STUDIES OF THE SIMULATION OF DRIFTING OIL BY POLYETHYLENE SHEETS

Rudimentary, comparative tests in laboratory tanks suggested that thin, polyethylene sheet will drift with the uppermost layer of surface water and thereby simulate the movement of an oil slick in the ocean. A series of drift experiments with circular polyethylene sheets in Narragansett Bay showed that both tidal currents and surface wind friction were of equal importance in producing the motion of a thin surface layer. In Naragansett Bay, theoretical predictions of the surface motion suggested that errors in the available tidal-current charts produce the major uncertainty in estimates of this motion.

• Corporate Authors:

  Pergamon Press, Incorporated

  Maxwell House, Fairview Park
  Elmsford, NY  United States  10523
• Authors:
  • Teeson, D
  • White, F M
  • Schenck Jr, H
• Publication Date: 1970-9

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 1-11
• Serial:
  • Volume: 2
  • Issue Number: 1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Oceans; Oil spills; Pollution; Simulation; Surfaces
• Old TRIS Terms: Ocean surface layer; Oil spill behavior
• Subject Areas: Environment; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00024834
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Engineering Index
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 4 1972 12:00AM