Oil Spill Scenario Exercise

Science - Oceanography Unit
Oil Spill Scenario Exercise

This issue is oil; we need it, however, its acquisition can be dangerous to the environment. The question is, what can be done to mitigate these dangers and, what will we do when the next oil spill occurs. There is no perfect answer to this question, just a well presented, persuasive argument.

You are to work with your knowledge, resources and your lab team to come up with a plan for action for one of the islands in the Channel Islands for when the next oil spill (from one of the refineries or shipping lanes) occurs off the California coast in this region.
--- Your first task is to use your understanding of wind, waves, tides and currents to predict the oil spill behavior. Where will the oil go, how fast will it travel?
--- Your second task is for you to apply your understanding of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Maps and create a spill response plan for one of the Islands in the Channel Islands, your adopted island.

teacher notes

The Background : (fact)
The LA Basin and Southern California bight have been the scene of rapid development in the last fifty years, both in terms of human population and industrialization. The graphic below shows some the areas of potential pollution sources.

(source : http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/socal/)

Over the course of the term we studied the Channel Islands in class and know their vulnerability to environmental impacts.

To learn more about this region and the Islands see this site: adopt an island maps and links
To read about the development in the area read article here: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/socal/
To view environmental sensitivity maps of the Channel Islands (in pdf format) adopt an island maps and links
Oil Spills, a fact of modern life, are notoriously difficult to clean up.
Read up on this site for ideas and experiments to try. http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/kids/kids.html
Other resources and helpful links

The Scenario: (fiction)

The date is: (given in class) at 6 am.
Example: In a rush to finish the drilling before their holidays, the workers on one of the oil platforms in the LA Basin have skipped some of the necessary safety and reliability checks. Pipes were lowered into the depths of the water without proper welds, and one of the numerous platforms in the area has sprung a leak. The pipe is 100 feet below the surface, where it is leaking at a rate of 150 gallons per hour... (big leak)

The latitude and longitude of the spill are: see white board in class room (an area around the Channel Islands)

Current conditions in the area are on the web sites below

Up to date weather forecasts: http://www.wunderground.com choose a city in the region, for example Santa Barbara
Realtime wind and current patterns: http://ccs.ucsd.edu/research/sbcsmb/buoys/immap/
Realtime wave chart : http://cdip.ucsd.edu/models/socal_now.shtml
The tide chart: http://www.tidelinesonline.com

So far, the platform / ship has leaked (given in class) gallons of oil and continues to leak at an alarming rate of 150 gallons per hour... (big leak). A regional response team has numerous ships with booms, dispersants, skimmers and the other equipment such as you experimented with in the lab last week.

What should this team do to help? It depends on the management plan that you have for your island. Answer the questions below to outline your plan.

A. Weather predictions

1. What are the weather conditions presently? click on http://www.wunderground.com or other weather site of your choice. Chose a location that is near your island. Suggestion; choose Santa Barbara CA. Then choose history and input the correct dates to get the archived information.

2. What is the prediction for the next 3 days in the area? You may want to look at the satellite and radar maps. List the wind and precipitation forecasts for the present and the next 3 days below. You may use the average wind speed and direction for the GNOME simulation. Or you may choose variable winds and input each day.

day /date	temperature	precipitation	wind speed and direction
0	.	.	.
1	.	.	.
2	.	.	.
3	.	.	.

B. Oil Spill Movement
Use the GNOME software on the desktop computers and the correct location files for this scenario. Follow the promts given by the software to enter the parameters (location, date, wind speed and direction) and then run the spill for 3 days.

1. Put a brown x on your map handout where you think the oil spill presently is, use the latitude and longitude given in class.

2. Now that you know where the spill originating from, where is it going to head?

View this web site for the wind and current patterns. http://ccs.ucsd.edu/research/sbcsmb/buoys/immap/ you will need to look at the archives, scroll down to archives link, choose it then find the date given to find the correct map. (note: the date of the gif file is on day before the date printed on the map)
Align the map you see on the internet with your map.

3. Draw the current arrows on your map in yellow and the wind arrows in red. Look at this website for current and temperature data, After choosing a bouy, you will need to use the archives and read from the data tables.
View this web site for the wind and current patterns. http://ccs.ucsd.edu/research/sbcsmb/buoys/immap/ you will need to look at the archives, scroll down to archives link, choose it then find the date given to find the correct map. (note: the date of the gif file is on day before the date printed on the map)
Align the map you see on the internet with your map.

what is the average current speed?
(you may skip this one on the test)

what is the average wind speed?
(use the weather site)

- Why might the wind and currents be heading in different directions?
Discuss Eckman transport.
- Why are some arrows longer than other arrows?
- Which is more important in moving the oil, wind or deep water currents?

4. Put a brown line on your map handout where you think the oil spill will hit land after three days.
Why do you think this is so? describe what you saw on the GNOME simulation.

5. What areas will be hit with the most oil from the spill? Describe the location.

6. What time do predict the oil slick will hit ? This is given by the GNOME simulation software.

7. What will the tide height be at that time?
look at this site http://www.tidelinesonline.com choose a tide location near your island, suggest Santa Barbara Island.

8. What are the wave conditions in the area?
look here: http://cdip.ucsd.edu/models/socal_now.shtml search the archives for the date of the event

Describe the wave heights in the area of the slick.

What color are they on the map on the internet site ? _______________

How will the waves effect your choices for clean-up?

C. Clean -up

How will you respond to the spill once it reaches your island? (assume for the purpose of this exercise that it will....) Talk about clean up techniques ,priorities etc ...

1. What can be done to cleanup this spill both short and long term?

Be specific, base your answer on the types of shoreline you are dealing with.
See your ESI map for specifics about your shoreline type and how to clean it up.

2. Recall your oily spills lab, what methods worked best for you in the simulation?

You might want to read this page for clean up ideas http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/kids/kids.html
Feel free to use illustrations to help your case.

3. What will the results of this spill be on the animals and plants life of your area?

Use the ESI maps information on what lives where and when
Be specific, talk about the food chain, exposure and breeding effects.
How might your clean-up methods effect them? These websites have good information.

Tutorial page about oil spills with plenty of pictures.
Oil Spill page

D. Prevention

1. What might you do to prevent spills in the future?

2. Suggest several ways that we can reduce our dependence on oil, the best way to lower our risk of a spill.