the goan I network
PANAJI
Tarballs that arrive in May just before the monsoon are from Bombay High oil fields, those that arrive in August are from rogue tankers prowling the international shipping routes of the Arabian Sea.
The study which back-tracked the tar balls which washed upon Goa shores in August 2010, May 2013 and May 2014 found that the ones that arrives in August, post monsoon, had their origins from tanker wash in the Arabian Sea, which is in tune with earlier chemical analysis studies.
“The results of August 2010 simulation showed that the tar balls were originated from the tanker routes, and the residence time was approximately 22 days,” the study authored by V Suneel, A Ciappa and P Vethamony has concluded.
With regard to the tarballs that arrived in May, before the monsoons, the study noted that they had arrived from the fields of Bombay High, again in tune with the earlier chemical analysis studies.
The study used a trajectory model, primarily to simulate their pathways and identify the reason for the occurrence of tarballs only around the monsoons in May, and eventually to identify the origin and the source.
“The tarball trajectories of May 2013 and 2014 showed that TBs have originated from the Bombay High oil fields. The present backtrack simulations also showed that the Bombay High oil fields is the origin, and travel time of the particles to reach the nearest location of oil fields is 30 days.”
In the case of May 2014 simulations, the time taken for the particles to reach the oil fields is 65 days, which is longer than 2013 simulations.”
“This is because the strength of winds and currents of 2014 was weaker in 2014 than 2013,” the study reveals.
Earlier, the National Institute of Oceanography had conducted fingerprinting analysis to study the origin of the tarballs. In 2010, the study of tarballs which washed ashore in August was found to be South East Asia Crude Oil and was believed to have landed in the Arabian Sea through oil tankers washing their tanks in International waters in the Arabian Sea.
Later the 2013 and 2014 tarballs were fingerprinted and found that they were from the oil fields of Bombay High.
Tar ball deposition along the West Coast of India (WCI) is a common phenomenon during the southwest monsoon season, particularly along the coast of Goa and Gujarat, and it is a major concern to the stakeholders especially tourism stakeholders.
