Abstract:

This dataset contains position, environmental data, and oil dispersal/weathering characteristics on model output from an open source ocean trajectory framework, OpenDrift, used to simulate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. OpenDrift includes the integrated oil drift module OpenOil, which includes a number of relevant processes, such as emulsification, wave entrainment, and droplet formation. This takes account of the actual oil type/properties, using the ADIOS (Automated Data Inquiry for Oil Spills) oil weathering database of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Metocean forcing data are taken from the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) in the Gulf of Mexico, GoM-HYCOM 1/50 degree, with realistic river input and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) products of wind and wave parameters with 1/8 degree resolution. The six included files contain output which verifies model performance by simulating conditions in April 2015 for comparison with field observations, compare the oil droplet size distribution parameterizations of Delvigne and Sweeney (1988) and Li et al. (2017), and compare conditions with and without freshwater input for two high river discharge events.

Suggested Citation:

Hole, L. R., Dagestad, K. F., Röhrs, J., Wettre, C., Kourafalou, V. H., Androulidakis, I., ... & Garcia-Pineda, O.. 2019. Modeled oil particle trajectory fields from the GoM-HYCOM model (1/50 deg resolution) for selected periods following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from 2010-04-20 to 2010-07-10. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/n7-11g0-cq20

Publications:

Hole, L. R., Dagestad, K.-F., Röhrs, J., Wettre, C., Kourafalou, V. H., Androulidakis, Y., … Garcia-Pineda, O. (2019). The DeepWater Horizon Oil Slick: Simulations of River Front Effects and Oil Droplet Size Distribution. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 7(10), 329. doi:10.3390/jmse7100329

Purpose:

Examination of the effect of river fronts on the Deepwater Horizon surface oil patch, as well as the effects of two different parameterizations of oil droplet size distribution.

Data Parameters and Units:

Trajectory number, time[seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00], age_seconds[s], dropletdiameter[m], ocean vertical diffusivity[m^2/s], interfacial area[m^2], mass evaporated[kg], water_fraction[%], y component of wind[m/s], sea ice area fraction[%], density[kg/m^3], longitude[degrees], oil film thickness[m], sea surface wave period at spectral peak[s], salinity[PSU], EW current speed[m/s], time after onset of emulsification[s], zonal wind component[m/s], age emulsion seconds[s], surface wave Stokes drift y component[m/s], status[0=active,1=stranded, 2 = missing data], viscosity[N s/m^2 or Pa s], surface wave mean period [s], entrainment length scale[m], seafloor depth[,], latitude[degrees], mass dispersed[kg], land mask[0,1], surface wave significant height[m], water temperature[degC], vertical water velocity[], mass of oil[kg], age exposure[s], surface wave Stokes drift x component[m/s], NW current speed[], vertical position z[m], wind drift factor[%], fraction evaporated [%].

Methods:

https://github.com/OpenDrift/opendrift/

Provenance and Historical References:

Delvigne, G. A. L., & Sweeney, C. E. (1988). Natural dispersion of oil. Oil and Chemical Pollution, 4(4), 281–310. doi:10.1016/s0269-8579(88)80003-0 Li, Z., Spaulding, M., French McCay, D., Crowley, D., & Payne, J. R. (2017). Development of a unified oil droplet size distribution model with application to surface breaking waves and subsea blowout releases considering dispersant effects. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 114(1), 247–257. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.09.008

Individual Files: