Dispersion Modeling

Dispersion modeling simulates how a released contaminant spreads and dilutes through advection and turbulent diffusion in water or air. For oil and chemical spills it predicts droplet and dissolved-phase concentration fields, often as a Lagrangian particle cloud or an Eulerian concentration grid driven by current, wind, and turbulence inputs. It quantifies the dilution that underpins net environmental benefit analysis for dispersant use, since the benefit case rests on rapid concentration decay below toxicity thresholds in open water deeper than about 10 to 20 m. Subsea blowout plumes, produced-water discharges, and dredge-spoil plumes use the same advection-diffusion framework.