A Dynamic Model to Simulate Spills of Fuel and Diesel Oil in the Terrestrial Environment during Extreme Fluvial Floods |
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| Authors: | Marcus Schulz Olaf Büttner Michael Böhme Michael Matthies Wolf von Tümpling |
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| Institution: | 1. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Magdeburg, Germany.;2. Institute of Environmental Systems Research (USF), University of Osnabrück, Germany. |
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| Abstract: | Extreme fluvial floods may cause severe contamination with fuel oil and diesel, originating from gasoline pipes and tanks in private households and industrial areas, respectively. Geo‐referenced oil spills in the region of Bitterfeld (Germany) after extreme flood events, such as in August 2002, were simulated using the two‐dimensional (2D) Finite Element model system Telemac2D, which is subdivided into a hydrodynamic (Telemac‐2D) and a transport module (Subief2D). Fuel oil settled via adhesion showed a thickness of less than 1.0 mm. Fuel oil concentrations on the flood wave amounted up to 80 g m–3 in the vicinity of the point sources. At a distance of several hundred meters downstream of the point sources, the fuel oil concentrations were calculated to be zero. Settled areas were only partially contaminated with fuel oil. While one village experienced severe oil contamination, the town of Bitterfeld was almost unaffected by oil spills. It was demonstrated that the 2D transport model applied is capable of simulating fuel oil spills during extreme high waters in the terrestrial environment. Such simulations of fuel oil spills will feed into a GIS‐based decision support system of flood protection. |
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| Keywords: | River flood inundation Fuel oil contamination Leaking fuel oil tanks Two‐dimensional finite‐element model Adhesion Sensitivity analysis |
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