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John's Project Page - RISE summer 2003 |
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Intern: John Ring, Dartmouth College
Mentor: Ira Leifer
Faculty Supervisor: ----
Department: Chemical Engineering |
OIL SLICK FATE AND TRANSPORT MODELLING
Oil and methane seeps off the coast of Santa Barbara provide an exceptional
opportunity to study the movements of oil on the water surface. The natural
seeps bring a continuous flux of new oil to the ocean surface, which mimics an
oil spill and allows researchers to study the oil slick in a natural marine
environment. Innovative methods of tracking oil slicks and collecting oil
samples were used during field expeditions to gather data on how wind and
currents affect slick transport by advection. Calibration experiments were
performed with the oil slick sampler (CATDRUMS) to compare field collection
data with lab analyses. Gas chromatography was used to determine how
evaporation and weathering change the oil in the first few hours after the oil
rises to the surface. Data sets from field expeditions were analyzed and
compared with existing oil spill scenario computer models, in the hopes of
developing a new model, which better predicts the oil slick’s movements and
weathering.
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