Services

Spill Impact Assessment

A hindcast of a specific oil or chemical spill is modeled to evaluate the likely biological impacts of the event. Site-specific wind, current, and other environmental data are gathered from on-line services, third parties, or field studies. Shoreline and habitat types, as well as bathymetry, are mapped and gridded for use in modeling. The physical, chemical, and toxicological properties of the released substance(s) are determined. Biological abundance data are obtained from existing sources or observations made after the spill in representative habitats.

Using this information, and ASA’s spill impact models SIMAP (oil) and CHEMMAP (chemicals), the most likely and range of impacts are quantified. These results may be validated with field observations made following the spill.