Development of a rapid response riverine oil-particle-aggregate (OPA) formation, transport, and fate model
The aftermath of the Kalamazoo River oil spill in 2010, which resulted in years of clean up efforts, showed that research needs to be done regarding oil particle aggregate (OPA) formation and transport in riverine environments. While three-dimensional hydrodynamic models can track the transport of OPAs with a high degree of accuracy, in the event of an oil spill, rapid response is necessary to protect the affected ecosystem and expedite clean-up efforts. In the rapid response model developed in this study, the river hydraulics is one-dimensional, and the formation and transport of OPAs are described stochastically via a random walk particle tracking algorithm. Application of the model to the Kalamazoo River resulted in estimations of the amount of settled oil, and the location of the centroid of the settled oil particles, that would be expected for different flow velocities. The main river parameter that influences the formation and subsequent settling of OPAs is the flow velocity, with higher velocities causing more OPA formation and settling rates enhancement due to greater amounts of suspended sediments. Additional work to extend to the practicality of the developed model was performed by linking the model to HEC-RAS, and the modified model was explored via an application to the Kalamazoo River.
oil, spill, inland, oil-particle-aggregate
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign