Wind-wave action

After a spill, oil spreads across the sea surface as a slick, varying in thickness from micrometers to a centimeter or more. A slick s behavior is a function of the composition of the oil and the prevailing abiotic factors in the area, water temperature, wind, wave action, tides, and currents (Figure 8). 

Exposed rocks on the surface of fhe Earth are especially vulnerable to the surface agents of erosion (weafhering, erosion, rain, streamflow, wind, wave action, ocean circulation). When eroded, these rock fragments (called detritus) are commonly picked up and transported by wind, water, or ice. 

Even if a chemical does not partition into an environmental medium, it may nevertheless undergo advective transport. For example, oil spilled at sea dissolves poorly in water, and most of it floats on the water s surface. The undissolved oil is transported advectively by the water, its pathways determined by wind, wave action, and ocean currents. Groundwater, too, may transport undissolved organic chemicals advectively, e.g., trichloroethylene that was spilled on the ground at an industrial site and percolated into a groundwater aquifer beneath the site. 

The rudder provides a control moment on the hull to drive the actual heading towards the desired heading while the wind, waves and current produce moments that may help or hinder this action. The block diagram of the system is shown in Figure 1.13. 

The value of E is insensitive to small changes in ocean temperature but is quite sensitive to wind speed over the sea surface (boundary layer thickness, wave action, and bubble formation are functions of wind speed). Therefore changes in surface wind speed accompanying a climate change could affect rates of air-sea CO2 exchange. 

Leave the oil alone so that it breaks down by natural means. If there is no possibility of the oil polluting coastal regions or marine industries, the best method is to leave it to disperse by natural means. A combination of wind, sun, current, and wave action will rapidly disperse and evaporate most oils. Light oils will disperse more quickly than heavy oils. 

As might be expected, the salt concentration and to some extent the size distribution depend on the meteorology, especially wind speed, which drives the wave action. For a detailed discussion of sea salt aerosol, the reader is referred to Blanchard and Woodcock (1980), Blanchard (1985), Erickson et al. (1986), Fitzgerald (1991), Gong and Barrie (1997), Gong et al. (1997), and O Dowd et al. (1997). 

Renewable Energy Resources Energy resources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited. They are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time. Renewable energy resources include biomass, hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, ocean thermal, wave action and tidal action. 

The Crimean shelf extends from Cape Khersones in the west to Cape Meganom in the east. It is widest off Cape Sarych (35-40 km) and narrowest off Cape Ayu Dag (5 km) [1,2]. This region is subjected to intensive wave action because it is exposed to all the southerly winds. The boundary of the underwater coastal slope is located at depths of 30-40 m. The near-shore zone is the area of alongshore sediment transport and smoothing of the bottom topography. Underwater and dried abrasive remnants are common the largest of them are confined to the capes composed of strong volcanic rocks [7,8]. 

Wind plays an important role in water circulation, wave action, and surface temperature. On a warm, windy day, the surface water may be considerably warmer than the water beneath it. Since wind is directional and effects surface water more readily than lower water, it pushes warm water in the direction of the wind. The result can be a dramatic temperature difference between opposing shores of the same lake. The downwind shore may be as much as 30°F (16.7°C) warmer than the upwind shore. Strong winds can also create choppy waves that effectively decrease light penetrance. 

Epilimnion the uppermost layer of water in a lake, characterized by an essentially uniform temperature, that is generally warmer than elsewhere in the lake, and by relatively uniform mixing by wind and wave action. 

The different size modes reflect differences in particle sources, transformations, and sinks (Finlayson-Pitts and Pitts 2000). For example, coarse particles are generated by mechanical processes such as wind erosion of soil, wave action in the oceans, and abrasion of plant material. In contrast, many of the fine particles in the atmosphere are produced from either primary emissions from combustion sources or via atmospheric gas-to-particle conversions (i.e., new particle formation). The relative and absolute sizes of particle modes, as well as the number of modes, can vary greatly in different locations and at different times. In addition, the chemical composition of particles within one size... 

The fate of chemicals in the environment depends not only on processes taking place within compartments, but also by chemical partitioning between compartments. For example, there may be exchange of chemicals between air and water or soil. Movement from the water or soil into the air is accomplished by volatilization and evaporation of volatile or semivolatile compounds. Movement of chemicals from the air to water or soil is accomplished by deposition or diffusion into the water. Chemicals can also move from water to soil or sediment and vice versa. If a solid chemical in the soil or sediment dissolves into the water, this is called dissolution , while the opposite is called precipitation . If a chemical dissolved in water attaches to a soil or sediment particle, this is called adsorption , while the opposite is called desorption . The fugacity of a chemical, that is, its tendency to remain within a compartment, is affected by the properties of that chemical, as well as the chemical and physical properties of the environments such as temperature, pFF, and amount of oxygen in water and soil. Wind or water currents, wave action, water turbulence, or disturbance of soil or sediment (through the action of air or water currents, animals, or human activities) may also affect partitioning of chemicals. 

FIGURE 2-2 Bickford Reservoir, a lake in central Massachusetts. Lakes such as this typically stratify during the summer season, but become fully mixed during the spring and fall. Water currents in a lake are mostly wind-driven and vary in velocity. On large lakes, wave action also becomes an important transport factor. (Photo by H. Hemond.)... 

Many hydrophobic pollutants may tend to become more concentrated in naturally occurring microlayers, but because they are typically thin (<100 angstroms) only a very small fraction of the total pollutant load is likely to occur there. The situation is likely to be different in an oil spill event, in which the material floating on the surface of the water body is likely to form a thicker layer and also to be somewhat more stable to being disrupted by wind or wave action. 

With large clarifiers, there is a potential problem with the formation of waves on the surface of the clarified brine. These are caused by wind, and they can drastically upset the evenness of the overflow. The notched-weir type mentioned above gives some small protection against shallow waves. With a large open clarifier, it is good practice to add barriers to dampen these waves. Barriers might be rectangular pieces, such as planks of marine-resistant wood. When thermal insulators are floated on the surface (Section 7,5,3,4A), they also serve to dampen wave action. 

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