TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED OIL SPILL SYSTEM: FROM MODELLING TO THE DECISION SUPPORT TOOL
In this chapter, we present a state-of-the-art system developed to manage oil spills crisis at the coastal areas of the Balearic Islands Archipelago. Specifically, we introduce a first version of an Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS) to response against oil spill emergencies which combines a numerical tool for tracking the spill (or objects) at the sea surface, i.e. the physical-geomorphological component, with a GIS tool containing the environmental and human variables. This system provides in real time the areas of probability of a spill, the potential impacts at the shore, the uses of the affected coasts and the resources available in the surrounding
areas.