SIMAP
SIMAP provides detailed predictions of the three-dimensional trajectory, fate, biological effects, and other impacts of spilled oil and fuels. The model can be used to simulate releases in inland, riverine, estuarine, nearshore, and offshore environments. Highlights include:
- Physical Fates Model
- Biological Exposure and Effects Model
- Stochastic Model
- Interactive GIS
- Environmental, Oil & Biological Databases
Applications for SIMAP
- Impact Assessment
- Hindcast/forecast of spill response
- Natural resource damage assessment
- Contingency planning - including worst-case scenario
- Ecological Risk Assessment
- Cost-benefit analysis
- Drills and education
Features
- Contains RPS ASA’s own GIS or can be used in other GIS software such as ArcView®
- Easily interpreted visual displays of surface distribution and subsurface concentrations of spilled oil and its components over time
- Impacts on fish, shellfish, wildlife, and for series of habitats (environments) affected by the spill.
- Location-specifi c environmental/ biological data applied to any fresh or salt aquatic environment in the world
- 3D Viewer capabilities
- Can utilize a variety of hydrodynamic file formats
Model Modules
Physical Fates Model
- SIMAP simulates the following processes:
- Initial plume dynamics
- Slick spreading, transport, and entrainment of floating oil
- Evaporation and volatilization (to atmosphere)
- Transport and dispersion of entrained oil and dissolved aromatics in the water column
- Dissolution and adsorption of entrained oil and dissolved aromatics to suspended sediments
- Sedimentation and resuspension
- Natural degradation
- Shoreline entrainment
- Boom and dispersant effectiveness
Biological Exposure and Effects Model
- The biological exposure model evaluates:
- Area or water volume exposed above a selected threshold (i.e. a toxicological endpoint in US EPA ecological risk assessment terminology)
- Dose (sum of concentration times time of exposure) aquatic biota are exposed to and the expected percent mortality from acute toxic effects
- Direct-contact impacts to birds, mammals, and other wildlife
Stochastic Model
- The stochastic model predicts:
- Range of expected contamination and the probability of exceeding thresholds of concern from an oil discharge
- Frequency distribution of model results, for which statistics are calculated and plotted
Environmental, Chemical and Biological Databases
- Environmental database - includes coastline, bathymetry, shoreline type, ecological habitat type, and temporally varying ice coverage, temperature, and salinity
- Oil database - includes physical-chemical properties; allows the user to add new oils, duplicate oils already in the database and make changes to oil data while preserving the original values
- Biological databases - can be set up for any area of the world. For the US, RPS ASA has developed a biological database containing seasonal or monthly mean abundance by species and habitat type for each biogeographic region of the US
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