Author(s): Sylvi Vefsnmo; Bjorn Olaf Johannessen
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: An oil spill experiment in the marginal ice wne oj the Barents Sea was perjormed in the period 15 - 29 April 1993 in the waters north-east of Bjornoya. On the 19 April. 26 m3 stabilized crude oil was spilled in very dense ice about 40 - 45 km from the ice edge. The area consisted mainly of first-year ice and new ice with some multi-year ice. During the oil release. the oil had a restricted area to spread and the oil thickness was about 12 cm in the early beginning of the release. Afterwards the ice field was more open and the film thickness was reduced to about 8 - 9 mm at the end of the release. During the next days the oil spreading was studied and the oil spreading was closely connected to the dynamics in the ice field. Due to divergence in the ice field. especially on the 24 April. the ice concentration decreased from 90 % to 75 %. Simultaneously the oil spreading area increased with a factor of 10. Based on the mass balance oj the spilled oil and contaminated area, the oil film thickness was calculated to about 0.7 mm. In the length direction the oil spill measured about 1 km. Due to the dense drifting ice. it was not possible to identify any relative velocity between the oil and the ice. The wave motion was measured by use oj two accelerometer packages. The wave height was highest on the release day where the significant wave height was 64 cm with a peak period of 9.5 s. Afterwards. only calm swells were observed with relative long wave periods.
Year: 1994