Studies of the simulation of drifting oil by polyethylene sheets

Authors

Douglas Teeson, University of Rhode Island
Frank M. White, University of Rhode Island
Hilbert Schenck, University of Rhode Island

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

1-1-1970

Abstract

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 with friction were of equal importance in producing the motion of a thin surface layer. In Narragansett 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. © 1970.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Ocean Engineering

Volume

2

Issue

1

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Teeson, Douglas, Frank M. White, and Hilbert Schenck. "Studies of the simulation of drifting oil by polyethylene sheets." Ocean Engineering 2, 1 (1970): 1-11. doi: 10.1016/0029-8018(70)90008-9.