THE ROLE OF WIND AND EMULSIFICATION IN MODELING OIL-SPILL AND SURFACEDRIFTER TRAJECTORIES

Laboratory and held data suggest that the movement of spilled oil at s ea is in general a three-dimensional phenomenon in physical space, whe reas trajectories of undrogued surface drifters are more susceptible t o two-dimensional analysis. These conclusions are consistent with the intermittent failure of two-dimensional surface models to simulate the trajectories of spilled oil, although such models may be more success ful with data from surface drifters. A physical explanation is present ed, and a model that incorporates the key portions of the governing pr ocesses is described and tested against data from experimental oil spi lls at sea. Observations suggest that emulsified surface oil will drif t down wind at speeds in excess of 3% of the windspeed. When surface t urbulence drives oil subsurface for a significant fraction of time, ho wever, net transport speeds are considerably less and significantly to the right of the wind in the northern hemisphere.