Peculiarities of slick formation on the sea surface

This paper deals with surface slicks, their nature, and causes of formation in context of the development of remote detection methods and investigation of dynamic processes in the ocean and at the air–ocean interface. A simplified formalism is introduced for slick–sea surface contrast formation which takes into account the upward sea radiation and qualitatively explains in situ measurement results. The results of a detection of slicks on the coastal water surface are also described, which, together with the simplified formalism suggested, provide optimal experimental conditions for slick–sea surface contrast measurements; i.e., the contrast of the P component of reflected radiation is measured at viewing angles close to the horizon.