• Question: how much oil is necessary to pollute the ocean. can you describe the different between corsim and vissim models.

    Asked by time022zip to Tom, Sanjeev, Orla, Fiona, Cillian on 11 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Sanjeev Kumar

      Sanjeev Kumar answered on 11 Mar 2020:


      Oil in the oceans is increasingly becoming an issue, which harms wildlife. Even a single drop of oil is a pollutant for the ocean. Moreover, the impact of an oil spill in the ocean depends more on its location than the quantity. If it occurs near the coastal areas that are home to sensitive ecosystems, it can seriously harm the wildlife and habitat. Moreover, apart from oil, there are many other pollutants such as plastics that enter the ocean and are utterly harmful to marine life and habitat.

      Further, as far as corsim and vissim models are concerned, sorry to say, but I have never used these models and do not qualify to answer this question…!

    • Photo: Fiona Malone

      Fiona Malone answered on 12 Mar 2020:


      Just one litre of oil can contaminate up to a quarter million gallons of water or cause an oil slick almost 2 acres in size. I learned this from David Attenborough! But in terms of the ocean not all oil pollution is because of oil spills. Natural seepage from the earth accounts for a lot more. Oil in the water is harmful to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and shellfish. Oil destroys the insulating ability of furry mammals, like sea otters, and the water repellent nature of birds’ feathers.

      I am aware these models are used in traffic simulation but this is outside my scope of research.

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