OPERATIONAL AND FORECASTING MODELING OF OIL POLLUTION SPREADING IN THE GULF OF FINLAND
To predict the oil pollution spreading in the Gulf of Finland, a module based on the OilMARS model and developed for calculation of transfer and transformation of oil pol- lution in the Arctic seas was introduced into the operational system GULFOOS. The 3D model makes it possible to calculate the transfer and transformation of oil spills on the sea surface resulted from accidental longterm/shortterm oil spills from moving/statio- nary sources, spreading of oil spills detected on the sea surface, dispersion of oil and plume in the water column. The model makes it possible to calculate the occurrence and distribution of secondary oil pollution on the sea surface and the bottom pollution. Besides, the model accounts for the impact of ice drift and ice concentration on the pol- lution spreading, as well as the ingress of oil on the upper ice surface or under the ice in case of drifting ice compression. Test runs of the forecasting model complex demonstrated that the hydrophysical features of the Gulf of Finland largely affect the advancement and transformation of oil spills. Thus, the quality of oil spill spreading forecast depends greatly on the ability of the hydrodynamic model to reproduce the real situation with sufficient accuracy.