Film Slicks on the Sea Surface: Their Dynamics and Remote Sensing

Two aspects of the problem of marine film slicks and their remote sensing are considered. The first one is the slick evolution accounting for the action of wind waves. Results of field experiments with surfactant spills are presented and the along-wind and cross-wind axes of slicks as functions of time at different environmental conditions are discussed. A model of slick evolution taking into account surface stresses induced by wind waves is developed and is shown to be consistent with experiment. The second considered aspect of the problem is related to remote sensing of marine films using X-/C-/S-band two-polarized radar. Experiments with artificial slicks have indicated that both Bragg and non polarized scattering significantly contributes to the radar return, and the depression of radar backscatter in slicks as a function of radar wave number can be strongly different for Bragg and non polarized components.