Estonian scientists from TalTech are developing a monitoring system to predict the spread of pollution from shipwrecks. The system can also be utilized to assess risks when constructing new wind farms in the region.
Off the coast of Estonia, numerous shipwrecks, most of which have been there for over 70 years, are becoming increasingly prone to leaks as they age. The marine scientists at TalTech have devised a predictive system to anticipate how the fuel from these shipwrecks will disperse.
"This will help to know where the spill could end up or what could happen to it in the water. For example, the system will better help to plan the equipment and people needed; how a spill could have been better cleaned up or how it could have been better responded to," said junior researcher Siim Pärt, one of the authors of the study.
The researchers tested the system's reliability with six tests using smart buoys around different parts of the coast.
"After that, we modeled these buoys in our system. We looked at how well the trajectories of our system matched the trajectories of the buoys in real life," Pärt said.
Their movements fit well with their model's forecasts. The researcher said the model works best when there is less wind but stormy seas are very difficult to model.
While this is not the first pollution detection system, TalTech's uses current and wave data from Estonian waters.
"The system we are developing is based on the OpenDrift system, a marine pollution and floating object trajectory prediction system developed in Norway. We linked it to Estonia's own marine model forecasts," Pärt said. Additionally, the new system has slightly better resolution them other the others, he said.
Pärt said the new prediction system can be used for two purposes. First, it helps agencies cleaning up oil spills to work more accurately and efficiently.
Secondly, it helps to assess risks: for example, if it is suitable to build a wind farm in a certain place.
"In places where there is a high risk of pollution, different pollution scenarios can be modeled and then their areas of influence can be determined," Pärt explained.
