| The retreat of sea ice has increased maritime traffic through Northern routes, opportunities for resource development, and the potential for arctic oil spills. Furthermore, seasonal ice and darkness hamper detection of oil spilled in an arctic environment. There is a need for oil spill models that can handle the environmental conditions present in the Arctic; however, most oil spill models such as the current oil spill model used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration do not include allowances for the impact of sea ice on oil transport. To better describe the transport of oil in the Arctic, a Lagrangian particle-tracking model in conjunction with a set of equations to describe the transport of oil in the Arctic environment are utilized to create an Arctic Oil Spill Calculator.;The Arctic Oil Spill Calculator is designed to be operational in three to four hours, easy to calibrate, incorporate sea ice, and output the mass balance, spatial, and temporal distribution of oil. An extensive literature review was conducted to determine the relevant equations, field studies, and methodology. The results of this review were used to formulate the Arctic Oil Spill Calculator.;In the event of a surface release, the concentration of ice is used to constrain the spill area and the spill is transported by wind, water, diffusion, and ice drift. In the event of a subsurface release, the under-ice roughness is used to determine how oil will move beneath ice. If the ice is smooth, the oil is advected and diffused when a relative velocity beneath the ice is exceeded. If the under-ice roughness is large, the voids beneath the ice determine a storage capacity of the ice, the amount of oil the ice can store, and the oil will move based on the available void space and ice drift. The Arctic Oil Spill Calculator was validated at high concentrations of ice using field study data from an experimental surface release of crude oil.;Utilizing the developed equations, the results present a possible method of determining the location of oil among ice after either a surface release in varying ice concentrations or a subsurface release beneath a solid ice cover. |
