Some dynamics of spilled oil in a fractured ice field in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts

A spill of #2 fuel oil occurred 28 January 1977 in a dynamic ice field in BBuzzards Bay, Massachusetts. An oil budget study revealed that within four days after the spill occurred, approximately 60% of the oil was incorporated into the fractured ice zones and onto the ice surface. The movement of the oil (initially spilled under the ice) into the fracture zones appears to be the result of water current below the ice and buoyancy spreading mechanisms. Areas of fracture zones and leads provided a surface outlet for the less dense oil as it moved under the ice. When the leads closed, the oil was trapped into tools on top of the ice at the floe edges. The further spread of the oil onto the surface of the ice floes appears to have been caused by the wind.