Variability in the optical properties of a crude oil - seawater emulsion

Abstract

The paper analyses the optical properties of a crude oil - seawateremulsion, which is a form of petroleum pollution of the sea.These properties depend on the spillage concentration, the opticalcharacteristics of the seawater and oil in question, and on thesize distribution of the oil droplets. They may be describedby the attenuation specific cross-sections and absorption specificcross-sections. Specific cross-sections and other optical parametersfor droplets of a Baltic crude oil - Baltic seawater emulsionwere calculated using Mie's solution. These characteristics werecomputed for fresh and weathered petroleum.