The year 2019 marks the anniversary of two major US offshore oil spills: the 50th anniversary of the Santa Barbara spill and the 30th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez. The consequences of these spills are profound, echoing throughout countless environmental, ecological and social systems. Each spill sparked a flurry of research focusing on the analysis and documentation of spill impacts and responses. The purpose of this progress report is to evaluate oil spill modeling research as a knowledge domain. Using bibliometric analysis techniques, we constructed a co-citation network for exploring key areas of research and seminal papers to highlight the evolution of oil spill research over the past 50 years. The paper concludes with recommendations for future work, detailing the importance of connecting the physical and social sciences for deepening our understanding of oil spills and their broader implications for communities and the environment.
Al ShamiAHarikGAlameddineI, et al. (2017) Risk assessment of oil spills along the Mediterranean coast: A sensitivity analysis of the choice of hazard quantification. Science of the Total Environment574: 234–245.
2.
Beegle-KrauseJ (2001) General NOAA Oil Modeling Environment (GNOME): A new spill trajectory model. In: International oil spill conference proceedings, Tampa, USA, 26–29 March 2001, 865–871. New York: American Petroleum Institute.
3.
BerenshteinIO’FarrellSPerlinN, et al. (2019) Predicting the impact of future oil-spill closures on fishery-dependent communities – a spatially explicit approach. ICES Journal of Marine Science. Epub ahead of print 19 July 2019. DOI: org/10.1093/icesjms/fsz138
4.
BeyerJTrannumHCBakkeT, et al. (2016) Environmental effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin110(1): 28–51.
5.
BockMRobinsonHWenningR, et al. (2018) Comparative risk assessment of oil spill response options for a deepwater oil well blowout: Part II. Relative risk methodology. Marine Pollution Bulletin133: 984–1000.
6.
BoehmPDDouglasGSBurnsWA, et al. (1997) Application of petroleum hydrocarbon chemical fingerprinting and allocation techniques after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin34(8): 599–613.
7.
Boer SdenAzevedoAVazL, et al. (2014) Development of an oil spill hazard scenarios database for risk assessment. Journal of Coastal Research70(1): 539–544.
8.
BowmanTDSchempfPFBernatowiczJA (1995) Bald Eagle survival and population dynamics in Alaska after the “Exxon Valdez” oil spill. The Journal of Wildlife Management59(2): 317–324.
9.
BraggJRPrinceRCHarnerEJ, et al. (1994) Effectiveness of bioremediation for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Nature368(6470): 413–418.
10.
BrennerS (2015) Oil spill modeling in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea in support of accelerated offshore oil and gas exploration. Ocean Dynamics65(12): 1685–1697.
11.
CamilliRReddyCMYoergerDR, et al. (2010) Tracking hydrocarbon plume transport and biodegradation at Deepwater Horizon. Science330(6001): 201–204.
12.
CarmonaASLGherardiDFMTesslerMG, et al. (2012) Environment sensitivity mapping and vulnerability modeling for oil spill response along the São Paulo state coastline content in a trusted digital archive. Journal of Coastal Research (39): 1455–1458.
13.
CarsonRTMitchellRCHanemannM, et al. (2003) Contingent valuation and lost passive use: Damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Environmental and Resource Economics25(3): 257–286.
14.
ChenC (2006) CiteSpace II: Detecting and visualizing emerging trends and transient patterns in scientific literature. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology57(3): 359–377
15.
ChenCChenYHorowitzM, et al. (2009) Towards an explanatory and computational theory of scientific discovery. Journal of Informetrics3(3): 191–209.
16.
ClarkeKCHemphillJJ (2002) The Santa Barbara oil spill: A retrospective. In: DantaD (ed) Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers64: 157–162.
17.
CourtCDHodgesAWClouserRL, et al. (2017) Economic impacts of cancelled recreational trips to Northwest Florida after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Regional Science Policy & Practice9(3): 143–164.
18.
CroneTJTolstoyM (2010) Magnitude of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak. Science330(6004): 634–634.
19.
De DominicisMPinardiNZodiatisG, et al. (2013) MEDSLIK-II, a Lagrangian marine surface oil spill model for short-term forecasting–Part 2: Numerical simulations and validations. Geoscientific Model Development6(6): 1871–1888.
20.
DepellegrinDPereiraP (2016) Assessing oil spill sensitivity in unsheltered coastal environments: A case study for Lithuanian-Russian coasts, South-eastern Baltic Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin102(1): 44–57.
21.
DiercksA-RHighsmithRCAsperVL, et al. (2010) Characterization of subsurface polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at the Deepwater Horizon site. Geophysical Research Letters37(20). Available at: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2010GL045046(accessed 23 December 2019).
22.
DuranRRomeoLWhitingJ, et al. (2018) Simulation of the 2003 Foss Barge – Point Wells oil spill: A comparison between BLOSOM and GNOME oil spill models. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering6(3): 104.
23.
FingasMBrownEC (2018) A Review of Oil Spill Remote Sensing. Sensors18(1): E91.
24.
FosterMNeushulMZingmarkR (1971) The Santa Barbara oil spill Part 2: Initial effects on intertidal and kelp bed organisms. Environmental Pollution2(2): 115–134.
25.
French-McCayDCrowleyDRoweJJ, et al. (2018) Comparative Risk Assessment of spill response options for a deepwater oil well blowout: Part 1. Oil spill modeling. Marine Pollution Bulletin133: 1001–1015.
26.
French-McCayDP (2004) Oil spill impact modeling: Development and validation. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry23(10): 2441–2456.
27.
French-McCayDRoweJJWhittierN, et al. (2004) Estimation of potential impacts and natural resource damages of oil. Journal of Hazardous Materials107(1–2): 11–25.
28.
GertlerCGerdtsGTimmisKN, et al. (2009) Populations of heavy fuel oil-degrading marine microbial community in presence of oil sorbent materials. Journal of Applied Microbiology107(2): 590–605.
29.
GillDAPicouJSRitchieLA (2011) The Exxon Valdez and BP oil spills: A comparison of initial social and psychological impacts*. American Behavioral Scientist56(1): 3–23.
30.
GonzálezJJViñasLFrancoMA, et al. (2006) Spatial and temporal distribution of dissolved/dispersed aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater in the area affected by the Prestige oil spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin53(5–7): 250–259.
31.
GoodsirFLonsdaleJAMitchellPJ, et al. (2019) A standardised approach to the environmental risk assessment of potentially polluting wrecks. Marine Pollution Bulletin142: 290–302.
32.
GrattanLMRobertsSMahanWT, et al. (2011) The early psychological impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Florida and Alabama communities. Environmental Health Perspectives119(6): 838–843.
33.
GrubesicTHNelsonJRWeiR (2019) A strategic planning approach for protecting environmentally sensitive coastlines from oil spills: Allocating response resources on a limited budget. Marine Policy (108): 103549.
34.
GrubesicTHWeiRNelsonJ (2017) Optimizing oil spill cleanup efforts: A tactical approach and evaluation framework. Marine Pollution Bulletin125(1–2): 318–329.
35.
GrubesicTWeiRNelsonJ (2018) Protecting sensitive coastal areas with exclusion booms during oil spill events. Environmental Modeling & Assessment24(5): 479–494.
36.
GuiXWeiJWangK, et al. (2010) Carbon nanotube sponges. Advanced Materials22(5): 617–621.
Jiménez MadridJAGarcía-LadonaEBlanco-MerueloB, et al. (2016) Oil Spill Beaching Probability for the Mediterranean Sea. Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1–20.
40.
JoungDShillerAM (2013) Trace element distributions in the water column near the Deepwater Horizon well blowout. Environmental Science & Technology47(5): 2161–2168.
41.
KankaraRSArockiarajSPrabhuK (2016) Environmental sensitivity mapping and risk assessment for oil spill along the Chennai Coast in India. Marine Pollution Bulletin106(1–2): 95–103.
KleindienstSPaulJHJoyeSB (2015) Using dispersants after oil spills: Impacts on the composition and activity of microbial communities. Nature Reviews Microbiology13(6): 388.
44.
KujawinskiEBKido SouleMCValentineDL, et al. (2011) Fate of dispersants associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environmental Science & Technology45(4): 1298–1306.
45.
LanDLiangBBaoC, et al. (2015) Marine oil spill risk mapping for accidental pollution and its application in a coastal city. Marine Pollution Bulletin96(1–2): 220–225.
46.
LeeMJungJ-Y (2015) Pollution risk assessment of oil spill accidents in Garorim Bay of Korea. Marine Pollution Bulletin100(1): 297–303.
47.
LeeY-CChenCTsaiX-T (2016) Visualizing the knowledge domain of nanoparticle drug delivery technologies: A scientometric review. Applied Sciences6(1): 11.
48.
LehrWJ (2001) Review of modeling procedures for oil spill weathering behavior. Advances in Ecological Sciences9: 51–90.
49.
LeiferILehrWJSimecek-BeattyD, et al. (2012) State of the art satellite and airborne marine oil spill remote sensing: Application to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Remote Sensing of Environment124: 185–209.
50.
LiHBoufadelMC (2010) Long-term persistence of oil from the Exxon Valdez spill in two-layer beaches. Nature Geoscience3: 96–99. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo749(accessed 23 December 2019).
51.
LiPCaiQLinW, et al. (2016) Offshore oil spill response practices and emerging challenges. Marine Pollution Bulletin110(1): 6–27.
52.
LiuYMacFadyenAJiZG, et al. (2011) Introduction to monitoring and modeling the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Monitoring and modeling the deepwater horizon oil spill: A record-breaking enterprise, geophys. Monogr. Ser195: 1–7.
53.
LiuZLiuJZhuQ, et al. (2012) The weathering of oil after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Insights from the chemical composition of the oil from the sea surface, salt marshes and sediments. Environmental Research Letters7(3): 035302.
54.
McCayDF (2003) Development and application of damage assessment modeling: Example assessment for the North Cape oil spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin47(9–12): 341–359.
55.
MoroniDPieriGTampucciM (2019) Environmental decision support systems for monitoring small scale oil spills: Existing solutions, best practices and current challenges. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering7(1): 19.
56.
NegroMCGVillasanteSPenelaAC, et al. (2009) Estimating the economic impact of the Prestige oil spill on the Death Coast (NW Spain) fisheries. Marine Policy33(1): 8–23.
57.
NelsonJGrubesicT (2017) Oil spill modeling: Risk, spatial vulnerability, and impact assessment. Progress in Physical Geography42(1): 112–127.
58.
NelsonJGrubesicT (2018) Environmental justice: A panoptic overview using scientometrics. Sustainability10(4): 1022.
59.
NelsonJGrubesicTSimL, et al. (2015) Approach for assessing coastal vulnerability to oil spills for prevention and readiness using GIS and the Blowout and Spill Occurrence Model. Ocean & Coastal Management112: 1–11.
60.
NelsonJRGrubesicTH (2017) A repeated sampling method for oil spill impact uncertainty and interpolation. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction22: 420–430.
61.
NelsonJRGrubesicTH (2018) Oil spill modeling: Computational tools, analytical frameworks, and emerging technologies. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment43(1): 129–143.
62.
NelsonJRGrubesicTHSimL, et al. (2018) A geospatial evaluation of oil spill impact potential on coastal tourism in the Gulf of Mexico. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems68: 26–36.
63.
NorcrossBLHoseJEFrandsenM, et al. (1996) Distribution, abundance, morphological condition, and cytogenetic abnormalities of larval herring in Prince William Sound, Alaska, following the (Exxon Valdez) oil spill. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences53(10): 2376–2387.
64.
OlitaACuccoASimeoneS, et al. (2012) Oil spill hazard and risk assessment for the shorelines of a Mediterranean coastal archipelago. Ocean and Coastal Management57: 44–52.
65.
PalinkasLDownsMPettersonJ, et al. (1993) Social, cultural, and psychological impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Human Organization52(1): 1–13.
66.
PalinkasLAPettersonJSRussellJC, et al. (2004) Ethnic differences in symptoms of post-traumatic stress after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine19(1): 102–112.
67.
ParisCBHénaffM LeAmanZM, et al. (2012) Evolution of the Macondo well blowout: Simulating the effects of the circulation and synthetic dispersants on the subsea oil transport. Environmental Science & Technology46(24): 13293–13302.
68.
ParisCBBerenshteinITrilloML, et al. (2018) BP Gulf science data reveals ineffectual subsea dispersant injection for the Macondo blowout. Frontiers in Marine Science5: 389.
69.
Pérez-CadahíaBLafuenteACabaleiroT, et al. (2007) Initial study on the effects of Prestige oil on human health. Environment International33(2): 176–185.
70.
PetersonCHRiceSDShortJW, et al. (2003) Long-term ecosystem response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Science302(5653): 2082–2086.
71.
PiattJFLensinkCJButlerW, et al. (1990) Immediate impact of the ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill on marine birds. The Auk107(2): 387–397.
PrinceRCVaradarajRFioccoRJ, et al. (1999) Bioremediation as an oil spill response tool. Environmental Technology20(8): 891–896.
74.
ProutyNGFisherCRDemopoulosAWJ, et al. (2016) Growth rates and ages of deep-sea corals impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography129: 196–212.
75.
ReedMEkrolNRyeH, et al. (1999) Oil Spill Contingency and Response (OSCAR) analysis in support of environmental impact assessment offshore Namibia. Spill Science & Technology Bulletin5(1): 29–38.
76.
SabucedoJMArceCSenraC, et al. (2010) Symptomatic profile and health-related quality of life of persons affected by the Prestige catastrophe. Disasters34(3): 809–820.
77.
SchwackeLHSmithCRTownsendFI, et al. (2013) Health of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environmental Science & Technology48(1): 93–103.
78.
Sepp NevesAAPinardiNMartinsF, et al. (2015) Towards a common oil spill risk assessment framework: Adapting ISO 31000 and addressing uncertainties. Journal of Environmental Management159: 158–168.
79.
Sepp NevesAAPinardiNMartinsF (2016) IT-OSRA: Applying ensemble simulations to estimate the oil spill risk associated to operational and accidental oil spills. Ocean Dynamics66(8): 939–954.
80.
ShortJWLindebergMRHarrisPM, et al. (2004) Estimate of oil persisting on the beaches of Prince William Sound 12 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Environmental Science & Technology38(1): 19–25.
81.
SillimanBRvan de KoppelJMcCoyMW, et al. (2012) Degradation and resilience in Louisiana salt marshes after the BP–Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences109(28): 11234–11239.
82.
SingkranN (2013) Classifying risk zones by the impacts of oil spills in the coastal waters of Thailand. Marine Pollution Bulletin70(1–2): 34–43.
83.
SocolofskySAAdamsEEBoufadelMC, et al. (2015) Intercomparison of oil spill prediction models for accidental blowout scenarios with and without subsea chemical dispersant injection. Marine Pollution Bulletin96(1): 110–126.
84.
SpauldingML (1988) A state-of-the-art review of oil spill trajectory and fate modeling. Oil and Chemical Pollution4(1): 39–55.
85.
SpauldingML (2017) State of the art review and future directions in oil spill modeling. Marine Pollution Bulletin115(1–2): 7–19.
VilaJNietoJMMertensJ, et al. (2010) Microbial community structure of a heavy fuel oil-degrading marine consortium: Linking microbial dynamics with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon utilization. FEMS Microbiology Ecology73(2): 349–362.
90.
ViñasLFrancoMASorianoJA, et al. (2009) Accumulation trends of petroleum hydrocarbons in commercial shellfish from the Galician coast (NW Spain) affected by the Prestige oil spill. Chemosphere75(4): 534–541.
WalkerAHScholzDMcPeekM, et al. (2018) Comparative risk assessment of spill response options for a deepwater oil well blowout: Part III. Stakeholder engagement. Marine Pollution Bulletin133: 970–983.
93.
WeiFGrubesicTHBishopBW (2015) Exploring the GIS knowledge domain using CiteSpace. The Professional Geographer67(3): 374–384.
94.
WilkinsonJBeegle-KrauseCJEversK-U, et al. (2017) Oil spill response capabilities and technologies for ice-covered Arctic marine waters: A review of recent developments and established practices. Ambio46(3): 423–441.
95.
WirtzKWLiuX (2006) Integrating economy, ecology and uncertainty in an oil-spill DSS: The Prestige accident in Spain, 2002. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science70(4): 525–532.
96.
WolfeDMichelJHameediMJ, et al. (1994) The fate of the oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez. Environmental Science & Technology28(13): 560A–568A.
97.
XueZWangSLinL, et al. (2011) A novel superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic hydrogel-coated mesh for oil/water separation. Advanced Materials23(37): 4270–4273.
98.
YuFXueSZhaoY, et al. (2018) Risk assessment of oil spills in the Chinese Bohai Sea for prevention and readiness. Marine Pollution Bulletin135: 915–922.
99.
Zahra PourvakhshouriSMansorS (2003) Decision support system in oil spill cases (literature review). Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal12(3): 217–221.
