Oil spills prediction in the Bonifacio strait area, western Mediterranean.

An innovative forecasting system of the coastal marine circulation has been implemented in the Bonifacio Strait area, between Corsica and Sardinia, using a numerical approach to facilitate the rapid planning and coordination of remedial actions to oil spill emergencies at sea by local authorities. Downscaling and nesting techniques from regional to coastal scale and a 3-D hydrodynamic numerical model, coupled with a wind wave model, are the core of the integrated Bonifacio Strait system. Such a system is capable to predict the sea state and the dispersion of hydrocarbon spills in the area, providing the forecasts on oil spills through an easy-to-use graphical user inter face. Scenarios and risk maps have been created to identify the most risky areas to oil pollution in relation to vessels traffic. The backward investigation technique has been exploited to trace the most probable area from which pollution was generated. The system has been operationally verified in January 2011 when an oil spill occurred in the area. Finally output data are daily released providing forecasting services to end-users through the web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]