Abstract
We shall see in this chapter that released oil spreads to cover large areas of sea surface to very thin layers and subsequently disperses as droplets into the underlying sea water to give concentrations which correspond to the thinness of these layers. In the following chapter the impacts of continuous layers and of dispersed droplets on flora and fauna will be discussed and it will be seen that the significant threat of physical coating of surface living organisms and shorelines is greatly reduced by dispersion into droplets without, in general, causing as significant effects on sub-surface organisms. It will also be noted that the rate at which this natural dispersion takes place is an important factor in evaluating the likely effects of an oil spill and in deciding whether or not to mount oil clearance operations to prevent physical coating of resources at risk.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Blokker, P.C.; Proceedings of the Fourth Int. Harbour Conf., Antwerp, 1964.
Fay, J.A.; Spread of Oil Slicks on a Calm Sea, Oil in the Seas, Fay, D.P., Editor. Plenum Press, New York. 53–64, 1969.
Cormack, D., Nichols, J.A., and Lynch, B.; Investigation of Factors Affecting the Fate of North Seas Oils Discharged at Sea, Part 1; Ekofisk Crude Oil. Report No. LR273 (OP), Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, UK, 1978.
Elliot, A.J., Hurford, N., Penn, C; Sheer Diffusion and the Spreading of Oil Slicks. Mar Poll Bull, 308–313, 1986.
Teeson, D., White, F.M., and Schenk, A.; Studies of the Simulation of Drifting Oil by Polythene Sheets, Ocean Engineering, 2, 1–11, 1970.
Buchanan, I., Hurford, N.; Report on the Forties Fate Trial. Warren Spring Laboratory, Report LR671 (OP), Stevenage, UK, July 1987.
Hurford, N.; The Behaviour of Flotta and Forties Crude Oils: Results of Small-scale Sea Trials, Warren Spring Laboratory, Report LR699 (MPBM), Stevenage, UK, 1989.
Buchanan, I.; Methods of Predicting the Physical Changes in Split Oil at Sea. Warren Spring Laboratory, Report LR609 (OP), Stevenage, UK, 1987.
Stiver, W., Mackay, D.; Evaporation Rates of Spills of Hydrocarbons and Petroleum Mixtures. Env. Sci. and Tech., 18, 834–849, 1984.
Goodyear, K.F.; Combustion: An Oil Spill Mitigation Tool. Report prepared by Batelle for US Dept. of Energy under Contract No. EY 76-C-06–1830, Nov 1979.
Diederichsen, J., Hall, A.R., Hinde, P.T., and Jeffs, A.T.; Oil Burning Rates in Partly Vented Tanks: Application to Disposal of Wrecked Oil Tanker Cargoes, J.Inst. Petrol. 59, 567, 1973.
Coles, K.F.; Burning Crude Oil in Tanker Cargo Tanks, Shell Research, Thornton: prepared for Marine Division, London, under Contact No A736/5059, May 1981.
Mackay, D., Buist, I., Mascarenhas, R., and Paterson, S.; Oil Spill Processes and Models, Report EE-8, Environment Canada, Ottawa, 77 1980.
Rasmussen and Dorte; Oil Spill Modelling — A Tool for Clean-Up Operations, Proceedings of International Oil Spill Conference, API, Washington DC, USA, 1985.
Cormack, D., and Nichols, J.A.; Investigation of Factors Affecting the Fate of North Sea Oils Discharged at Sea, Part 2; The Ekofisk Blowout. Report No. LR272 (OP), Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, UK, 1978.
Aravamudan, K.S., Raj, P.K., and Marsh, G.; Simplified Models to Predict the Break Up of Oil on Rough Seas. Proceedings of International Oil Spill Conference, API, Washington DC, USA, 1981.
Aravamudan, K.S., Raj, P.K., Newman, F., and Tucker, W.; Break Up of Oil on Rough Seas: Simplified Models and Step by Step Calculations, Report No. CG-D-69–79, US Coast Guard, Washington DC, Oct 1979.
van Dorn, W.G.; Oceanography and Seamanship, Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1974.
Liebovich, S.; A Natural Limit to the Containment and Removal of Oil Spills at Seas. Ocean Engineering, 3, 29–36, 1975.
Horn, S. A., and Neal, P.; The Atlantic Empress Sinking: A Large Spill Without Environment Disaster. Proceedings of the International Oil Spill Conference, API, Washington DC, USA, 1981.
Sharpies, B.P.M.; Oil pollution By The Offshore Industry Contrasted With Tankers. An Examination of the Facts, Institute of Mechanical Engineers, London, June 25 1990.
Hazardous Cargo Bulletin. 14 No 1, 1993.
Marina Oil No 27, Ministerio de Obras Publicas y Transportes, Roycar, SA, 1992.
Evans, D.D., Mulholland, G.W., Gross, D., Baum, H., and Saito, K.; Environmental Effects Of Oil Spill Combustion, Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Arctic Marine Oil Spill Programme (AMOP) Technical Seminar, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 245–277, 1989.
Day, T., Mackay, D., Nadeau, S., and Thurier, R.; Emissions From In-situ Burning Of Crude Oil in The Arctic. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, II, 139–152, 1979.
Fingas, M.F., Li, K., Ackerman, F., Compagna, P.R., Turpin, R.D., Getty, S.J., Soleki, M.F., Trespalocis, M.J., Pare, J., Bissonette, C., and Tennyson, J.; Emissions From Mesoscale In-situ Oil Fires. The Mobile 1991 and 1992 Tests, Proceedings of the Sixteenth AMOP Technical Seminar, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 2, 749–822, 1993.
Evans, D.D., Baum, H., McCaffrey, B., Mulholland, G.W., Harkleroad, M., and Manders, W.; Combustion Of Oil On Water, Proceedings of the Ninth Annual AMOP Technical Seminar, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 301–336, 1986.
Koseki, H., and Yumoto, T., Air Entrainment And Thermal Radiation From Heptane Pool Fires, Fire Technology, 36–42, 1988.
Evans, D.D., Walton, W., Baum, H., Mulholland, G.W., Lawson, J., Koseki, H., and Ghoniem, A., Smoke Emission From Burning Grade Oil, Proceedings Of The Fourteenth AMOP Technical Seminar, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 421–499, 1991.
Ghoniem, A.F., Xiaoming Zhang, Omar, K., Baum, H., and Rhem, R.G.; Dispersion and Deposition Of Smoke Plumes Generated In Dispersion in Marine Fires. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 33, 275–293, 1993.
Evans, D.D., Walton, W.D., Baum, H.R., Notarriani, K.A., Tennyson, E.J., and Tebeau, P.A.; Proceedings Of The International Oil Spill Conference, API, Washington, DC, USA, 1993.
Smith, J.P., Tyler, A.O. and Sabeur, Z.A.; Ecotoxicological Assessment of Produced Waters in Indonesia, J. Environ Technology and Water Quality, in press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cormack, D. (1999). Factors Affecting the Fate of Oil After Release at Sea. In: Response to Marine Oil Pollution — Review and Assessment. Environmental Pollution, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9301-4_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9301-4_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5204-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-015-9301-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive