| Summary: | In the 3 year period May 1975 - April 1978, monitoring of the particulate oil pollution in the Skagerrak and the North Sea has been carried out, following extensive base-line investigations in the first half of 1975. More occasional observations have been made in the Barents Sea. In the Skagerrak tar balls were present in more than half of the samples, a decrease from three quarters during the base-line studies. Concentrations have remained fairly constant, averaging about 0.2 mg/m2 sea surface. In the North Sea tar balls were present in two thirds of the samples, an increase from less than one half since the base-line work. Average concen- trations have also increased from less than 0.1 to 0.2 mg/m2. In the Barents Sea tar balls were present in one third of the samples, in trace concentrations of less than 0.1 mg/m2. These results may indicate a shift in the oil discharges from coastal waters to the open sea. A breakdown of the oil particulates in the coastal current enroute to the Barents Sea may also be apparent.
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