  The aim of this study is to address the effects of wind-induced drift on a
floating sea objects using high--resolution ocean forecast data and atmospheric
data. Two applications of stochastic Leeway model for prediction of
trajectories drift in the Mediterranean sea are presented: long-term simulation
of sea drifters in the western Adriatic sea (21.06.2009-23.06.2009) and
numerical reconstruction of the Elba accident (21.06.2009-23.06.2009).
Long-term simulations in the western Adriatic sea are performed using wind data
from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) and currents
from the Adriatic Forecasting System (AFS). An algorithm of spatial clustering
is proposed to identify the most probable search areas with a high density of
drifters. The results are compared for different simulation scenarios using
different categories of drifters and forcing fields. The reconstruction of sea
object drift near to the Elba Island is performed using surface currents from
the Mediterranean Forecasting System (MFS) and atmospheric forcing fields from
the ECMWF. The results showed that draft-limited to an upper surface drifters
more closely reproduced target trajectory during the accident.
