Tar on Your Swimming Cozzie? |
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C.A. Lewis1, C.P. Harman1,2, K.L. Pinfold1, C.E. Reeves1,3, P.T.V. Wilkes1,4 and H.K. Wilson1 |
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Petroleum and Environmental Geochemistry Group, SEOES, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, U.K. |
| 2 | Present Address: Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalleen 21, 0349 Oslo, Norway |
| 3 | Present Address: URSQatar LLC, Bin Jaham Al Kuwari Building, AlSadd Street, P.O. Box 22108, Doha, Qatar |
| 4 | Present Address: Air Quality Unit, Faculty of Business, Enterprise and IT, Cornwall College Camborne, Cornwall TR15 3RD, U.K. |
Presented at: 19th Annual Meeting of the British Organic Geochemical Society, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., 1-2 July 2008. |
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Download: Poster as an A4 pdf file. |
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We have undertaken a decadal study (1998-2008) of the tar balls found on beaches around the South-West peninsula of the UK. Beaches on the north and south coasts of Cornwall and Devon have been surveyed a number of times, often during both the summer (July-September) and the winter (December-February). Although the amount of tar may be classed as "negligible" (<1.0 gm-1) it can originate from sources that are geographically remote from the UK. This is demonstrated by tar balls showing a biological marker signature similar to that of oil from the Prestige, which sank off Spain (42°15'N, 12°08'W) in November 2002.
Download the complete poster as an A4 pdf file.