Jump to navigation

Search form

Search form

Home
NOAA LogoOffice of Response and Restoration

Surface Oiling Descriptors - Type

Photo: Thick and pooled oil on gravel.
Photo: Thick, sanded oil.
Photo: A strand of twisted tar on fine sand.
Photo: A flat pancake of oil on sand.
Photo: Round tarballs on sand.
Photo: Large rocks thickly coated with brown oil.
Photo: Person dipping a stick into a pool of black oil.
Photo: Thick and pooled oil on gravel.
AP - Asphalt Pavements

Cohesive, heavily oiled surface sediments. An example of asphalt pavement is seen here as a thick black deposit on a beach face.

Credit: Miles O. Hayes and Jacqueline Michel of Research Planning, Inc.
Download Original
Photo: Thick, sanded oil.
SR - Surface Oil Residue

Non-cohesive, heavily oiled surface sediments, characterized as soft incipient asphalt pavements.

Credit: Miles O. Hayes and Jacqueline Michel of Research Planning, Inc.
Download Original
Photo: A strand of twisted tar on fine sand.
TC - Tar

Highly weathered oil of nearly solid consistency. Here is an example of tar on a sand beach.

Credit: Miles O. Hayes and Jacqueline Michel of Research Planning, Inc.
Download Original
Photo: A flat pancake of oil on sand.
PT - Patties

Discrete accumulations of oil more than 10 centimeters in diameter. Here is a single black patty on a sand beach.

Credit: Miles O. Hayes and Jacqueline Michel of Research Planning, Inc.
Download Original
Photo: Round tarballs on sand.
TB - Tarballs

Discrete accumulations of oil less than 10 centimeters in diameter. Shown are tarballs scattered on a sand beach.

Credit: Miles O. Hayes and Jacqueline Michel of Research Planning, Inc.
Download Original
Photo: Large rocks thickly coated with brown oil.
MS - Mousse

Emulsified oil. An example of mousse is seen here as orange-brown oil coating cobbles.

Credit: Miles O. Hayes and Jacqueline Michel of Research Planning, Inc.
Download Original
Photo: Person dipping a stick into a pool of black oil.
FR - Fresh Oil

Unweathered, liquid oil.

Credit: Miles O. Hayes and Jacqueline Michel of Research Planning, Inc.
Download Original
Previous Pause Next
1 of 7

You are here

  1. Home |
  2. Surface Oiling Descriptors - Type

Revised: Apr 20, 2018 3:48pm | Site Map | Contact Us | Accessibility | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Get Email Updates | Website Survey
Website owner: Office of Response and Restoration | NOAA's Ocean Service | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | US Department of Commerce | USA.gov

Main menu

  • Oil and Chemical Spills
  • Environmental Restoration
  • Marine Debris
  • Training and Education
  • Blog
  • Multimedia
  • About