Control of spatial discretisation in coastal oil spill modelling

Spatial discretisation plays an important role in many numerical environmental models. This paper studies the control of spatial discretisation in coastal oil spill modelling with a view to assure the quality of modelling outputs for given spatial data inputs. Spatial data analysis techniques are effective for investigating and improving the spatial discretisation in different phases of the modelling. Proposed methods are implemented and tested with experimental models. A new “automatic search” method based on GIS zone design principles is shown to significantly improve discretisation of bathymetric data and hydrodynamic modelling outputs. The concepts and methods developed in the study are expected to have general relevance for a range of applications in numerical environmental modelling.