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Simulation and risk assessment of oil spill adsorption along complex coastlines in multi-island areas

Yu Li; Feng Zhou; Min Bao; Zhenyi Cao; Yanyu Chen; Gang Zheng
Frontiers in Marine Science · Vol. 13 · 2026

Abstract

Oil spills in multi-island regions with complex coastlines pose severe threats to marine ecosystems. Traditional oil spill models typically use a static “infinite absorption” assumption for shoreline interactions, which does not represent finite shoreline retention capacity or subsequent shoreline release. To address this limitation, this study incorporates a dynamic adsorption-desorption physical mechanism based on substrate types into the Lagrangian particle tracking module of the SCHISM model. By introducing a substrate-specific maximum oil retention capacity, along with exponential desorption and permeation algorithms parameterized by constant, substrate-specific half-lives, the improved model represents the partitioning of stranded oil among surface-stranded, desorbed, and permeated compartments across four shoreline types: bedrock, gravelly, tidal flat, and artificial. Numerical experiments show that the improved model produces a rise-then-fall evolution of surface-stranded oil through the modeled competition among shoreline retention, desorption, and seepage, in contrast to the static mass partitioning produced by the original algorithm. Furthermore, shoreline substrate type is a key factor in determining oil partitioning: tidal flats exhibit extremely high surface retention, while gravelly shorelines cause substantial deep permeation. The improved model is then applied to the Zhoushan Archipelago, where a maximum-envelope methodology is used to extract the full domain cumulative oil concentration distribution across all simulation scenarios. Combined with an environmental sensitivity map, this yields a high-resolution oil spill risk zoning map that reveals the spatial reshaping of risk driven by hydrodynamic transport and ecological vulnerability. This study provides a more process-resolved representation of oil shoreline interactions in complex archipelagic waters and offers scenario based relative information for regional oil spill response planning and ecological protection prioritization.

Bibliographic Information

JournalFrontiers in Marine Science
PublisherFrontiers
Publication Date2026-08-12
Publication Year2026
Volume13
Document TypeJournal Article
eISSN2296-7745
DOI10.3389/fmars.2026.1900700
SubjectMarine science; fisheries; aquaculture; pollution; ocean observation; policy

Access Information

NARA Access CoverageOA / free full text
Journal Homepagehttps://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science
Publisher PageOpen Publisher Page
This article is openly available from the publisher.