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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Experimental Procedure for Laboratory Studies of In Situ Burning : Flammability and Burning Efficiency of Crude Oil
Published on: May 1, 2018
The onshore transport of an oil spill by internal waves
Abstract:
Internal waves generated by tidal currents concentrated and transported an oil spill (liquid asphalt) onshore. Plankton net samples were collected in front of and behind a set of internal waves as well as in the convergence and divergence zones over the waves. Tar "balls" were most abundant (greater than 30-fold) in the samples from the convergence zone. Comparison of the abundance of tar balls in front of and behind the set of waves suggests that the internal waves "caught" about 68% of the asphalt encountered and concentrated and swept shoreward tar balls from almost 8 kilometers of ocean.
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