A Numerical Tool For Hydrocarbon PollutionForecasting In The Autonomous Port Of Bilbao

The implementation of the Calculus capabilities of PC computational platforms allows for the application of techniques to solve the equations which govern physical processes in the ocean. The Port Authority of Bilbao, the Maritime Engineering Laboratory (LIM) of the UPC and AZTI, are developing a project, co-financed by the OCYT and FEDER funds, aiming to provide the Port of Bilbao with a numerical forecasting tool of marine pollution due to spillage accidents of hydrocarbons. The system to be developed will simulate, initially, the hydrodynamic conditions in the estuary. Therefore, the three-dimensional algorithms for the resolution of the shallow-water equations, developed jointly by LIM and AZTI, will be applied. These algorithms take into account the most relevant oceanographic processes in the region: wind, tide and density gradients. The next step in the project is the adaptation of a numerical code for the resolution of the general convection-diffusion equation, applied to the dispersion of hydrocarbons in the sea. The set of numerical codes used will be calibrated with data collected by different apparatus moored in the problem area and with data of drifting buoy experiments. In a similar way, all available information relating to the topography/bathymetry, wind regimes, precipitation and river discharges, tides, CTD profiles, etc. will be collected and incorporated within the modelling process. The system will be available to the Port Authority of Bilbao and will be designed to be used on a PC platform, in a visual and user-friendly environment. Oil and Hydrocarbon Spills II, C.A. Brebbia & G.R. Rodriguez (Editors) © 2000 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISBN 1-85312-828-7