Towards an operational system for oil-spill forecast over Spanish waters: initial developments and implementation
M G Sotillo1, E Alvarez Fanjul, S Castanedo
1Organismo Público Puertos del Estado (PdE), Av Partenón, 10, 28042 Madrid, Spain. marcos@puertos.es
Marine Pollution Bulletin
|March 7, 2008
Summary
The ESEOO Project enhanced Spain's operational oceanography, improving oil-spill preparedness. New services and protocols, including the USyP unit, boost crisis response capabilities.
Area of Science:
- Operational Oceanography
- Marine Crisis Management
- Environmental Monitoring
Background:
- The Prestige oil spill highlighted the need for enhanced marine crisis response capabilities in Spain.
- The ESEOO Project was initiated to bolster operational oceanography and preparedness for maritime environmental crises.
- Existing systems required integration with new tools to improve monitoring and forecasting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of the ESEOO Project on Spain's operational oceanography capacities.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of new protocols and the specialized USyP unit in managing oil-spill crises.
- To demonstrate improved preparedness for maritime environmental emergencies.
Main Methods:
- Development and implementation of new operational oceanographic services and tools.
- Establishment of collaboration protocols between the scientific community and SASEMAR (Spanish Search and Rescue Institution).
- Creation of the specialized Oil-Spill Monitoring and Forecasting Unit (USyP).
- Testing the USyP unit and protocols during the simulated oil-spill crisis in the "Gijón-2006" exercise.
Main Results:
- Significant enhancement of operational oceanography capacities in Spain.
- Improved preparedness and response mechanisms for oil-spill crises.
- Successful testing of the USyP unit and established information transfer protocols during a simulated crisis.
- Demonstrated effectiveness of the operational approach in providing critical met-ocean and oil-spill data.
Conclusions:
- The ESEOO Project has successfully improved Spain's capacity to manage oil-spill crises.
- The collaboration between scientists and SASEMAR, facilitated by ESEOO, is crucial for effective crisis response.
- The developed operational tools and specialized units provide a robust foundation for future maritime environmental emergency management.
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