Complex monitoring of coastal zones in the Black, Caspian and Baltic Seas

Andrey Kostianoy
P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Moscow, 117997, Russia
kostianoy@mail.mipt.ru

ABSTRACT

Shipping activities, including oil transport and oil handled in harbours, have a major negative impact on the marine environment and coastal zone in the Black, Caspian and Baltic Seas. Oil and oily residue discharges from ships represent a significant threat to marine ecosystems. These discharges may occur during normal activities or may be accidental or illegal. Oil spills cause the contamination of seawater, shores, and beaches, which may persist for several months and represent a threat to marine resources. One of the main tasks in the ecological monitoring of the seas is an operational satellite and aerial detection of oil spillages, determination of their characteristics, establishment of the pollution sources and forecast of probable trajectories of the oil spill transport. So far, as the ecosystem of the Black, Caspian and Baltic Seas undergo growing human-induced impacts, especially associated with an increasing oil transport and production, further research of the links between physical, chemical and biological parameters of the ecosystem, a complex monitoring of the seas state, and especially, the oil spills monitoring are of a great importance. Oil spill behaviour, modelling, prevention, effects, control and cleanup techniques require supplementary information about a large number of complex physical, chemical and biological processes and phenomena.

In the report, we present some of the results of a complex approach to the ongoing monitoring of the south-eastern Baltic Sea devoted, basically, to oil spills detection by means of ASAR ENVISAT data and forecast of probable trajectories of the oil spill transport based on the interactive numerical model Seatrack Web. This version of a numerical model on the Internet platform has been developed at SMHI (The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute) in close co-operation with Danish authorities. The system is based on an operational weather model Hirlam (High Resoluted Limited Area Model, 22 km grid) and circulation model Hiromb (HIgh Resolution Operational Model for the Baltic Sea, 24 layers), which calculates the current field at 3 n.m. grid. The model allows to forecast the oil drift for two days ahead or to make a hindcast (backward calculation) for 10 days in the whole Baltic Sea. When calculating the oil drift, wind and current forecasts are taken from the operational models. An oil spreading calculation is added to the currents, as well as oil evaporation, emulsification, sinking, stranding and dispersion. This powerful system today is in operational use in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia (Ambjörn, 2004).

Complex ecological research in the Black, Caspian and Baltic Seas, including satellite monitoring of different parameters of the sea state and mesoscale dynamics, is performed on the base of satellite remote sensing (AVHRR NOAA, SeaWiFS, MODIS, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, SAR imagery of ERS-2 and ENVISAT) of SST, sea level, chlorophyll concentration, mesoscale dynamics, wind and waves, and oil spills. The growing availability of sea observation data should encourage interest, involvement and investment by the authorities of the riparian countries with responsibility for the environment, pollution control, meteorology, coastal protection, transport, fisheries and hazard management, and private companies operating in the sea and coastal zone.

Last Update: 2005-03-16