson: Svitlana Liubartseva
vX4.10
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EGU24-11590
|
ECS
|
Álvaro Cubas, Borja Aguiar-González, Daura Vega-Moreno, Eugenio Fraile-Nuez, and Francisco Machín

The pollution caused by marine microplastic debris is a significant environmental problem that affects the world’s oceans. Therefore, understanding their movement, distribution and fates in the ocean is crucial for addressing this issue. We explore the sensitivity of microplastic trajectories and fates to physical processes in the Canary Current System by employing the TrackMPD modeling framework, an existing open-access toolbox developed in MATLAB. TrackMPD resolves the limitations of previous toolboxes considering particle dynamical properties and a diverse set of physical processes. The sensitivity tests were performed through the release of virtual particles upstream the Canary Islands, using the horizontal velocity field extracted from the operational Atlantic – Iberian Biscay Irish (IBI) Ocean Analysis and Forecasting dataset. We base the sensibility test on varying the advection resolving method (RK4, RK2 and Euler Method) and the horizontal dispersion coefficient. Comparisons between scenarios are conducted by descriptive visualization of the trajectories and by computing a dimensionless Skill Score based on normalized cumulative Lagrangian separation that allows to estimate differences between trajectories. Results underscore the impact that varying physical processes parameters have on microplastic transport within the Canary Current System. These preliminary findings indicate that the transport and fates of microplastics are strongly influenced by the noteworthy mesoscale activity in the region, especially the eddies, and a coastal jet located east of the islands. After 90 days of simulation, most of the particles remain in the open ocean and those that reach the coast will mainly do so on the east coast of the islands. In all cases, average Skill Score values are above 0.8. The main differences are related to the horizontal dispersion, resulting in lower Skill Scores with higher dispersion coefficients. This effect shows no significant differences between advection scheme resolution. Moreover, the Skill Score indicates variability differences between advection schemes, where the Euler method exhibits more variability than the RK2, and the RK2 more than the RK4. This analysis provides insights into the importance of basic physical processes on the distribution and fate of microplastic debris, thereby increasing the knowledge on the topic. Ongoing analyses test the performance of the above different schemes against real case scenarios of surface drifters navigating through the Canary Current system

How to cite: Cubas, Á., Aguiar-González, B., Vega-Moreno, D., Fraile-Nuez, E., and Machín, F.: Microplastic trajectories and fates in the Canary Current System using TrackMPD, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-11590, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-11590, 2024.

vX4.11
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EGU24-20902
|
ECS
Mapping the environmental risk associated to water quality of marinas in Portugal
(withdrawn)
Neele Mundt, Maria C. Neves, and Alexandra Cravo