The task of cleaning up the oil spilt on the coast of Shetland by the wrecked tanker Braer is being aided by a computer system that forecasts the spread of the slick and the condition of the oil it contains.
Computer software developed by the company British Maritime Technology and the Department of Trade and Industry's Warren Spring Laboratory in Stevenage can forecast not just where the oil will spread but also how it will 'weather'. During the process of weathering, the more volatile fractions of the oil evaporate and the viscosity of the oil increases as it forms a mousse with water. Once it becomes a mousse the oil can no longer be treated with dispersants.
Andrew Tyler of BMT in Southampton, who helped develop the software, says there are other modelling systems for oil slicks, but that most of them only forecast the spread of oil.
The software ...
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