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Interaction of oil with sea ice in the Arctic Ocean

Journal Article · · Ice; (United States)
OSTI ID:6136349

The purpose of the present study was to outline the various ways in which the sea ice of the Alaskan coast will entrain and interact with an oil spill or blow-out under the ice. The study concentrates on the small-scale properties of sea ice; namely, its salinity, temperature, and crystal structure, and is only indirectly concerned with the large scale transport and deformation of sea ice. The study divides into two parts: a laboratory experiment on ice growth in a wave field, which stimulates parts of the Bering Sea, and a field survey which consists of taking ice cores from the Beaufort Sea at different times of the year. In the laboratory experiment, oil was injected under the growing ice to study the entrainment; in the field survey, cores were analyzed to see how oil might be entrained within them.

Research Organization:
Washington Univ., Seattle
OSTI ID:
6136349
Journal Information:
Ice; (United States), Journal Name: Ice; (United States) Vol. 14; ISSN ICEAB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English