Knowledge Portal Munitions in the SeaMarine transportation processes are drivers of the distribution of munition compounds (MC) in the marine environment. There are simulations available to model the current, but we need to understand the behavior of MC in sea-water to feed them into sufficient mathematic models.
Oceanographic modelling helps identify and prioritize pollutant sources for remediation to reduce the primary inputs. Recent efforts have begun incorporating munition compounds (MC) in oceanographic models at high spatial resolution and with vertically-adaptive coordinates, although the widespread presence of munitions in some systems make it challenging to link specific MC sources to plumes of dissolved MC in the water column. Dissolution of solid explosives controls the source strength of MC release into coastal waters, a critical parameter of oceanographic models, and work to quantify the rate of dissolution under natural conditions is in its early stages. Current oceanographic modelling of e.g., TNT release by dissolution and degradation by microbes, produces trends that match reasonably well with field data, and work is ongoing to improve model performance and extend it to other munition-related chemicals.