A study examining the dispersion of flotsam in oceans finds that more than half of around 200 satellite-tracked buoys that were released over an approximately 400 km2 swath near the site of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill converged within a week into a 60x60 m region before gradually dispersing; the finding, which suggests a novel mechanism through which floating objects form submesoscale clusters less than 10 km in width before spreading apart, could help estimate the impacts of ocean flotsam and aid the recovery of floating objects.
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Article #17-18453: "Ocean convergence and the dispersion of flotsam," by Eric A. D'Asaro et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Eric A. D'Asaro, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; tel: 206-685-2982; e-mail: dasaro@apl.washington.edu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences