290 



IMPROVED OIL SPILL RISK ASSESSMENT IN 

 THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL 



When an oil tanker carrying 92,000 barrels of refined oil out of San Frandsco Bay 

 . caught fire and began leaking oil in 1984, emergency crews towed the vessel offshore 

 to the south west in an attempt to protect the coastline. Unfortvmately, the currents 

 reversed unexpectedly and oil washed ashore at Bodega Bay. Research conducted at 

 Scripps Institution of Oceanography seeks to prevent a similar occurrence. 



A team of Scripps oceanographers headed by Clinton Winant is studying the 

 currents in the Santa Barbara Channel and Santa Maria Basin to develop 

 information that will improve the management of oil spills off the Southern 

 California coast. 



The study, funded by the Minerals Management Service (MMS), provides new 

 insight into how an oil spill would spread under various climatic conditions, thus 

 better arming emergency oil containment and cleanup officials to mitigate effects of 

 a spill. The study is also aiding MMS in assessing environmental risk of offshore 

 drilling. 



One of the goals of the project is to develop so-called "synoptic views" of current 

 patterns. Synoptic views are commonly used by meteorologists to identify 

 characteristic conditions that trigger certain weather patterns. While the forecasting 

 tool is widely used by meteorologists, the Scripps project represents the first time the 

 approach will be applied to predicting ocean current patterns. 



SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY 

 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 



