Samenvatting

In certain conditions, (part of) an oil spill can disappear from the water surface through a process called natural dispersion. One available oil spill response option is to enhance this process by addition of dispersants (chemical dispersion). An informed decision for such response requires insight in the oil slick size WITH and WITHOUT treatment. This paper aims to enable such assessment of net effectiveness, by providing a strategy for modelling the dispersion process. The findings of earlier laboratory investigations were applied in a model that simulates submergence of oil by breaking waves, rise of the separate oil droplets and concurrent wind-driven differential transport between the floating slick and suspended droplets. The simulation outputs help assess the added value (or not) of dispersant application in reducing the potential adverse effects of the surface oil slick for different oil types and conditions.