METHOD TO ASSESS VULNERABILITY OF COASTAL-MARINE AREAS FROM OIL, OIL PRODUCTS AND OTHER CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND TO BUILD CORRESPONDING VULNERABILITY MAPS Russian patent published in 2015 - IPC G01V99/00 

FIELD: oil and gas industry.

SUBSTANCE: list of accounted objects is determined: critical biota components (CBC) - ecological groups/subgroups/types of biota, special importance social economic objects (SIO), protected areas (PA). Borders of seasons are defined to build seasonal maps with account of features of distribution of selected ecological groups/subgroups/types of biota and their vulnerability from oil to build seasonal maps, if data is not sufficient to build maps by months. Data is collected on biota distribution from available published and/or unpublished databases, data of ecological monitoring and publications by results of different research. Expert appraisals are collected from experts on distribution of biota for areas that are provided with insufficient data or not provided with data. Mapping information is collected on the mapped area from existing topographic and navigation maps, pilot charts, aerial photographs, satellite photographs, available GIS information. Collected information is introduced into an electronic mapping database (DB). Initial non-uniformly scaled seasonal maps are built, or maps by months of distribution of critical biota components (CBC) of groups/subgroups/types within the accepted time borders (seasons/months). Vulnerability coefficients are calculated for the accounted groups/subgroups/types of biota on the basis of sensitivity of components to oil action, their recoverability after exposure and potential impact of oil at them. Produced biota distribution maps are normalised. Biota vulnerability maps are built by "adding" maps of CBC distribution for ecological groups/subgroups/types of biota with account of their vulnerability coefficients. The produced maps are normalised, and maps of integral vulnerability are built. At the same time at the last stage of building the maps of integral vulnerability the range of produced values of integral vulerability is divided into 3 or 5 equal subranges, which are coloured into different colours on maps. Besides, in process of marine and coastal expeditionary works in different seasons or months they collect missing data by taking samples of groups/subgroups/types of biota. Their quantity is determined per unit of area and/or density of biomass, borders of habitats of ecological groups/subgroups/types of critical biotic components of sea ecosystem from macrophytes to birds and sea mammals without taking into account phyto- and animal plankton. Expert appraisal of missing volume of data is carried out, and newly received data is entered into the generated electronic mapping DB. Then SIO maps and PA position are built for the specified mapped area. Vulnerability ratios are assigned for SIO and for PA on the basis of expert appraisals. To build maps of "relative" vulnerability of biota, maps of distribution of biota components (groups/subgroups/types) are normalised for abundance (total quantity or total biomass in the mapped area) of the appropriate ecological group for the season during building of seasonal maps, or month when building maps by months. Distribution of abundance values relative for the month or season is produced. To build maps of "absolute" vulnerability, maps of distribution of biota components (groups/subgroups/types) are normalised for the year-average abundance of the appropriate ecological group in the mapped area. Then for each separate season or month they "add" initial maps of biota groups distribution. Seasonal or monthly maps of distribution of "relative" and "absolute" vulnerability of biota in the mapped area are produced. They build maps of SIO and PA vulnerability by applying polygons on the map with values of "relative" and "absolute" vulnerability of biota for SIO and for PA and their normalisation. Maps of "relative" integral vulnerability of the mapped area are built by "adding" maps of "relative" vulnerability of CBC, SIO and PA. Then maps of "absolute" vulnerability of CBC, SIO and PA are "added" to produce maps of "absolute" integral vulnerability.

EFFECT: increased accuracy of assessment of vulnerability of coastal-marine areas from oil, oil products and other chemical substances, production of complex information for assessment of the specified vulnerability.

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