Development of a GIS-Based Marine Oil Spill Response Information System

The Marine Oil Spill Response Information System, which serves as a decision support system designed to effectively response to the marine oil spill accidents, has been developed through the integration of a series of numerical models with the Geographic Information System (GIS). In the system, the three dimensional hydrodynamic model, oil spill trajectory and fate models are embedded in GIS. The oil spill response and environmental databases are also established to provide decision support to the emergency teams. Finally the function of the system is illustrated through a case study of an oil spill accident which happened at the Pearl River Estuary of Guangdong Province of China in December 2004. The simulation gave a reasonable estimation of spilled oil trajectory with limited environmental input data. The accurate prediction of the behavior of the spilled oil is crucial to the successful recovery operation and protection of marine environment.