Author(s): Yannis S. Androulidakis; Vassiliki H. Kourafalou
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Gulf of Mexico; HYCOM; Oil spill; Mississippi River
Abstract: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion caused~7*105m3of oil gushing from the Northern Gulf of Mexico bottom. The important and numerous effects of the Dw H oil spill on the deep and coastal environment of the Northern Gulf of Mexico motivated this study. It is also a unique topic relating the dynamics of a large scale river plume with the transport and fate of hydrocarbons. Numerical simulations, satellite and in situ data were used to show the unique influence of a large river plume on a surface oil patch resulting from a deep oil release. The buoyant plume induced circulation, modified by shelf and slope flows, was found to substantially influence the near surface transport of oil. Periods of low discharge reduced the dominance of buoyancy-driven effects, but an interval of sustained downwelling-favorable winds, combined with river induced stratification, resulted in a strong westward current and surface oil patch extension. It was also hypothesized that the high Mississippi River discharge in May 2010 might have helped to initially keep oil from reaching coastal marshes.
Year: 2015