Summary

This page is about the HNS-MS development within the eponym project...

We aim to develop a decision-support tool that national maritime authorities and coastguard stations will activate in order to forecast the drift, fate and behaviour of acute marine pollution by Harmful Noxious Substances (HNS) accidentally released in the marine system.

Focussing on the Greater North Sea, we will in 2015 and 2016:

• contribute to improve the understanding of the physico-chemical behaviour of HNS spilt at sea;
• conduct lab experiments to further document the physico-chemical properties of major HNS transported from or to the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Nantes and Bordeaux;
• produce environmental and socioeconomic vulnerability maps dedicated to HNS;
• develop a 3D mathematical model that can forecast the drift, fate and behaviours of HNS spilt at sea.

All these contributions will be integrated into a web-based decision-support tool that will help coastguard stations to evaluate the risks for maritime safety, civil protection and marine environment in case of an acute pollution of the sea.

Find out more:

Background and objectives »

Lab experiments » Mathematical modelling » Socioeconomic vulnerabilities » Decision support tool »

Final stakeholder meeting