Florida Marine Spill Analysis System (FMSAS)

men sitting around laptop during oil spill exercise

The Florida Marine Spill Analysis System (FMSAS) is a powerful geographic information system (GIS) application that allows users to conduct oil spill planning activities and manage response and mitigation efforts during an actual spill. The FMSAS is designed to address five aspects of oil spill management:

Contingency planning
On-scene spill tracking and mapping
“Resources at Risk” (RAR) analysis
Damage assessment & restoration
General oil spill GIS data management

The FMSAS uses layers of geographic data, imagery, web services, and specialized tools to provide spatial analysis that can be distributed quickly as maps, tables, and charts. This information provides a foundation for decision-makers to assess the type and location of oil spill containment strategies and cleanup operations to minimize ecological damage and economic loss.

The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has partnered with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Emergency Response (OER) to deploy the FMSAS to each field office. FWRI staff participate regularly oil spill exercises and real-world events to provide additional training and support for the FMSAS.

The FMSAS is at the heart of the state of Florida and FWRI's oil spill technical activities which also include Environmental Sensitivity Index data maintenance, Area Contingency Plan creation for the U.S. Coast Guard District 7, and USCG District Eight’s Sector Mobile. The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute remains committed to continuing development of the FMSAS and the tools within it to support oil spill preparedness and effective coastal and marine resource protection.

For more information on the Florida Marine Spill Analysis System, please contact Timyn Rice at FWRI.