Incorporation of Crude and Fuel Oil Into Salt-and Freshwater Ice

• Main Authors: Taylor, Susan, Perron, Nancy
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1995
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Fuels; *ICE FORMATION; *FUEL OIL; *SALT WATER; EXPERIMENTAL DATA; OPTICAL DETECTION; PROBABILITY; SPECTROMETRY; DEPTH; FRESH WATER; THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY; REFLECTANCE; SALINITY; AIR WATER INTERACTIONS; VISCOSITY; CRYSTAL GROWTH; FIELD CONDITIONS; OIL SPILLS; SEA ICE; CRUDE OIL; ICE BREAKUP; VEGETABLE OILS; UNDERICE; Ice; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA293719; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA293719

North Slope Crude, no. 2 fuel oil, and vegetable oil were each released under columnar freshwater and saltwater ice grown in a laboratory coldroom. Because the thermal conductivity of all the oils is lower than that of water or ice, thinner ice grew under the oil and resulted in a concave ice/water interface. Both the fresh and saline ice encapsulated the oils, but the saline ice did so more slowly. Thin sections of the ice blocks containing the crude and fuel oils show how the columnar ice crystals bend around and under the oil patches. The movement of the vegetable oil during melting was photographed, and spectral reflectance measurements of the ice surface were made to determine if the oil could be detected remotely. Although we could detect the presence of oil under 10cm of ice, under field conditions the optical detectability of oil will depend upon the depth of the oil within the ice, the type of ice, and the contrast between the under-ice oil and the background against which it is being viewed. (AN)