THE TSESIS OIL SPILL: REPORT OF THE FIRST YEAR SCIENTIFIC STUDY

On October 26, 1977, the Soviet tanker Tsesis struck a rock in the fairway while inbound through the archipelago off Sodertalje, Sweden (northern Baltic proper). During the next few days she released about 1100 tons of oil, mostly a No. 5 fuel oil, but also some bunker oil. Within a day after the grounding, a cooperative international scientific investigation was launched to cover important aspects of the spilled oil's ecological effects on plankton, benthos, fish, littoral and superalittoral communities, as well as the chemical and biochemical processes of weathering, bioaccumulated and depuration. The area was one which had been relatively well studied in the past as the site of several marine biological programs. The spill study was initiated rapidly enough to have some littoral sites surveyed immediately before impact by oil--an example of the "ideal" oil spill study. (Author)

  • Supplemental Notes:
    • A cooperative international investigation by Asko Laboratory, University of Stockholm, Swedish Water and Air Pollution Research Institute (IVL) and U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Marine Pollution Assessment, NOAA. Prepared for U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program.
  • Corporate Authors:

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Department of Commerce
    Boulder, CO  United States  80302
  • Authors:
    • Kineman, J J
    • Elmgren, R
    • Hansson, S
  • Publication Date: 1980

Media Info

  • Pagination: 296 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00324310
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Arctic Science and Technology Information System
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Feb 6 1981 12:00AM