Oil slick drift prediction using commercial X-band radar

A non-coherent X-band radar is used for short-term prediction of a natural slick drift outside of St. John´s Harbor at the Skerries site in Newfoundland, Canada. The prediction algorithm in this study only considers the surface current information as a drifting force. The drift trajectory is predicted by a Monte Carlo simulation which takes into account the spatial surface current information extracted from the radar images. The results show the prediction error caused by using the instantaneous current map to predict the drift.