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Oil Spill Model

What would happen if there were an oil spill on our coast? To find out, we developed this Oil Spill Model that shows how spills could affect Canada's Pacific North Coast ecosystems and communities. See spill scenarios from tankers, cruise ships, container ships and drilling platforms. You’ll be surprised how quickly the oil washes into seabird habitat, humpback whale migration routes, shores where herring spawn, and First Nations villages.

In the model, black areas represents where oil is predicted to spread and gray areas represent where the oil could go given slight variations in winds, tides and currents. The oil spill animation takes into account the amount and type of oil spilled and predicts its movement based on oceanographic conditions such as water currents, tides and winds. It was built using leading edge computer modeling software and the most up to date oceanographic data available.

Read more to learn about the data and sources that informed our oil spill model.

Modified: October 30, 2013

Initiatives:

Map Keywords:

  • cargo, cruise, hecate strait, North coast, North Vancouver Island, northern gateway, oil, oil sands, Oil spill, queen charlotte sound, Tanker, tar sands, vessel incidents

Our GIS Team

Living Oceans Society is at the forefront of mapping Canada's Pacific coast.

Our GIS team (Geographic Information Systems) maps the places and creatures we’re working to protect. For example, we show you where marine debris has been located and removed from sensitive shorelines, where salmon farms interrupt wild fish migration, and where marine planning for the Great Bear Sea can help to reduce conflict.

We also design custom maps for a fee! Address inquiries to the Director of Mapping at info [at] livingoceans.org.

Using our maps

We encourage use and reproduction of our work for purposes of public education and research, with credit to “Living Oceans Society”.  No other use is permitted without written authorization from Living Oceans Society. For authorization or high resolution formats please contact our Communications Manager at info [at] livingoceans.org.

If you find our maps useful please consider supporting our research.

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