STATE OF OIL POLLUTION IN THE NORTHERN ARABIAN SEA AFTER THE 1991 GULF OIL-SPILL

Following the enormous oil spills resulting from the 1990-91 military conflict in the Gulf, fears were expressed concerning dissipation of o il from the Gulf into the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. To investigate contamination of the northern Arabian Sea, two sampling cruises were undertaken during 1991. The sampling strategy was designed to investig ate the most likely path of outflowing water from the GuIf. Floating t ar balls were enumerated and analyses were performed to measure petrol eum residues in water, sediment and biota samples. Concentrations were within the ranges reported for comparable pre-war surveys and collect ively the results indicate that in the areas investigated, negligible contamination has occurred due to the Gulf oil spills. It is considere d probable that the prevailing physical oceanographic conditions withi n the Gulf favoured containment of the spilled oil.