GNOME is a set of modeling tools that allow predicting the fate and transport of contaminants (such as petroleum) spilled in water. These tools are used for NOAA’s spill response support. They are also publicly available tools for hydrocarbon spill response planning in general.
Observed data on currents, winds, tides, temperature, and salinity were incorporated for the analysis. The waters of the San Matías Gulf have particular oceanographic characteristics associated with important tides and intense winds. This determines that pollutants move widely on the surface of the gulf. The tool was calibrated and validated based on the results of the model presented and approved in the terminal’s environmental impact study.
In the study presented here, spill scenarios were simulated considering two spill points and magnitudes and two seasons of the year:
– Monobuoy and midpoint of the submarine pipeline, at 10 m depth.
– Volume spilled 440 and 3,000 barrels (70 and 477 cubic meters, respectively).
Conclusions:
– In all scenarios, regardless of the season of the year, point, and volume of spill, the oil impacts the coast with a maximum delay of 6-8 days. The spill reaches, in all cases, environments of extreme ecological sensitivity, categorized as protected areas.
-The dispersion of the slick is greater in summer than in winter, and the shoreline is affected in multiple locations.
-In summer scenarios, the oil impacts, in less than 12 hours, the National Park and Natural Reserve Islote Lobos. It then moves towards Puerto Lobos and Península Valdés, impacting San José Gulf. In winter, the “Caleta de los Loros” Reserve is the first to be affected.
-The different modeled spill scenarios predict contamination in the following protected areas:
- National Park “Islote Lobos”
- Protected Natural Area “Puerto Lobos”
- Provincial Marine Park “Golfo San José”
- Defense Natural Park “Punta Buenos Aires”
- Integral Objective Tourist Natural Reserve “Península Valdés”
- Biosphere Reserve “Península Valdés”
- Tourist Natural Reserve “Caleta Valdés”
- Protected Natural Area “Punta Bermeja”
- Protected Natural Reserve “Caleta de los Loros”
- Protected Natural Area “Bahía San Antonio”
Spill risks:
– An oil spill will have a catastrophic effect on the sensitive environments of Golfo San Matías. This ecosystem will never be the same in ecological terms.
-Global experience has shown that projects such as those planned for Golfo San Matías carry high risks of spills, with irreversible damage.
San Matías Gulf is not a place like any other. Its coasts are home to the most important colonies of the Magellanic penguin and part of the only reproductive grouping of the Southern Elephant Seal in all of Argentine Patagonia. In its waters, the Southern Right Whale reproduces and feeds. In the same place, the orcas stalk the sea lions, which are recovering after the slaughter of the last century.
Dr. Claudio Campagna, a scientist with more than forty years of experience researching Gulf species, says: “How does an oil spill ultimately translate into…? The oiled penguin dies of hypothermia and does not return to the nest. What is left of the couple is not enough to feed the chicks. And the chicks die. This is how oil and tragedy are spilled…”
Simulations that match
A study contracted in the context of the project approval already warned that spills could have a significant environmental impact. Although the exercise presented by the company does not seek to model scenarios of greater intensity or duration, nor does it indicate the criteria for choosing these scenarios, it shows coincidences with the work addressed here. These results were not taken into account, although they predicted the possibility of the oil spill reaching the coast.
The spilled crude oil not only erodes the livelihood of families on the northern Patagonian coast but also affects tourism and the beauty of the landscape. It also infiltrates the food chain, reaching our own tables and bodies. When the oil settles, what emerges is a landscape with thousands of contaminated birds and marine mammals, with serious risk of life, empty nets, and communities in emergency.
“Betting that containment and mitigation measures can alleviate the socio-ecological disaster that a spill will cause in San Matías-Península Valdés is simply not understanding the dynamics of the sea”, mentioned Hernan Perez Orsi, activist and ocean researcher.
Valeria Falabella, Director of Coastal Marine Conservation at WCS Argentina concludes: “The San Matías Gulf is one of the most outstanding coastal-marine ecosystems in Argentina. Hydrocarbon initiatives in the gulf are unacceptable, they imply risks and profound impacts… and we have let it happen, transforming it into a sacrifice area. We are not a serious country if we do not plan our growth in an intelligent and responsible way”
This report, far from being an alarm, wants to call for reflection and with this, for action.
