Decision support tools for oil spill response (OSR-DSTs): Approaches, challenges, and future research perspectives

Highlights: • A systematic review of current decision support approaches for oil spill response. • Decision support to oil spills in typical conditions and cold region is researched. • The decision support tools for oil spill response are categorized for the first time. • Novel integration of decision tools in an incident management system is discussed. • Future direction of the decision tools for oil spill response is deliberated. Marine oil spills pose a significant threat to ocean and coastal ecosystems. In addition to costs incurred by response activities, an economic burden could be experienced by stakeholders dependent on coastal resources. Decision support tools for oil spill response (OSR-DSTs) have been playing an important role during oil spill response operations. This paper aims to provide an insight into the status of research on OSR-DSTs and identify future directions. Specifically, a systematic review is conducted including an examination of the advantages and limitations of currently applied and emerging decision support techniques for oil spill response. In response to elevated environmental concerns for protecting the polar ecosystem, the review includes a discussion on the use of OSR-DSTs in cold regions. Based on the analysis of information acquired, recommendations for future work on the development of OSR-DSTs to support the selection and implementation of spill response options are presented.