TheIxtocOilSpill 1979

THE IXTOC OIL SPILL
by
Anthony F. Amos
T~E
IXTOC OIL SPILL

95W
97\Jv
r.
FIELD
UNITED
STATES
OBSERVATIONS
JULY- NOVEMBER
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1979
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THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE

PORT ARANSAo MARINE LABORATORY
PORT ARANSAS, TEXA> 78373
LONGHORN REPORTS:
THE IXTOC OIL SPILL
PART I--FIELD OBSERVATIONS:
JULY - NOVEMBER 1979
An.thony F. Amos
Research Associate
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute
Port Aransas Marine Laboratory
Port Aransas, Tx. 78373
Final Report to National Oceanic &Atmospheric Administration

En vi tonmenta 1 Research Laboratories and Department of Transportation
United States Coast Guard under NOAA Contract No. NA79RAC00141
31 January 1980
CONTENTS
face
TITLE
LIST OF FIGURES
(v)
LIST OF TABLES
(xi)
(xi i)
ABSTRACT
l
INTRODUCTION
2 METHODS
2 l
Watch and Logging System
2.2
Navigation
2.3 Weather Observations
2.4 Sea Surface Temperature and Salinity
2.5 Oil Observations
2.6 Other Observations
13
2.7
Data Presentation
14
2.7. l
Cruise Maps
14
2.7.2
Cruise Logs
15
2.7.3 Sample Logs and Station Summaries

3 CRUISE FSU-I (26 JULY - 31 JULY 1979
3. l
Cruise Objectives
17
18
18
3.2 Cruise Narrative
19
3.3 Distribution of Oil and Relationship to Other Factors
21
3.3.1
Tarballs, Sheen and Flotsam
21
3.3.2
Winds and Water Masses
22
3.3.3 Subsurface Oil
23
3.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise FSU-I
23
3.4 Pelagic Fauna
23
(i )
3.4. l
23
Birds
3.4.2 Other Sightings
23
3.5 Cruise Maps
24
3.6 Cruise Log
51
3.7 Sample Log
62
4 CRUISE MOUSSE-I (4 AUGUST - 8 AUGUST 1979)

4. l
Cruise Objectives
63
63
63
4.2. l
Leg 1: Port Aransas- Port Isabel
65
4.2.2
Leg 2: Port Isabel - Port Isabel
66
4.2.3
Leg 3: Port Isabel - Port Aransas
68
74
4.3. l
74
4.3.2 Wind and Water Masses
75
75
4.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise MOUSSE-I
78
79
4.4 Pelagic Fauna

4. 4. l
Birds
79
4.4.2
Other Sightings
79
4.5 Cruise Maps
81
4.6 Cruise Log
105
4.7 Sample Log
122
5 CRUISE MOUSSE-II (15 AUGUST - 22 AUGUST 1979)

5. l
Cruise Objectives
123
123

5.2.1
123
(BLM) Line IV
125
127
5.2.2 Line V
(i i)
5.2.3 Line VI
132
5. 2. 4 (BLM) Line II
133
134
5.3. 1 Tarballs, Sheen and Flotsam
134
5.3.2 Wind, Currents and Water Masses
137
140
5.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise MOUSSE-II
143
5.4 Pelagic Fauna

5.4.1
144
Birds
144
144
5. 5 Cruise Maps
146
5.6 Cruise Log
177
5.7 Sample Log
200
6 CRUISE FSU- I I (31 OCTOBER - 6 NOVEHBER 1979)
208
6.1
Cruise Objectives
208
6.2
Cruise Narrative
208
211
6.3. 1 Tarballs, Sheen and Flotsam
211
6.3.2 Wind and Water Masses
213
214
6.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise FSU-II
214
6.4 Pelagic Fauna

6.4.1
215
Birds
215
215
6.5 Cruise Maps
218
6.6 Cruise Log
247
Sample Log
266
6. 7
(iii)
7 SUMMARY
267
7.1
Forms of Ixtoc Oil Encountered and Conditions Observed
267
7.2
Distribution of Ixtoc Oil at the Surface
268
7.3
Distribution of Ixtoc Oil Subsurface
269
7.4
7.5
7.3.1
Viewed from Surface Vessel
269
7.3.2
Diver Observations
270
Flotsam Associated with Ixtoc Oil
270
7.4. 1 Sargassum
271
7.4.2
271
Water Hyacinth
7.4.3 Trichodesmium
272
7.4.4 Other Flotsam
273
Pelagic Fauna
273
273
7.6 Wind and Water Regime

8 CONCLUSIONS
275
9 REFERENCES
279
10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
282
APPENDIX--HEWLETT-PACKARD 9825-A COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
285
(i vl
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure l
R/V LONGHORN at work in the Gulf of Me xi co

in August 1979 during cruise MOUSSE-II
LONGHORN cruises FSU-I and II, MOUSSE-I and II,

cruise tracks.
Figure 3
Samples of log sheets used to map oil distribution

at the ocean surface
Figure 4
Example of sheen as observed during cruise

MOUSSE-II
Figure 2
Detail of a large patch of mousse found dur 'ng

cruise MOUSSE-II
10
Figure 6
Mark A. Northam collecting a sample of mousse
ll
Figure 7
Trichodesmium bloom showing scum lines
12
Figure 8
Close-up of windrow of tarballs
13
Figure 9
LONGHORN cruise FSU-I cruise track
20
Figure 5
Figures 10-19 cover the area bounded by

23"-25"N and 96"-98"W (FSU-I):
Figure 10
Cruise track
25
Figure 11
Observation location overlay
26
Figure 12
Surface winds
27
Figure 13
Surface temperature
28
Figure 14
Surface salinity
29
Figure 15
Distribution of tarballs
30
Figure 16
Distribution of sheen
31
Figure 17
Distribution of windrows
32
Figure 18
Distribution of water hyacinth
33
Figure 19
Sargassum and locations where no oil was seen
34
(v)

24"-26"N and 95"-97"W (FSU-I):
Figure 20
Cruise track
35
Figure 21
36
Figure 22
Surface winds
37
Figure 23
Surface temperature
38
Figure 24
Surface salinity
39
Figure 25
Distribution of Saroassum,
and sheen
Figure 26
~later
hyacinth
Distribution of tarballs and locations where

no oil was seen
40
41
Figur~ 27-33 cover the area bounded by

26"-28"N and 95"-97"W (FSU-I):
Figure 27
Cruise track
43
Figure 28
44
Figure 29
Surface winds
45
Figure 30
Surface temperature
46
Figure 31
Surface salinity
47
Figure 32
Distribution of Sargassum
48
Figure 33
Location where no oil was seen
49
Figure 34
Cruise FSU-I bird sightings
50
Figure 35
LONGHORN cruise MOUSSE-I cruise track
64
Figure 36
Diver actuating 19-liter carboy sampler
67

26"-28"N and 96"-98"W (MOUSSE-I):
Figure 37
Cruise track
82
Figure 38
83
Figure 39
Station locations
84
Figure 40
Surface winds
85
(vi)
Figure 41
Surface temperature
86
Figure 42
Surface salinity
87
Figure 43
Distribution of tarball s
88
Figure 44
89
Figure 45
90
Figure 46
91
Figure 47
Distribution of Trichodesmium and water hyacinth
92
Figure 48
Locations where no oil was seen
93

24-26N and 96-98W (MOUSSE-I):
Figure 49
Cruise track
95
Figure 50
Station locations
96
Figure 51
Surface winds
97
Figure 52
Surface temperature
98
Figure 53
Surface salinity
99
Figure 54
Distribution of tarball s
100
Figure 55
101
Figure 56
102
Figure 57
Distribution of water hyacinth
103
Figure 58
Cruise MOUSSE-II bird sightings
104
Figure 59
LONGHORN cruise MOUSSE-II cruise track
124
Figure 60
Mousse patch showing of damping of surface waves
129
Figure 61
Close-up of mousse patch showing debris
130
Figure 62
Pump station (for fluorescence) taken

Lhrough mousse patch
131
Tarballs as photographed from beneath the

surface during dive station V-5
143
Figure 63
(vii)

26-28N and 96-98W (MOUSSE-II):
Figure 64
Cruise track
147
Figure 65
148
Figure 66
Statton locations
149
Figure 67
Surface winds
150
Figure 68
Surface currents
151
Figure 69
Surface temperature
152
Figure 70
Surface salinity
153
Figure 71
154
Figure 72
155
Figure 73
156
Figure 74
Distribution of water hyacinth and

Trichodesmium
157
Figure 75
Distribution of Saroassum
158
Figure 76
Locations where no oil was seen
159

24-26N and 96-98W (MOUSSE-II):
Figure 77
Cruise track
161
Figure 78
162
Figure 79
Station locations
163
Figure 80
Surface winds
164
Figure 81
Surface currents
165
Figure 82
Surface temperature
166
Figure 83
Surface salinity
167
Figure 84
168
Figure 85
169
Figure 86
Distribution of mousse
170
(viii )
Figure 87
171
Figure 88
Distribution of water hyacinth and

Trichodesmium
172
Figure 89
173
Figure 90
Location where no oil was seen
174
Figure 91
Cruise MOUSSE-II bird sightings
175
Figure 92
LONGHORN Cruise FSU-II cruise track
209
Figure 93
Bird seen during cruise FSU-II tentatively

identified as a species of Skua
216

26-28N and 96-98W (FSU-II):
Figure 94
Cruise track
219
Figure 95
220
Figure 96
Surface winds
221
Figure 97
Surface temperature
222
Figure 98
Surface salinity
223
Figure 99
Distribution of tarballs and locations

where no oil was seen
224
Figure l 00
225
Figure 101
226
Figure 102
227

24-26N and 96-98W (FSU-II):
Figure 103
Cruise track
229
Figure l 04
230
Figure l 05
Surface winds
231
Figure l 06
Surface temperature
232
Figure 107
Surface salinity
233
Figure l 08
Distribution of tarballs and locations

where no oil was seen
234
( i X)
Figure 109
235
Figure 110
236

24-26N and 95-97W (FSU-II):
Figure 111
Cruise track
237
Figure 112
238
Figure 113
Surface winds
239
Figure 114
Surface temperature
240
Figure 115
Surface salinity
241
Figure 116
Distribution of tarballs and 1ocati ons

where no oi 1 was seen
242
Figure 117
243
Figure 118
244
Figure 119
245
Figure 120
Cruise FSU-II bird sightings
246
(x)
LIST OF TABLES
Table l
Location of bottom-moored arrays deployed

on cruise FSU-I
18
Table 2
Summary of station activity on cruise

MOUSSE-I
65
Table 3

MOUSSE- II, (BLM) Line IV
127
Table 4

MOUSSE-II, Line V
128
Table 5

MOUSSE-II, Line VI
133
Table 6

MOUSSE-II, (BLM) Line II
134
Table 7
Surface currents at MOUSSE-II anchor

stations
138
Table 8
Summary of cruise MOUSSE-II dive station

findings
141
(xi)
ABSTRACT
Four cruises were made aboard R/V LONGHORN during the period
23 July to 6 November 1979 on which observations and collections were
made specifically to study the distribution and morphology of Ixtoc I
oil at and beneath the surface of the v1estern Gulf of
~1exico.
These cruises cover the time from when the oil was well south
of the Mexican border but spreading north, through the period of maximum
activity and publicity when the oil beached on South Texas beaches, to
a period when the seasonal current change had apparently eversed the
flow of oil back into Mexican waters.
On all cruises oil was observed at the surface in one or more
of several forms and in several frequently observed conditions and
"associations".
The common forms were: (1) tarballs; (2) sheen; (3) mousse.
The
conditions specifically noted were: (1) no oil seen; (2) the existence
of windrows.
The associations were: (1) Sargassum; (2) water hyacinth;
(3) Trichodesmium; (4) other flotsam, including anthropogenic.
noted were:
Also
faunal associations, including fish, invertebrates, pelagic
mamma 1s and birds and migratory l andbiTds and insects.

Wind and weather, surface temperature and salinity and surface
currents were routinely measured.
Presented here for each cruise are:
maps of the distribution
of oil in its various forms, the prevailing winds, currents and water
masses, cruise tracks and station locations, a cruise log, cruise
narrative and results of the field observations.
The cruises covered
the region from near the Mexican coastline at 23 50'N to Port Aransas
(27 44'N) and out to sea as far as 95W or 150 nm offshore at 24N.
(xi i)
The nearest LONGHORN came to the source of Ixtoc I oil was 320 nm.
By the time the oil reached the areas investigated the well-known "mousse"
form had generally degraded into tarballs.
mousse was found.
Only one region of heavy
The mousse patch completely dampened all but the ocean
swell (under light wind conditions), imparted a strong odor to the

surrounding atmosphere, contained considerable amounts of debris, mostly
unrecognizable, provided a cover for some schooling fish and, while we
were examining it, was sprayed with a dispersant from a passing aircraft.
Tarballs or tar pancakes (as they might more ppropriately be
named) were by far the most common form of oil seen.
Their median
diameter was probably less than 3 em and only seldom were they up to 20 em
wide; frequently, they were less than 1 em in diameter.
The tarballs
were normally in patches, streaks and, most often, in windrows.

When the wind was calm or light the tarballs spread out over the
surface and invariably a sheen patch formed.
Tarballs were then seen to
be "bleeding" irridescent wakes into the sheen, particularly in sunlight.

We never encountered oil-produced sheen without tarballs.
Conversely,
however, tarballs were often found without a surrounding sheen.
As the
wind increased from calm the patches of sheen broke up into smaller
patches, then into wide streaks and finally into windrows.
The stronger
the wind, the less shiny was the surface of the slick.and in winds in
excess of 20 kt or so it was hard to tell whether or not sheen was present.
When the tarballs
1~ere
concentrated in windrows they could
frequently be seen sinking, sometimes out of sight and other times

returning back to the surface.
When the winds were calm and tarballs
were usually in patches of sheen they were never observed to sink.

(xiii)
Tarca 11 s were seen by divers beneath the surface whenever there

was oil on the surface.
Tarballs were found mainly in the upper 10 ft
but were observed as deep as 65 ft.
Underwater photographs were
unsuccessful in documenting the concentration of tarballs subsurface.

The concentration of oil subsurface was much less than that on the surface.
Particles were usually only a few millimeters in dimension and were almost
always described as thin and flaky.
Divers reported no obvious change in
particle density coincident with the thermocline, just a general thinning

out of particles with depth.
Particles were found down to the nepheloid (turbi
water layer
found adjacent to the bottom) layer but not within the nepheloid layer,
nor were they seen on the bottom by the divers at any station or found
in any of the sediment samples.
The most common flotsam other than oil seen during all four
cruises was Sargassum weed.
Sargassum was found at the surface or often
several centimeters beneath the surface; it was most commonly aligned

in windrows, often with tarballs.
The tarballs, being generally much
smaller than the Sargassum clumps, were frequently entangled in the

branches of the weed, but no oiled Sargassum was seen.
Water hyacinth washed into the Gulf of Mexico as debris from river
runoff was found in great abundance 1 , sometimes exceeding that of
Sargassum.
The plant was sometimes seen intact: roots, stems, leaves,
b1adders and even fl ewers in a fe1v instances, but was more often in
fragments of one or more of the above parts.
It was always seen floating
at the surface, was often found in windrows with both tarballs and
Sargassum, and was almost always oiled.
1
Except on cruise FSU-II in November

(xiv)
Blooms of Trichodesmium, a blue-green alga, were found on all

but the first cruise (July).
The patches were generally extensive and
were located most frequently north of 26N.
They were most often
detected on days when the winds were calm or light; they imparted a
slick-look to the ocean surface and often dampened capillary waves.
Quite often tarballs were found within a slick area that contained masses
of Trichodesmium.
In these instances the surface slick was enhanced
by active bleeding of the tarballs.

Pieces of wood and man-made litter were also frequently seen and
often smaller pieces would be associated with tarballs along with other
flotsam in windrows.
The most ubiquitous form of anthropogenic material
was styrofoam cups; these and other styrofoam objects were generally
coated with oil.
Although not made systematically, the observations of pelagic
fauna show that no obvious massive kills of organisms (large enough to
be seen with the unaided eye) occurred due to the presence of oil at
the surface.
One unoiled bird and a few unoiled fish were found dead.
Only one oiled bird was seen on cruise MOUSSE-II and two on MOUSSE-I.
Winds shifted from the prevailing southeasterlies during July and
August to northerly winds during the November cruise.
There were very
few periods of calm during the cruises.

Hater temperatures reached their peak of about 30C during the
early part of August but dropped to below 22C in the northern part in
November in response to the outbreaks of cold air accompanying frontal
passages.
Evidence of coastal upwelling
in August.
(xv)
~1as
found on the two MOUSSE cruises
Low salinities were found well offshore to the north of the

Mexican border on a11 four cruises.
These were anomalously low for
this late summer-early fall season and were probably caused by the
abnormally high precipitation that occurred in the Texas-Louisiana
coastal region.
Direct surface current measurements, made only on MOUSSE-II
anchor stations, showed a predominantly northerly
flo~1
on the offshore
ends of each section, but a more coastally-directed flow on the nearshore ends.
Northeasterly currents of 2 kt were measured at 25 lO'N;
96 50'W.
A conceptual model is presented, based on our field observations

of Ixtoc oil after it has weathered into tarballs.
In windrows, tarballs
are subjected to turbulent forces and some sink beneath the surface in
local downwelling zones.
When buoyant forces overcome local turbulence
the tarballs rise again to the surface.
In shallow water, should they
sink to the turbulent boundary layer, they may become entrapped there
by adherence to sedimentary particles and sink to the bottom.
This
would most easily occur in a well-mixed, neutrally stable water column

(a condition seldom found during LONGHORN cruises).
As the winds and sea
change to calm, subsurface tarba1ls ri.s.e back to the surface and spread
out over a large area.
The action of direct solar radiation and heating
in the surface microlayer causes the more volatile fractions of the oil
to ''bleed" and a sheen or slick region is produced.
These processes
are repeated over and over again with the normal cycle of surface wind
fluctuations.
A factor peculiar to the Ixtoc oil spill during late summer 1979
was the contact of the oil with masses of water hyacinth.
Cxvi l
While some
Saroassum sinks to the bottom and becomes an important food source to

the benthos, the hyacinth is remarkably buoyant and with a coating of
oil would be unlikely to sink in saline water.
~fater
hyacinth covered
with oil began washing up on Texas beaches along with tarballs and the
hyacinth may be an efficient scavenger of oil from the sea water.
The
source of the hyacinth is probably the rivers of southern. Tamaulipas,

Vera Cruz, Tabasco and Campeche.
Ixtoc oil washed up for only a few days on South Texas beaches
before the current reversal pushed it back south.
Duri
this time, in
many places, it washed in as mousse rather than tarballs.
Yet, north
of the border, we observed only tarballs at sea, even close to shore.

It is probable that the tarballs coalesce into a form of mousse in the
surf zone under the action of solar heating and wave action.
The large-scale transport of Ixtoc oil as revealed by the LONGHORN
cruises' field observations was not greatly different from that deduced
from the aerial observations.
Not readily detectable from the air,
however, were the windrows of small tarballs on the leading edge of the
advancing oil slick, the persistence of fresh surface water well offshore throughout the late summer and fall, and upwelled cold water
along the coastline, particularly from Brownsville south.
Some Tricho-
desmium blooms were misidentified as oil slicks from the aerial surveys.
The existence of large amounts of tarballs
som~
30 miles north
of the border in early November, long after the seasonal current

reversal, was a surprise finding.
The retreat of htoc oil may have
bec'l an oscillatory phenomenon as strong southeasterly winds alternated

with northeasterlies prior to the passage of each front.
( xvi i )
INTRODUCTION
Between late July and early October 1979, four cruises were made
aboard The University of Texas Marine Science Institute's R/V LONGHORN

(Fig. l) in the western Gulf of Mexico.
On each of these cruises

-
systematic observations were made of oil at the sea surface and

sampling programs were carried out.
Two of these cruises, named MOUSSE-I and MOUSSE-II (for Mexican Oil
Underwater Search and Survey Expedition), were funded b} U.S. Coast
Guard and NOAA to study the Ixtoc-I oil spill and form the bulk of this
report.
The other two were NSF-sponsored cruises headed by Wilton
Sturges of Florida State University and their prime mission was to

deploy (cruise FSU-I, 23- 31 July 1979) and recover (cruise FSU-II,
31 October - 6 November 1979) deep-moored current meter arrays for a
study of the Western Boundary Current.
)
Opportunity was taken on these
two cruises to observe and sample oil at the sea surface whenever
.1
possible, but this was a secondary mission of FSU-I and FSU-II.

Cruise MOUSSE-I (4- 8 August 1979) was, in nature, an emergency
cruise whose mission was to determine how much oil was subsurface and
to collect samples of oil for geochemical analysis.
place as the first oil moved into U.S. waters.
This cruise took
Cruise MOUSSE-II
05 - 22 August 1979) was designed to sample oil in the seawater, both

particulate and oissolved fractions, to determine geochemically how
the Ixtoc oil was being weathered as it was transported away from the
well-site.
This report is divided into three parts:
Part I describes the
methods used to observe and sample on all four cruises, contains
..~I
~-
Figure l.
The R/V LONGHORN at work in the Gulf of Mexico

in August 1979 duriny cruise MOUSSE-II.
cruise narratives and presents the results of the observational program

showing the spatial and temporal distribution of oil observed at the
sea surface and beneath the surface.
Part II presents the physical
oceanographic data, methods, analysis and results of all four cruises.

Part III describes the geochemical results of cruises MOUSSE-I and
MOUSSE-II.
Figure 2 is a composite map showing the tracks of all four cruises.
All maps used here were produced by computer; base maps with digitized
coastal outlines were photocopied and used for computer plotting of
the information given.
Due to the distortion that occu,
during photo-
copying and registration uncertainties, slight errors in cruise tracks,

station and sample locations do occur; the true positions are listed
in the cruise logs of each cruise (sections 3.6, 4.6, 5.6, 6.6).
Throughout these cruises extensive use was made of a Hewlett-Packard
9825-A desktop calculator and peripheral equipment, both on shipboard
and in the laboratory for the collection, analysis and presentation
of the data in this report.
LONGHORN Cruises FSU-I & II; MOUSSE-I & I I

98W
96W
97W
95\\1
28N
\\"--
~-I
I \ ~"i:-I \
~~
\ .J
27N
I
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UNITED
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26N
r
I
\
MEXI 0
25N
JIOJS9<.-II
I
I
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CRUISE TRACKS, 24N to 28N; 95W to 98W

Figure 2
2 METHODS
2.1
Watch and Loqging System

After the first observation of Ixtoc oil at the surface during
cruise FSU-I, it became obvious that a systematic methodology for

observing and logging the sightings should be devised.
This was an
evolving process but each cruise was treated in essentially the same
way.
A 24-hr watch was maintained with each observer beina on duty for
four hours a day.
Formal deck log and oil observation log sheets were
devised and maintained throughout each cruise (Fig. 3).
Every hour,
or at any major course and/or speed change, an entry was made in the
deck log of the course speed and position.
On the hour, relative
wind speed and direction, sea state, and ocean depth were noted in the
deck log and the general condi.tion of the sea surface noted in the
oil log.
This was based on the observer studying the sea surface for
about 15 minutes prior to the hourly entry.
\<!henever an unusual
sighting occurred or a sample was collected, additional log entries

were made.
Ultimately, at the end of each day, these data were
entered in the Hewlett-Packard 9825-A, stored on cartridge tapes and

tabulated for each cruise as a cruise log (fully explained below).
2.2 Navigation
Position data were generally obtained from the ship's LORAN-e
system, but several times LORAN-A had to be used when the LORAN-e
rna lfuncti oned.
Often, both readings were taken simultaneously.
Occasionally, particularly south of Brownsville and close to shore,

both LORAN systems gave trouble.
In these instances additional navi-
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute

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PORT ARANSAS MARINE lABORATORY
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Samples of log sheets used to map oil distribution at the

ocean surface.
'
gational data were obtained from radar and from the depth recorder.
Another problem encountered was interference from electrical storms.
Despite these problems, the LONGHORN's navigation was precise enough
to relocate the six deep-moored current meter arrays on cruise FSU-II
(each array has an acoustic release/transponder) on the first attempt
and without having to reposition the ship.
In instances where no position was noted for an event the positions
shown in the cruise logs were calculated by dead-reckoning.
2.3 Weather Observations
The major weather data recorded on these cruise5 .Jere wind speed
and direction and barometric pressure.
wet and dry-bulb thermometry.
The ship is not equipped with
Until half-way through cruise MOUSSE-I
wind direction was estimated relative to the ship's head, using the
flag.
During that cruise, new direct readout wind speed and direction
and barometer instrumentation was installed.

A very general description of the weather and light conditions was
made (e.g., overcast, bright sun, dark, rain, etc.) and the sea state
was estimated.
This was necessary to qualify the appearance of oil
and tar seen at the sea surface.
Visual observations were greatly
affected by sea surface conditions, water clarity and ambient light.

Night-time observations were made with a spotlight but are far less
reliable than those made in good light.
2.4 Sea-Surface Temperature and.Salinity
Every hour underway and ac certain times while on station the
sea-surface tHnperature (SST) was measured using a bucket thermometer
and a samp 1e co 11 ected for sa 1i nity CSSS) determination.
Sa 1initi es
were determined on shipboard using a Beckman RS7-C induction salinometer.
In addition, two experimental SST and SSS systems were operated:

(1)
A through-the-hull thermistor, similar to those used in expen-
dable bathythermograph (XBT) probes, was connected to the H-P 9825-A

via a digital voltmeter and the H-P interface bus (HP-IB) to provide
SST was displayed on
a continuous record of sea-surface temperature.
the computer's LEO display, in graphic form on the strip printer and
recorded once per minute on a cartridge tape.
The major disadvantage
of this system is that it utilized 100% of the computer's time while

in operation.
(2)
A Beckman RS5-3 induction salinometer was used to monitor the
conductivity of seawater circulated through a large plastic pump

system.
The readout of temperature, conductivity and salinity was
monitored every hour or whenever an XBT was taken.

2.5 Oil Observations 1
It was soon realized that several different types of Ixtoc oil
could be found representing different stages of weathering and that
some "associations" were common between the oil seen at the sea surface,
sea conditions, and natural and man-made flotsam.
Four major categories
of oil "types" were recognized:

(1)
No Oil Seen
(2)
Sheen:
Various forms of oil film on the sea surface,
variously called sheen or slick, that give the ocean surface a shiny,
smooth appearance, suppressing capillary waves, often showing irridescence (Fig. 4}.
It should be noted that many surface slicks and
patches of sheen are caused by naturally occurring organic material

1
All of these observations refer to the ocean as observed from a

surface vessel and not from an aircraft or orbitting satellite.
-- -
..
~-
~-?--
Figure 4.
Example of sheen as observed during cruise

MOUSSE-I I.
sometimes organized into streaks as a result of the wind-field or

internal gravity waves (La Fond, 1962; see also under "Windrows"
below).
Also, at times it became very difficult to decide whether a
widespread sheen was present or not when the winds were light, unless
a boundary could be found.
t~any
times the thickness of ;'ilm on the
sea surface varied and patches of slicker water upon slick water were
common.
The slicks plotted on the maps and noted in cruise logs are
both natural and due to the Ixtoc (or other). oil.

given in the cruise logs.
An explanation is
The problem is exacerbated by several types
occurring together (see "Tri chorlesmi um" below).

(3)
Tarbdlls:
This was the most commonly found form of
Ixtoc oil at sea, generally flattened, pancake-shaped (rather than

spherical), tarlike pieces of oil with colors ranging from light brown
to black.
After collection they easily fused together, were sticky
10
to touch and readily liquified in sunlight to a dark viscous liquid.

(4)
Mousse:
A semi-liquid emulsion of Ixtoc oil and sea
water, presumably named for its color (milk-chocolate) rather than its
texture.
In the nomenclature of this report "mousse" refers only to
the large patches of thick oil, still somewhat liquid, before it

breaks up into tarballs (Figs. 5 and 6).
Other workers have referred
to the tarballs as mousse (indeed tarballs may coalesce and in sunlight

become mousse again).
Figure 5.
Detail of a large patch of mousse found during

cruise MOUSSE II.
These last three "types" were not mutually exclusive and were often
found together.
Other condi H
"%
frequently encountered are not
as the following
observations:
(l)
Hindrm1s:
Hhen the wind speed blowing across the sea
surface exceeds 7 m/sec-l (Ewing, 1950), patches of organic material,
ll
Figure 6.
Mark A. Northam collecting a sample of mousse.
or slicks, start to organize themselves along convergence zones caused

by Langmuir-type circulation generated by the wind action.
It was
found that these windrows, oriented in the direction of the wind, were
major concentrators of tarballs and associated oil slicks.
Windrows.
were one of the conditions specifically noted during the oil-watch.

(2)
Sargassum:
A major component of the flotsam in the
western Gulf throughout the four cruises was algae of the genus Sargassum
(see Parr et
~.,
1939), frequently found aligned in windrows, floating
just beneath the surface or occasionally several centimeters below the

surface.
Tarba 11 s and Sargassum were often found together, especially
in the windrows.
(3)
Trichodesmium:
Heavy concentrations of the blue-green
algae of the genus Trichodesmium were encountered (see Fogg, 1975).

These blooms were responsible for several of the slick patches found
during the cruises but in some regions tarballs were found 1vithin
12
the Trichodesmium patches (Fig. 7).
Figure 7.
(4)
Trichodesmium bloom showing

scum lines; large light blobs
are tarba 11 s.
Water Hyacinth:
Considerable quantities of the aquatic
plant, water hyacinth, were found afloat at the sea surface (Penfound
and Poole, 1948), except during FSU-II when only small amounts were
seen.
These
pl~nts
of riverine origin were frequently found asso-
ciated with the tarballs and Sargassum in windrows and were usually
completely coated with oil (Fig. 8).
(5)
Man-Made Debris,
Litte~:
Litter was quite commonly seen
during all four cruises; the most CO!llmon form being styrofoam cups
13
Figure 8.
Close-up of windrow of tarballs

(approximately 5 em diamter) and
oil-covered leaves and roots of
water hyacinth.
which became coated with oil and were often seen in association with
other flotsam in the windrows.
While this form of flotsam is not
listed separately in the cruise logs, reference is made to it in the

Remarks column.
2.6
Other Observations
Observations of pelagic fauna (porpoises, fish and birds)
wer-e made and are included in the Remarks column of the cruise logs.
Ho attempts was made to do this in a systematic way but unusual
concentrations of animals and associations with the oil were noted.
14
During cruise MOUSSE-II, at all stations on which the ship was

anchored, surface current measurements were made using an ENDECO
Model 110 deck-recording current meter.
The data are presented in
the form of vector roses in the map section (5.6).

2.7 Data Presentation
2.7. 1 Cruise Maps
The cruise maps cover 2 latitude x 2 longitude
sections.
Coastlines are shown whenever necessary.
As mentioned pre-
viously, the grids and coastal outlines were photocopied from originals
and some positional distortion has occurred on all of the maps
presented here.
The precise positions of all observations are listed
in the cruise logs.

In this report each
zo
x 2 section on each cruise is presented
with the following data plotted (where there is sufficient data).
The
number in brackets is the figure number of an example.

Cruise track (10):
Known positions are connected with a
straight line and the first position of each day is annotated

with time and date (CDT or CST for cruise FSU-II; add 6 hr
for GMT).
Observation overlay (11):
The location of all observations
made is shown; annotated as above.

Surface winds (12):
Vector of the true wind; the base of
each arrow is plotted at the location of the observation.

Surface temperature (13):
Contoured to nearest lC when
sufficient data are present.

Surface salinity (14):
Contoured to nearest 1/oo when
sufficient data are present.
15
The following codes were used (followed by
Oil observations:
figure number example):

B
G
H
M
N
T
w
Tarballs
Sargassum
Hater Hyacinth
Mousse
No Oil Seen
Sheen
Trichodesmium
Windrows
( 15)
(1 9)
(18)
(86)
(1 9)
( 16)
(47)
(17)
One or more of these conditions were often observed together;

when these were mutually exclusive (e.g., no oil seen and
tarballs) they have frequently been plotted on
he same chart.
Station locations: (39) These are ship's station numbers; in the

case of certain types of stations (e.g., STD station, numbered
consecutively), they are plotted on separate maps in Part II
of this report).
In the case of MOUSSE-II the station numbers
are those previously used on Bureau of Land r1anagement (BLM)

cruises (Flint and Rabalais, 1980).
Surface currents: ( 68) On cruise !10USSE-I I only: vectors of surface
currents as measured on anchor stations using an ENDECO Model
110 current meter (see Table 7).
2.7.2 Cruise Logs
Each cruise has a listing tabulating events and observations.
On the left-hand side of each page are listed the navigational
data and surface conditions.

observations.
Time:
On the right-hand side are listed the oil
Each heading is explained below.

Central Daylight Time (CST on
FSU~II).
A "D" following
the time indicates that the position to follow is a deadreckoning position.

Lat(N):
a minute.
Latitude in degrees, minutes and decimal parts of
16
Long(W):
Longitude in degrees, minutes and decimal parts of
a minute.
CSE/SPD:
The course in degrees and speed in knots; the speed
has been calculated from time and position.

Dist:
Accumulated distance travelled in nautical miles.
Dpth:
Depth in meters from depth recorder readings (in fathoms).
Generally, the LONGHORN's Morrow recorder was used in waters

shallower than 450 fathoms and the Furuno at greater depths.
They have not been corrected for speed of sound in seawater and
there are errors of many fathoms with the new F runo (see cruise
narrative, FSU-II).
SST:
Sea-surface temperature (C).
SSS:
Sea-surface sa 1inity ( 0 joo ).
Sea:
Sea state (HMO code).
Wind:
True wind direction in degrees and speed in knots.
Remarks:
C/C
C/S
U/\{
MVCS
Navigational codes used:
Change course
Change speed
Underway
Maneuvering, various courses/speeds
Other remarks are self-explanatory; "see oil com" means see

under oil observation remarks for data too long to put in the
remarks co 1umn.
Oil comments:
The first seven columns will contain asterisks
if the condition was observed:

NONE
SHEE
TARB
MOUS
SARG
TRIC
HYAC
No oil observed
Sheen
Tarballs
Mousse
Saroassum
Tri chodesmi. urn
Hater hyacinth
The rest of the 1ine contains expanded comments on the oil
17
observations or other observations made.
2.7.3 Sample Logs and Station Summaries
Abbreviations used in these tables are explained
below.
CM
Current measurements
1 m below surface
Current meter with deck

readout
CARB
Dissolved hydrocarbons 19-liter glass carboy in

stainless case
DC
Diver collected sample Subsurface tarball samples
DIVE
Dive station
Diver visual observations
FLUOR Oil fluorescence

profile
Submersi b1e pump, .Jose and

continuous-flow fluorometer
(equipped to detect oil on
MOUSSE- I I)
GRAB
Smith-Mcintyre grab sampler
Sediment surface
LVFPOC Microtarballs (Large

Vo 1ume Fi HerParticulate Organic
Carbon)
Submersible pump and stainless steel filter, approx.

100 liters filtered
LVP
Submersible pump, hose and

filtering table, approx.
700 liters filtered
Macrotarballs (Large
Volume Pumping)
PLANK Zooplankton-hydrocarbon
1 m, 250 micrometer mesh

net, oblique tow
SFC
Surface tarballs,
Dip net or divers
mousse or other flotsam
STD
Salinity, temperature,
depth profile
STD profiling system connected

to shipboard computer and a
Rosette sampler with twelve
2.5-liter Niskin bottles
SHEEN Surface sheen
Surface sheen sampler
TRANS Transmissometry
profile
Transmissometer with deck

readout
18
3 CRUISE FSU-I (26 JULY - 31 JULY 1979)

3.1
Cruise Objectives
Cruise FSU-I was undertaken to install six deep-ocean current
meter arrays along the 24 parallel.
The project and cruise was under
the direction of Wilton Sturges, FSU, NSF Grant No. OCE78-20722

("Response of a \olestern Boundary Current in the Gulf of Mexico").
The
bottom-moored arrays were located as shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1.
Location of bottom-moored arrays deployed on c. ui se FSU-I

LATITUDE (N)
LONGITUDE (W)
BOTTOM DEPTH (M)
23 57'
97 10'
320
23 56'
97 04'
594
23 53'
96 51'
900
23 51'
96 29'
1811
23 49'
96 10'
2360
230 44'
96 38'
3200
C/M ARRAY
In addition, supporting physical oceanographic data were to be collected by PAML researchers using equipment and techniques not hitherto
used aboard R/V LONGHORN.
These included continuously recording
salinity/temperature/depth (STD) sensors, expendable bathythermograph

(XBT) profiles, continuous
under~1ay
of a shipboard computer system.
sea-surface temperature and the use
Details are given in Part II.
During the cruise we encountered considerable amounts of Ixtoc oil

at the surface and an effort was made to log these sightings.
The
procedures started during this cruise formed the basis of the methods
used on all four cruises.
19
It was not until the first Ixtoc oil was encountered 26 July
1979 at 1205 local time (COT) that a narrative and log was started.
Figure 9 shows the cruise track starting at that time.
Initial des-
cription of the first oil found, c 1ose to the Me xi can shore 1ine:
"A
field of pancake-shaped, mousse-colored oil pieces up to 20 em in

diameter, estimated to be at a density of 50 pieces (of all sizes)
per square meter.
A sheen was observed on the sea surface and in the
bucket used to collect samples."

Several features of the oil distribution soon
(a)
becam~
obvious:
The most common form of oil was tarballs (or more closely,
pancakes) ranging from pea-sized and smaller to about 20 em in diameter.

(b)
Tarballs were frequently aligned and concentrated in windrows.
(c)
Some tarballs could be observed sinking or remaining several
centimeters below the ocean surface, especially in the windrows.

(d)
Hater hyacinth leaves, stems, bladders, flowers and roots
(often the entire plant) were found floating in the tarballs and were
usually completely coated with oil.
(e)
Saroassum was also frequently seen in among the tarballs but
was never coated with oil.

(f)
It was very difficult to estimate the quantity of oi 1 per
unit surface area, especially when the oil was aligned inwindrows.
(g)
Breakdown of the tarballs could be observed actively occurring
as a "wake" of sheen was frequently seen behind each particle.

Starting at 1000 hrs 28 July 1979, a regular "oil watch" was
started and a log sheet was maintained where the following were
logged on an hourly basis:
time, course, speed (engine rpm), geogra-
phical position, brief weather description, wind speed and direction,
20
LONGHORN Cruise FSU-I. 26 to 31 July 1979

98W
96W
97W
95\v'
28N
Ccr-p'-' Chr-hot.i
\
27N
UNITED
STATES
26N
I
MEXI 0
130121121 31 Jul
25N
I
I
CRUISE TRACK. 24N to 28N; 95W to 98W

Figure 9
21
and comments on the presence or absence of oil.
Additionally, sea-
surface temperature and salinity were measured on the hour.

The major course took us just south of 24N out to 150 nm offshore
to survey the bottom and then to install the current meter arrays.
A series of STD stations was to be taken along this transect but after
four stations the project was abandoned due to faulty hydraulic hoses
on the STD winch (no spares were available).
XBT drops were made to 450 m (type T-4 XBT's}.
All along the trackline

These data, as well as
the STD profiles, are presented in Part II.

For night observations the ship's spotlight was used ;o illuminate
the sea surface.
The major difficulties were not being able to get
the spotlight close enough to the ship's bow and interpreting what was
seen in the limited area illuminated and in the low light level.
It
was frequently difficult to distinguish foam from small tarballs but

whenever large concentrations were i 11 umi nated it was obvious that they
were tarballs.
After installation of the current meters the ship
steamed north on the 95 30' meridian until 25 30'N, when a direct

course was set to Port Aransas.
XBT drops were taken all along the
trackline as were oil observations and surface measurements.

3.3 Distribution of Oil and Relationshio to Other Factors
3.3. l Tarballs, Sheen and Flotsam
The cruise maps (Figs. 10 through 34) show the distribution of oil as observed at the surface during cruise FSU-I.
Tarballs were found along the 24 parallel but not eastward of 96\V
nor northward of 24 05'N (Figs. 15 and 26) from 26 to 30 July 1979.
It is not known whether there were any tarballs northward of 24N
along our inshore track on 26 July as we approached the current meter
22
transect at night and no observations were made.
No attempt has been
made here to correlate our surface observations with aircraft overflight

data.
A separate study on the ground-truth of overflight data is
being pursued (Amos, in preparation).

Tarball concentrations inshore were much heavier than offshore
although a second (but not as concentrated) patch was found between 97W
and 96 30'H.
Areas of sheen estimated to be three-quarters of a mile
across (based on ship's speed) were found about 97W (Fig. 16).
3.3.2 Hinds and Water Masses
Winds (Figs. 12, 22 and 29) were generally from the south
to southwest, ranging from 3 to 20 kt, average about 12 kt.
moderate and skies were often overcast.
Seas were
Information on surface currents
was scant, but ship's drift data indicated a northerly setting current
offshore of about 97W.
The wind regime was typical of the region at
this time of year.

Surface temperature (Figs. 13, 23 and 30) was uniformly high, at
29.0 to 29.4C, near the yearly maximum.
24N some values were below 29C.
Near the coast of Mexico on
Surface salinity (Figs. 14, 24 and
31) was typically above 36/oo, normal western Gulf of Mexico surface
water.
North of 26N low-salinity lenses of water were encountered with
a value of 32.9/oo being the lowest (Fig. 31).
Our sampling frequency
was not high enough to accurately delineate these lenses.
In late
spring and early summer remnants of Mississippi water are found offshore
of Port Aransas (Smith, N.P. in Flint and Rabalais, 1980).
By late
July, when these measurements were made, the fresh water has usually
been replaced by water greater than 36/oo salinity.
The presence of
fresh surface water offshore may indicate a southerly flow, more about
which will be mentioned later.
23
On 28 July 1979, at 1115 COT, tar pieces were observed
to be sinking from the surface.
Sinking particles were small, but once
they left the surface they appeared to sink quite steadily and rapidly.
3.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise
Fsu~r_
During the cruise oil was reported to be washing in on

Mexican beaches north of Tampico in considerable quantities, but no
reports of beaching further north had been received.
3.4 Pelagic Fauna
3. 4. l
Birds
At 1045 COT, 31 July 1979, about 90 miles offshore
(26 27'N; 96 34'H) considerable activity was observed.
A large
school of porpoise, jacks and flying fish feeding at the surface were
followed by a large flock of feeding birds.
The flock consisted of
125 Black Terns and a few Sooty Terns and two immature Pomarine
Jaegers.
Later, more Sooty Terns were seen also following schooling
fish.
Some early migrant landbirds were also encountered:
a Yellow-
Breasted Chat and several Barn Swallows in different locations

(Fig. 34).
3.4.2 Other Siqhtings
The most abundant fish seen were flying fish and, in
windrows of Sargassum, typical fauna of the Sargassum community.
It
was noted that Sargassum fish, tripletails and other fish used tarballs
for cover as well as they did the floating weed.
Several schools of porpoise rode the ship's bow wave both in and
out of tarball fields and windrows.
24
3.5 Cruise Maps
25
LONGHORN Cruise
98\V
t- SU-I.
26 to 31 J u 1y 1979
97W
96W
25N
24N
Hl0'
0000 27 Jul
23N
CRUISE TRACK - 23N to 25N: 96W to 98W
Figure 10
26

98\V
97'1/
961t/
>t
25N
~
)
Mt:/..ICf
\J
...
+
+
1- 121!15-1126 J u l
+
+
...
...
...
+0-~!T~Jt~
24N
~
-1:,.
..._
1;.
...
..,. lri!IZ
+ 01il00 27
Jul
23N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS, 23N to 25N: 96W to 98W

LOCATION OVERLAY
Figure ll
27
LONGHORN Cruise FSU-I, 26 to 31 July 1979

98\Y
97W
96W
25N
24N
23N
1121. IZIK t.s
5m/sec
2121.121Kt.s
liZim/eec
3121.121Kt.s
15m/sac
SURFACE WINOSP 23N to 25N: 96W to 98W

Figure 12
28

98\V
97W
96W
25N
~
MEXI
X
r"[,~
bo'?
bot>.'?~
X
?.,~
.....~
xV'
1.,~
rQ.
;KV
n~
xV
'?
x'?,cp
''<?>
-"' '\
"
\j
- ');
24N
'\
"'?_,.~
l('l,Q,;,
1('1,-~
23N
SURFACE TEMPERATURE - 23N to 25N; 96W to 98W

Figure 13
29
LONGHORN Cruise FSU- I, 26 to 31 J u 1y 1979

98W
96\'1
97W
>
25N
~
MEXI
_,'0'Z- _,'0'Z- _,-o""

,..q,.
.,.
"'
,-o
X
"'
_,-o
24N
"'
_,-o
<t>
_,-o
"'
_,-o
X
23N
SURFACt SALINITY - 23N to 25N; 96W to 98W
Figure 14
30
LONGHORN Cruise FSU- I. 26 to 31 J u1y 1979

98\V
96W
97W
~~
25N
1J
Mm~
><'9o
>tV
\J
"
"'?>
,..
" "'?>
,<?> ,.<?>
,.<?>
:cy
,"'fRs~~
"
,'?>
.~
24N
"~'?>
,.'?>
23N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 23N to 25N; 96W to 98W
B=TARBALLS
Figure 15
31

97W
96W
25N
'!
x'<>
"""
"0
x2
xc;;
\j
24N
-I
23N
S==SHEEN
Figure 16
32
LONGHORN Cruise FSU- I. 26 to 31 July 1979

98W
96't/
97W
>t
25N
~
)
MEXICf
"""
\J
X~
X~
i"~ "~~
X~
,.~--
24N
23N
W=WINDROWS
Figure 17
33
LONGHORN Cruise FSU- I, 26 to 31 July 1979

98\V
97W
96W
>
25N
~I
ME:XICi
x-<><"x'0
\j
x-<-
--
~-.(-
'5t~
24N
23N
H=WATER HYACINTH
Figure 18
34
LONGHORN Cruise FSU-I. 26

98\V
to
31 July 1979
97\V
96\V
>
25N
~
MEXIC
x">'
x">'
\J
xi-~
-:,
-'--
xv
)(~...
.~
X~
"'
24N
)*
X~~
,..
"'
23N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS, 23N to 25N; 96W
N=NO OIL SEEN; G=SARGASSUM
Figure 19
to
98W
35
.
FSU- I. 26
LONGHORN "L..rUlS8
97W
~-
. - - - . -- - - - - - - -- -T- - .-
31 July 1979
to
96W
'
- ----
95 111
........
I26N
'
0000 31 Jul
-----
'
'
~---------
----------------+
25N
I
I
I.
I
I
!
:
I
I
24N
CRUISE TRACK, 24N
to
26N: 95W
Figure 20
to
97W
36

97W
96W
95W
26N
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
+
+
fil000 31 Jul
25N
...
+
+
++~a 30 Jul
....
24N .
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 26N: 95W to 97W

LOCATION OVERLAY Figure 21
37
LONGHORN Cruise FSU- I. 26 to 31 J u 1y 1979
,-
97W
95W
96't/
-
- --
--- --r- - -- - --- -- - --------
- - -------- --
- - -- ------,
i 26N
'
I
I
'
l'
.----------------------------+-----------------------------------;
25N
I __________
f/
L
------1---_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_jI
"2 "+i'l
J>r
ArE
rc ,,_,
Su "l="
IvVl
IT
10.0Kt.s
5m/eec
20.0Kt.e
10m/sec
30.0Kt.e
15m/sec
NOS 24N to 26N: 95W to 97W

Figure 22
38

97W
~--------
I,
I
96W
----------------- --r---- ----;p--------- --- -----
95W
26N
!I
I
II
I
I
I
I'
i
I
i
'---------------[--
-----------i
!
I
1
I
25N
I
'
I
I
I
l
Ii
I
"'
~ '?J~
~~
J(
(,_
- -l:o --'-------------~---
"'
'?J~
JC
?,.
1,.~
JC
_jI
-------
24N

TEMPERA.TURE (C) Figure 23
39
97W
~-
--~-~-~
-- ..
-~
~--~-----~----~
--
----~-
~-~~
96W
T-
~-
95'1/
~-- ~;;
---~~
-~.
-~---
. -- - --
--~26N
I
I
''
'?>
'
----r----
'?><;,
-~-----------------------+
I 2SN
'?>q,.'~-
!!
I
I
f
'
'?q,.'~- -:>''1-
'?>'(y'I.-
-------------~-----
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 26N;

SAL I i'J I TY Cppt)
Figure 24
24N
9':JW to 97W
40
---- - -------------1
97'N
to 31
96W
_T _________________________ _
July 1979
95'1/
------l26N
I
I
iI
.
I
+G
+G
;1
!
+G
+G
-;-------------------+---- ---~---- -----------------------t
I25N
+B
+G
---~---
24N
SURFACt OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 26N; 95W to 97W

G=SARGASSUM: H=WATER HYACINTH; S=SHEEN
Figure 25
LONGHORN Cruise FSU- I. 26
to
31 J u l v 1979
'
97W
96W
,- ------- -- . ---------------- -------------r- ---------.;::;---- -_-----1
~I
95'1/
-... --l26N
I
I
I
I
I
''
I
\
+N
;
'
,-----------------------[------------------------------tI
+N
25N
+N
l
i
'I
-<-N
I'
+N
i
i
I
I
+B
+N
+8
+N
+8
+B
+B
I!
Ii
+f~
+N +N
+N
+N
-+-N______
_j
24N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS, 24N
B=TARBALLS; N=NO OIL SEEN
Figure 26
to
26N; 95W
to
97W
42
43
LONGHORN Cruise FSU- I. 26 to 31 July 1979
v--------------- ------------- -r- - -
95W
96W
:l
:
'
1'
II
:
'
-------------------~28\'J
I
.
.'
i
I
II
I'
'
_ _ _ _ _ _ _J_
I
I
!
I
i
L
CRUISE TRACK, 26N to 28N; 95W to 97W
Figure 27
II
I
~-------
27N
44
v--- - - - - - - - - - - _ _ _ l ___ ---------------------
97W
96W
I
I
'
95W
i
I
I
I;
+
+
_____________ -L.,.
' _ _ _ _ _ __
'
j
II
27N
I'
I
'
;
'I
''
___ j
26N
+
+

+
45
Cruise FSU- I. 26 to 31 July 1979
LONGHOR~J
97W
96W
v-------------------- --- ---r----------------------
95W
28N
I
I
I
iI
I
I
i
~------ \\-----~
I
I
_ __J
i 27N
I
l
I
I
i
I
L____
26N
r
1121.121Kts
5m/sec
2121.121Kts
112lm/sec
3121.121Kts
15m/sec
~---_:.;_;;~
SUR~ACE
WINDS, 26N to 28N; 95W to 97W

Figure 29
46
v----- -------------- ------r --------------------
97W
96W
95W
28N
I
i
'i
''
I
I
----------:;<;1'~------__j_
.~
J27N _
!'
i
I
'
,.
i
'l
tz,Cb '
I
I
I
I'
L_
26N
TEMPERATURE (C)
Figure 30
47

95W
97'11
v --- ----- --- - T-- - - .-----------l

'
I;
!'
'
:'
Ii
I
I
I
~
::
;4-~">~ ,s
!--------~~:=---;----.
1
%:~
71Y~ ~
~/"!
'
27N
ii
i
''
;r''
I
l
i
L ____________.__ _____ _
26N
SALINITY Cppt)
Figure 31
48
v----. - - - - - - - -------r--- ---.
9Tt/
31 July 1979
to
95\V
96V/
------------------~
2ml
I
!
I
I
'
+G
+G
!
,__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _j__
i 27N
I
II
I
I
'
'
:
i
I
i
I
I
I
!.
I
"-----------
-----'---------
26N
SURFACE OBStRVATIONS. 26N

G=SARG,~SSUM
Figure 32
to
28N; 95W
to
97W
49
LONGHORN
("
L..rU1S8
t-SU-1, 26
to
31 July 1979
95'1/
v- - - - - - - - - - - - - -r----------------------96W
97~/
28N
II
'
I
II
+N
+rJ
i
1.
+N
'
'
---------------L-
'
i 27N
I
I
+N
i
I
+N
I'
'
+01
''
'
+i'i
I
I
l
+N
--------'---------
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 26N

N=NO OIL SEEN
Figure 33
to
28N; 95W
to
97W
50

98W
96W
97W
95W
28N
+8 C
, T_..,
+C
27N
'T
Black. 18 Sooi>y
UNITED
2 ......
J"-s-
STATES
26N
MEXI 0
25N
+Yollov-Br.
24N
BIRD OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 28N; 95W to 98W

Figure 34
51
3.6 Cruise Log
52
LONGHORN
cru1s~
FSU-I
THIE
Li1T<Ho
LONG(W~
1205
23 58.0
9~
PAGE#
CSE/SPD
DIST DPTH
40.0
SST
SSS
SEA
~.JI
SEA
tHHD
REIIARKS
SEA
fl!ND
RE11ARK.S
IHI
2:::. 7 '36. 082
1345
1400
23 50.0
97 21.0
1920
23 51.0
96 51.0
28.7 3b.
4?
1945
~323
29.(1 36.1?4
47
LONGHORN cruise FSU-1

TH1E
LATOLJ
LONG(W~
0000
23 40.3
96 23.1
LONGHORN cruise FSU-!
CSE/SPD
DIST DPTH
74
2S
.JtJ 1 ;.
C:3E/SPD
SST
SSS
29.5 3b.254
1 '?79
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
T It1E
LAT UD
L0t4G0~)
1000
23 45.8
96 07.4
1100
23 46. 1
9t: 06. s
1115
23 46.0
96 06.6
1200
23 47.9
9 08.5
317
3.5
'~3
1300
23 50.1
96 10.7
335
3.0
96
1400
23 51.0
96 11.2
267
1.0
1500
23 49.6
96 18.7
104
1600
23 48.1
96 26.5
111
t1oorin~
114
Ci rcl
90
1020
1:3;-'
1. 0
'? 1
:308 18
91
1800
23 50.4
~6
2'?.0
114
1900
23 48.8
96 27.4
117
2000
23 51.1
96
~~-!
120
irr::~
53
LONGHORN
cru1se
FSU-I
PAGE#
NONE SHEE TARB MOUS WIND SARG TPIC HYAC
OIL OBSERVATION REMARKS

lit 011 iihted,tarball! O.PPfOX
200M~l~~o
Me in windrows,soMe in Patches
*.,.:.**
****
****
****
Li.::;ht. dist t"ibut1on cf to.rbo.lls(<H1tHt:,,r:r
lAo.rilY in windrows
****
****
LONGHORt~
Lar~er
tarba!ls(uP to 50MMJ
c r-t.J i -:.e F'3U-l
NONE SHEE TARS MOUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC
LONGHORN cruise FSU-I
0 I L OBSEF''./AT! ON REMRRKS
28 JulY 197'3
NONE SHEE TARB MOUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC
****
ManY tarballs,Peo. to tenn1s ball
****
s~=e
****
***
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
FlYin9 fish
t1any
Sfta 11
a. rba 11 .=.,
oc.c~..:. i
cno.l 1a,-.~.:-,. !
L]=~
10cM) thick to.rballs
****
**.;.;*
L i ~ht. dis t. r i
bo.ll.:
Ver~
.oe rv :;.,"Jo 11
scattered lar9e sfc
~~~);saMPle
****
****
*** ...
bt.H. 1 on
:;.tJb:= f :. t. .:.1. ,.
tarb~lls(50-2B0
taken
****
~:.c.;J.tt.-ered
*~**
SaMe as last record
l;~.r.:;:;o:
t:oiec.E::E-'~'~':.:;.t
~tuc.k
to t.o:-r
**** restial Plant Pieces(Nater Hvacinth)
****
~***
***.;..
SoMe as last record
54
LONGHORN
cru1se
FSU-I
PAGE#
T IIIE
LAT '11.
LONG 1 W)
CSE.~SPD
2100
23 51.7
96
~:5.2
.-..... .-.
.;:.:.::.
5.4
125
2200 '23 51.7
?6 42.7
282
6.~
132
134 17
2300
96 51.7
277
8.3
140
12(1 14
23 52.1
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
iHIID
IJ/1.<1
2'? July 1979
TI 11E
LAT (I.J:o
LONG<W)
CSE/SPD
0000
23 52.3
?6 59.6
284
7.3
147
!34 14
0100
23 52.9
ST 07.9
284
",.
154
148 16
0200
23 54.6
97 16.7
163
0330
23 57.1
97 28.0
173
IZt410
23 58.2
'.?7 :,;:(1. 4
176
0500
23 59.6
97 33.2
! ..,:.
'
0532
24 00.5
97 34.7
180
0600
23 59.5
97 33.4
0655
.....-.
.::..;,
1000
24 00.6
97 17.0
1136
23 58.3
97 10.0
!:'...,.
1:'
.Jf ._1
tO:
DIST DPTH
,1;1
SST
SSS
51
107
3.4
0?4
4.5
27
5
186
144
<:
1200
204
205
1~32
23
57.~
~7
00.1
1700
23 56.?
97
04.~
214
2 .=ho.rL.=.
11.:..: r
in=;~
55
LONGHORN cru1se FSU-I
PAGE#
OIL OBSEPVATION REMARKS

Ll'3ht
di~.t
ribr.lt i:n o:f rtedl!Jii ::.iz;;. ':.50rrf. ,'
tarballs:dar~
Precludes seein9 SMaller
***~
****
t1uch 1.::::.::
****
hJ.n lo.::.t
record
****
LONGHORN cru1se FSU-!
29 .Jul..- 1979
NONE SHEE TARB MDUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC

Occa::. i crPJ.l
1i
-=;~ht
wind ro:11.J:: of sv,o.ll t
.::o.
r-bo
11 E
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
Lar-=;~e
****
1 ~1ece h~acinth coated w- tar;no other

oil seenlshowers
tarballs
Plant
~aterial(HYacinth
****
****
****
****
****
Seat t e red E.l""la 11
****
****
****
****
oxbo. ll::
Scattered Patches of
5t~all
tarbails
****
****
SaMe as last record
****
****
...........
.,.,..,.,..,.,.,.,
~<:t;c<;-:o:
Pea to ~uater size tarballs 1n windrow!~

sar~ not coatedd w/ oil,tar inc offshore
56
LOt~GHORN
cru15e
FSU-I
T I PIE
LA To:: IU
LOtlG(W 1
CSE'SPD
1800
23 56.2
?7 04.9
097
1900
23 55.3
96 55.0
082
22S
2000
23 55.0
96 51.0
092 14.1
231
2100
23 53.0
96 51.0
0~2
2.0
233
0.1
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
lHIID
077 17
219
065
------------------------------------------~-------------------------------------
2200
23 53.0
96 51.0
092
0.0
233
182 17
2300
23 53.0
96 53.0
277
1.8
235
312 11
LOtlGHOP~l
TI IIE
c n.l 1 ::.e F:::u-!
LONGCW)
LAT OL
30 ..Ju 1 Y 1979
CSE/SPD
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
WH!D
STII #4
0200
23 54.
(1
9b 57. 0
~2137
1. 3
239
132 14
.0335'
U/1,.1
0400
23 57.9
~6
55.0
243
0500
24 05.2
9~
52.6
251
0600
24 05.0
96 46.4
257
29.4 36.222
0700
24 05.0
96 40.0
262
2'?.336.163
0800
24 05.0
96 33.5
268
29.2
0900
24 05.0
96 26.3
275
29.4
1000
24 04.9
96 20.0
281
29.3
!100
24 04.9
96 !0.8
1?00
?~
)0
05.8
24 05.5
~5
57.0
95 51.4
29.3 :36.335
08~
6.3
302
129 16
::::6.424
:3. 482
57
LOHGHORN c.riJlE-E FSU-I
.:.~:.
PAGE#
-'-
NONE SHEE TRRB MOUS WIND SRRG TRIC HYRC

VerY scattered tarballs
l/4'' Pieces in windrow~ UP to
!ar9est tarballs to 2''
20f~
!on,;
.. .,.""!:".,..,.
....... .
-:-..,.,..,.
****
LONGHORN cruisE FSU-1

HONE SHEE TRRB MDUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC
WidelY
****
****
scatter~d
tarballs
Patches of quater to Pancake si:e tarbal

ls alMost continuou~
*"***
.:.:-***
****
Fl,in=? fi.:.h
58
LONGHORN
cru1~e
PAGE#
FSU-I
------------------------------------------------------------------------------SEA 1-l!IHI
LONG(WI CSE'SPD DIST DPTH SST SSS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------1600 24 04.~ 95 37.6 097 5.8 320
------------------------------------------------------------------------------1)'?7' 1 '?
2 36.
1700
24 03.1
95 30.5
097
6.6
::.:~.
326
13~:
---------------------------------.........-. ----------------------------------------140 15
24 10.0 95 30.0 357 6.9
-------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------145 17
29.2 36.092
.:;..,;,,;
18(1(1
1900
24 tS.4
95 30.0
357
9.4
343
-------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------2100
24 35.3
95 30.8
-.
2300
24 52.6
95 30.1
3!39
29.1 36.090
3"'6
29.2 36.242
-(
7. 6
LONGHORN cru1so FSU-l

TI11E
LAHfD
LONGCW)
0000
25 03.0
95 38.2
10. 4
3:56
0!80
25 !!.0
95 30.6
8.0
3'l4
0200
25 19.3
95 30.4
0300
25 28.1
95 30.5
0310
25 30.1
95 30.5
4l8
0400
25 36.4
95 33.6
42(1
0500
25 43.7
95 37.6
0600
25 51.6
95 40.8
342
8.4
4~7
0700
25 59.0
95 45.1
342
8.3
445
2'?.1 35.183
0900
26 15.4
95 52.7
342
8.9
4li3
2'?.2 33.552
1:-'1
1100
2~
28.5
96 05.3
342
8.6
4!30
29.2
166 it:
1300
26 42.2
1~.6
342
8.5
4'37
29.2 35.895
167 15
96
CSE/SPD
DI:3T DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
REI1ARf<S
fHND
1.28 18
174
29. 1
29. 1
1 '?4 10
16
59
LONGHORN c1ui~e FSU-I
30 Jul;
NONE SHEE TARB MOUS WIND SARG
197~
TR!C.H~AC
PAGE#
OIL OBSERVATION
REMAR~S
****
~***
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
LONGHORN
cru1so
FSU-1
31 JulY 1979
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
6 barn swallows
****
****
***~
~***
*~**
60
PAGEl
31 Julv 19?9
TIME
LAT(Nl
LONG(Wl
CSE/SPD
1400
26 49.8
9 21.3
342
8.~
DIST DPTH
51~6
SST
SSS
28.9 36.135
SEA
WIND
REMARKS
167 17
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1500 26 57.4
26.2 "342 8.8 514
29.4 34.117
167 17
~6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------167 17
1600 27 04.7 96 30.2 342 8.1 522
29.3 33.643
1700
27 12.8
96 35.2
342
9.2
532
29.4 32.929
167 18
1800
27 21.1
96 39.4
342
9.1
541
29.6
167 18
61
31 JlJl :
1:.""'~
' .
NONE SHEE TARB MOUS WIHD SARG TRIC HYAC
**"'~
****
****
****
PAGE#
OIL OBSEPVATIOH REMARKS
62
3.7
Sample Log
LONGHORN CRUISE FSU-!i SAMPLE LOG
DO<
STA#/DATE TIME
ACTIVITY CODE
LATCNl
26 .JulY
LONCWl
DEPTH
F:EMARKS
Surf
Surf
Tarballs in seawater
1205
1205
SFC-1
SFC-2
23 58.0 97 40.0
Sto. 1
23 JulY
1700
SFC-3
23 50.2 96 28.8
Surf
Includes HYacinth
29 JulY
0826
STD-1
23 57.5 97 28.8
0-48
St~.
1345
STD-2
24 05.8 95 51.4
0-233
11 RDI
Stc. 5
1536
STD-3
24 04.6 95 37.6
0-576
7 Rosette
Sto. 6
2000
SFC-4
23 55.0 96 51.0
Surf
30 JulY
0002
STD-4
25 03.0 95 30.2
0-1263 10 Rosette SaMPles
Tarballs onlY
Rosette
SaM~les
so~D
SaMPl~s
63
4 CRUISE MOUSSE-I (4 AUGUST - 8 AUGUST 1979)

4.1
Cruise Objectives
Cruise MOUSSE-I was a search and survey cruise on the conti-
nental shelf in the region between Port Aransas and the Mexican border.
A major goal was to know whether the Ixtoc oil was sinking.
In addition
to this, samples of oil and sheen were collected for chemical analysis
in order to begin developing a profile of the oil.
Visual observa-
tions were made and physical oceanographic parameters were measured.

This cruise was an emergency cruise, made at a time Whln no Ixtoc
oil had been reported in U.S. waters but when the oil was rapidly
approaching from the south.
The prime questions were:
How much oil
was subsurface? How deep had it sunk? This information was needed by
the response strike team to determine whether the booms, to be placed
across the barrier island passes, would be effective in preventing oil
from reaching the lagunas and back-bays.
For this reason some of the
samples and information were transferred from LONGHORN to the mainland

via helicopter in mid-cruise.
Divers were used to do a visual and
photographic survey of any subsurface oil and to collect samples.

The cruise was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration under Department of Transportation-U.S. Coast Guard
Contract No. DOT-CG 088174.
The cruise was split into three legs:
Leg 1-Port Aransas to
Port Isabel (4-5 August 1979); Leg 2.,.-Port Isabel to Port Isabel (5
August 1979); Leg 3-Port Isabel to Port Aransas (6-8 August 1979).
Figure 35 is the complete cruise track and Table 2 is a summary of
station activities.
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE-I. 4 to 8 Aug 1979

98W
97W
96W
95W
28N
Ccr-pue Chr-it.i
27N
UNITED
7 Aug
STATES
MEX
25N
24N
CRUISE TRACK, 24N to 28N: 95W to 98W

Figure 35
65
TABLE 2.
TYPE
Summary of station activities on cruise MOUSSE-I.
STATION
PLANK
STD
LVFPOC
FLUOR
CM
TRANS
LVP
SFC
GRAB
SHEEN
DIVE
GARB
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
10
X
X
X
X
X
4.2. 1 Leg 1 (Port Aransas- Port Isabel)

LONGHORN left Port Aransas after noon on 4 August 1979
steaming towards Port Isabel where the NOAA
vision crew were taken aboard.
repres~ntative
and tele-
At 1700 hrs (sample log, section 4.7)
a dead Laughing Gull, seen floating at the surface, was collected.

The carcass showed no sign of oil.
At 2100 hrs tarballs were sighted
in the spotlight and a sample collected.
To our knowledge, this was
the first Ixtoc oil sighted in U.S. waters and was at 26 35'N; 97 07'W,
south of the
~1ansfield
Cut, some 30 miles north of the border.
The
ship's course was altered to go inshore as shallow as safety permitted

(1 to 1.5 nm) and the oil increased in concentration closer to shore.
It was in the form of small (<10 em diameter) tarballs, in patches and
in windrows.
Padre Island.
There was none opposite the populated areas of South

The LONGHORN docked at the Old Banana Boat Dock? Port
Isabel at 0100 hrs, 5 August 1979.
From a telephone booth near the
dock and with the help of a local policeman, the USCG strike force
command post at Port Isabel, and our NOAA contacts in Corpus Christi,
66
were contacted to inform them of the oil already in U.S. waters.

4.2.2 Lea 2 (Port Isabel - Port Isabel)
The following are annotated extracts from the chief
scientist's cruise notebook:
-He cleared the Banana Boat Dock at 0820.
deck log was maintained as was an oil observation log.
An hourly
LORAN-C did
not work properly throughout the cruise so position will have to be

taken from the LORAN-A fixes listed in the log sheets (lines 3H2, 3H3).
-Small patches of mousse 1 were observed two miles
clear of the jetty (radar fix).
Scattered patches and 1indrows were
observed over much of the cruise track, but not as concentrated as on

Leg 1.
-Our initial intent was to go five miles south as close
to shore as was reasonable and then 10 miles east to an area where oil
was spotted yesterday.
No significant concentrations were found en
route and it was decided to change course and head for a point 25 49'N;
96 5l'W, where a heavy concentration of mousse had been sighted.
-rleather started out with nearby thundershowers and
cumulonimbus clouds, gradually cleared during the day and no rain was
experienced, but when a slick was sighted it was decided to take a
station there while favorable diving conditions prevailed.
En route to
this slick several small Saraassum patches were seen, some subsurface.
None of the Saraassum was coated with oil.
Several pieces of water
hyacinth were seen and these were invariably coated with tar.
-Stopped at 1148 hrs in a surface slick for ship's
station #1.
1
Slick was several hundred meters wide by a few kilometers
As used here and in other extracts from logs and notes, the term
"mousse" refers to tarba 11 s.
67
long.
As we lay to, several pieces of tar were concentrated along the
port side; some water hyacinth leaves were floatin(l at the surface.
Saraassum weed, tar pieces from less than pea-sized to dollar-sized;
water hyacinth (not coated).
subsurface.
From surface, some tar pieces can be seen
Little Blue Herons heading towards 200 true (6 adults,
l calico, 2 juveniles (white); Sandwich Tern, 2; Laughing Gull, l.

-Hater depth, 30 fm to 28 fm at end.
of approximately l kt.
Near-surface currents
Hater color blue (Secchi depth, 22 m).
Great
Barracuda and pilot fish sighted.

-Two 19-liter carboys of seawater were collected 'or dissolved
hydrocarbon analysis using divers to position the bottles properly
(Fis. 36).
No oil particles were seen captured in these samples.
Figure 36.
Diver actuating 19-li.ter carboy sampler.
Divers reported some tarballs to a depth of 40ft (see section 4.3.3).

To see whether the subsurface particles observed by the divers could
be sampled, a submersible pump was lowered to different levels and the
68
water filtered using makeshift filters.
Filtered surface water in
slick area for 5 minutes through cotton gas mask (flow rate-- 30 sec for
3 liters
results:
=6
liters/minute; total amount filtered - 30 liters}; the
surface--3 blobs oil (l-2 mm), 3 copepods, 15 particles

debris (?)
10 m--several fibrous, vegetable-like fronds (approx.
45 pieces}, coated with tarlike substance
15 m--2 copepods only; no oil
5 m--much more material than at 10-m depth
As it appeared that considerable quantities of oil were subsurface,

a second area was sought in which to take ship's station #2.
The major
problem was to locate a sufficiently concentrated patch of tar or a

slick where subsurface oil might be expected.
this in daylight for the divers.
It was necessary to do
This was not accomplished in good
diving light but further pumping revealed more fibrous vegetable-like

particles that were brown and sticky.
Leg 2 ended when personnel were
landed at Port Isabel so that the NOAA representative could report our
findings to the response team.
4.2.3
Leg 3 (Port Isabel - Port Aransas}

After refueling and receiving supplies flown by heli-
copter from Port Aransas Marine Laboratory (e.g., improved filtering

apparatus, sample bottles, etc.), LONGHORN left Port Isabel at 1335 COT,
6 August 1979.
By this time oil had come ashore south of Port Mansfield
near where we had seen it on 4 August.
Although we know now that oil
particles were to be found subsurface, we did not have any knowledge

about how many per unit surface area were sinking or how many per unit
volume were present at depth.
We were thus under some pressure to come
up with some numbers that could be used to determine if a national
69
emergency should be declared.
Therefore, we headed directly for the
nearest known large area of Ixtoc oil at the surface to do some further
stations.
The following are annotated extracts from the chief scientist's
notes:
--Left Port Isabel 1335; cleared jetty 1410; some small patches,
tarballs at jetty entrance.
Steered 335 along coast towards region
where slick and mousse had been reported by Craig Hooper from helicopter
overflight earlier today, 17 miles north of the jetty.
Generally
surface concentrations slight and patchy but in most places some oil
was seen.
--At 1625, when we were more than 17 miles north of the jetty
we changed course to head inshore.
Now windrows seemed to increase in
frequency and at a point where large (dollar-sized) tarballs in

patches and windrows of slick were seen, we dropped anchor for ship's
station #3.
--At 1650 COT, 6 August, stopped in a large area of slick
water with many tarballs at the surface.
windrows.
Slick and tarballs in
Water depth, 15 m; rough size distribution of tarballs is
2, 3, and 5 em diameter, in ratio of 9:4:3.
Some tarballs obviously
sinking in vicinity of ship, including one 5-cm diameter pancake seen

to slowly sink to a depth of about 3 m then rise back to the surface.
--Divers reported flaky oil particles to 20 ft deep and
collected samples.
The flakes were remarkably similar to particles
found on the filters.

At this time it seemed most important to survey the Port Mansfield
Channel using the divers to see if particles were subsurface entering
the cut.
As light was fading we set course to come in by first light
in the morning.
70
--En route saw slick area and stopped 4.2 miles offshore.
Slick characterized by windrows of very fine but numerous surface
particles, many of which can be seen subsurface.
Two divers sent down
when we stopped on ship's station #4 (depth 9.5 fm).

Divers reported no oil below 15 ft but pump station produced many
particles.
Here it was found that contamination in the hose was
producing the vegetable and tarlike particles collected to-date and

this technique was abandoned.
Also, it was seen that at the surface
the pump was not drawing up small tarballs drifting by in windrows.

A plankton tow was tried and this technique certainly
collecting tarballs.
s~
ceeded in
Unfortunately, the net, bridle and other parts
were badly contaminated with tar from the surface.
What is needed is
an opening/closing net and a flow meter.

--Many pieces of tar were collected from very small (<1 mm)
to 5 mm diameter, probably about half in the cod-end, the rest stuck to
the net.
Rinsed cod-end with bucket dipped in non-oily surface water.
Main problem was trying to miss collecting oil that is floating on the
surface.
After the tow, we returned to the slick to take ship's station #5.
Two new techniques were tried:
surface slick sampling and the use of
a 30-liter Niskin bottle to collect large volumes to filter for oil

particles.
--The surface slick sample was collected by making 20 dips of
a teflon-coated plate drained into glass container and capped with
teflon-lined cap after treating with hexane.
This slick has variable
coverage of mousse; several places are obviously very slick but have
few pieces of tar on surface.
I I
--Maneuvered back into slick; depth 9.3 fm; 30-liter Niskin

bottle samples were drained directly into the filter apparatus.
Surface--2139 local; few oily-looking particles visible to the eye;
one paint-chip, one piece of plastic from spigot (removed from sample).
At 5 m--2200 local; repositioned ship in slick.
--"The Corpus Christi Slick".
Heard on the 10 pm news that
USCG had sighted a slick "55 miles off Corpus Christi"; tried to
contact USCG via radio--they had no information on this; even their
oil-slick task force has no information (it was a USCG official who
was interviewed about the "Corpus Christi Slick").
Trie, to contact
Craig Hooper because if this is true we could spend the night steaming
there, observing the surface en route.
OtherNise, everyone is getting
quite tired and the ship's crew are understaffed for this kind of 24-hr
operation.
--The other plan is to examine the Mansfield Cut in detail to
see if oil is slipping under the boom which was installed today.
However, the USCG said the boom is unmanned and we would have to go all
the way back to Port Isabel and north along the Intracoastal Waterway
to get to Port Mansfield.
--At 2300 hrs, 6 August; maneuvered back to slick and took
carboy sample #5-l about 5 ft below surface where many small mousses
were observed.
Visual examination via flashlight shone through sample
showed many organic particles but very few obvious oil bits.
--Note:
lots of animals in (and out of) this slick:
crabs
(two sampled) not obviously oiled, schools of fish, squid, pipe fish,
tripletail, etc.
Steamed out along line towards 96 30'W and encountered
very concentrated windrows of tar, the most yet.
Will change course
72
when we are through it, towards Mansfield, anchor in the next slick
patch and wait until daylight to do next station.
--7 August; 0139 hrs.
Stopped ship at anchor in 9.5 fm; very
little oil visible at surface; full moon, large halo around moon; 0200
hrs at anchor, sleep.
--Dawn at 0625; no wind, no oil visible; got underway towards
Mansfield to look at nearshore slick--it was a normal tidal slick at
the boundary between turbid sediment-laden coastal water and clearer
water; no oil.
Decided to look for first significant oil slick and get
a dive station in before helicopter arrives.

--At 0735 large slick entered--very extensive but oil pieces
well distributed and not in windrows at all; decided to trawl deep
beneath this slick for subsurface oil pieces until light enough for
divers.
--Ship's station #6; plankton tow started 0818 local; outside
of slick region, wire out 35 m but slipped out to 50 m; wire angle
= 65-70; end 0842. Stopped ship to retrieve tow through oil-free

surface; water depth 10.5 m; divers reported no oil below 10 ft.
--At 1115 COT, 7 August, a USCG helicopter with Craig Hooper
aboard dropped supplies (weather system, sample bottles, etc.) and
collected the samples we had taken to-date as well as field notes.
'
In radio communication with Hooper, ship-to-helicopter,
I had to report
that our findings 1vere not conclusive on how much oil was subsurface.
Certainly all stations showed some oil subsurface, but it was
considerably less than the. amount found on the surface.
73
-"Searching for Oil":
it was decided to go to i.nvestigate
the Corpus Christi slick as that seemed more important than examining
the Mansfield Cut if the oil was imminently threatening Aransas Pass.
The latest overflight had spotted the slick at 27 20'N; 96 l5'W and
a course was set for that point.
Very soon after
le~ving
Mansfield, tarballs were no longer seen.
Hhat was encountered were regions of very low surface salinity and the
water had a chalky appearance.
At one location a small slick was
encountered with tarballs that were actively "bleeding" into the water
and the patch seemed to be spreading.
A tanker was seen :earby and
the tarballs had a darker, redder appearance, quite unlike what we had
observed prior to this.
It is believed that the tanker had just flushed
its tanks, but we have no proof of this.

He arrived at the reported location at 2052 COT, 7 August and began
a search pattern (see cruise track, Fig. 37) using the spotlight.
Visi-
bility was hampered at times by showers and spray on certain courses.

Moonlight often caused difficult reflections on the sea surface.
The
length of the trackline was approximately 50 nm and the area covered

was approximately 150 nm 2 . While a considerable amount of Sargassum
was seen, no certain sighting of oil was reported and it
~eems
likely
that the "oil" sighted from the air was Trichodesmium (no Trichodesmium
was reported either but en route from the search area to Port Aransas
several blooms were seen.
Also, several lenses of low-salinity water
were found alterr.ating with high-salinity water).
A later flight on
8 August 1979 could not find the oil slick reported earlier.
74
4.3.1

Figures 37 to 57 are maps showing the distribution of
oil in its various forms as found at the surface during cruise MOUSSE-I.
Also included are cruise tracks, station locations and various physical parameters
~ertinent
to the oil distribution.
Tarballs were again the most common form encountered during this
cruise (Figs. 43 and 54), but a considerable amount of sheen occurred
offshore at the Mansfi e 1d Cut (Fig. 44).
Some of this sheen vias
associated with the presence of Trichdesmium blooms (Fig. 47) but

tarballs were found together with Trichodesmium in some areas close to
shore.
The tarballs were frequently found in windrows (Fig. 45) but
windrows of Trichodesmium and Sargassum without any oil were also seen
(see cruise log, section 4.6).
Except for one isolated tarball patch 1
and two doubtful sightings, all tarballs and other oil forms were found
south of 26 40'N on 8 August 1979.
The leading edge of the Ixtoc oil
as it advanced northward seemed to be in the form of very small but

numerous tarballs, often, but not exclusively, with sheen.
On the other hand, sheen, when not caused by natural organic slicks,
always contained tarballs albeit sometimes sparsely distributed within
the sheen area.
Sargassum was widespread throughout the area (Figs. 46 and 56), often
seen in large aggregations, in windrows and frequently at a depth of
several centimeters below the surface.
Water hyacinlrl, almost always coated with oil, was only found south
Probably from tanker discharge.
75
of Port Mansfield and only found associated with tarballs (Figs. 47
and 57).
This seemed to indicate that water hyacinth might be used as
a tracer if the. source of the hyacinth could be determined.

4.3.2 Wind and \1ater Masses
Surface winds were generally from the easterly quadrant,
i.e., onshore winds.
Speeds ranged up to 27 kt (Figs. 40 and 51).
Some variability occurred when the winds veered and blew from the
northwest for short periods.
Skies were generally clear with a few
thundershowers.
Offshore, seawater temperatures were at their seasona' maxima with
large a1eas where the surface temperature exceeded 30C.
Nearshore,
especially off Brownsville, there was evidence of coastal upwelling

with temperatures below 27C (Figs. 41 and 52).
were offshore, as was found during
FSU~I
Low surface salinities
in late July, although much
better defined here due to a closer samp 1i ng regime (Figs. 42 and 53).
The low-salinity water could normally be associated with cloudy, turbid
water and lenses of this were found interweaved with
parts per thousand higher salinity.
~later
of several
l1ater of 31.8/oo was found over
70 miles offshore just north of 27N (Fig. 42).
The set of the ship
during the survey for oil off Corpus Christi indicated a southerly
component for this low-salinity water mass.
(l)
As Observed from the Surface:
to be below the sea surface on several occasions.
Tarballs were seen

Most often they would
be seen to have vertical motion and on one occasion a 5-cm diameter

tar pancake sank to about 3 m and returned to the surface.
(2)
Diver Observations:
Four dive stations were made
76
on cruise MOUSSE-I, all of them i.n regions where tarballs. were found on
the surface.
The following are taken from notes made by interviewing
the divers after each station.
Depths are given in feet.
Stations are
numbered the same as ship's stations (see Figs. 37 and 49).

Dive Station #1:
Divers-Northam, Phillips, Irwin, Brunet;
in at 1200 CDT, 5 August 197g.

"Lots of little brown particles all over the place;" "still at
40 ft 1 some paint chips;" ''particles concentrated 0-20 ft variable size
from 2"'2-3 inches to 1 em;" "evenly distributed small particles milkchocloate brown, largest marble-sized (2 em) diameter"--did not see
actual sinking-"particles to 35 ft" (depth gauge)-no tar on hull
noticed; decrease in particles with depth.
Two carboys of seawater were
collected for dissolved hydrocarbon analysis (see Fig. 36).
These were
collected using diver commands to position the bottles properly.

Samples were collected at 10 and 30 ft, probably the deepest level at
which this device can be actuated safely.
Samples were treated with
chloroform to kill organisms that might degrade oil content and were
sealed with screw-tops and teflon liners.
Dive Station #3:
Di vers-Behrens, Northam, Brunet.
"Thermocline at 17 ft, deepest particle 15 ft, very sparse

particles down to 15 ft; from 10 ft to surface more numerous-probably
same density as on surface; nepheloid layer at 30 ft, more gradual than
thermocline; visibility <l ft on bottom" [Behrens].
"Large blobs at
surface, going down thinned out and got smaller (1 em); did not see
anything deef.Jer than 20 ft" [Brunet].
"At the surface were many big
blobs; these tended to stay at surface; deepest were 30-35 ft in

1
This figure of 40 ft became much quoted in the national media as the

depth to which Ixtoc oil was sinking.
77
boundary of nepheloid layer but small particles all the way from surface
down to nepheloid layer'' [Northam].
Three diver-collected samples were obtained using "Zip-Loc" bags.
It was apparently difficult to get the particles in the bags and some
got damaged.
All divers agreed that the subsurface tarballs were
flaky-looking and quite small compared to those found on the surface.

Samples Collected:
The following samples of tarballs were
collected by divers.
DC-3-0
surface
Large (7 em) irregular-shaped blob
DC-3-3
10 ft
Flake; got squashed , 1a i nst bag
DC-3-8
25 ft
Flakes; dimensions, 2 x 5 mm
Dive Station #4:
Divers-Irwin, Phillips; first diver in at
1809 CDT.
"Did not see anything below 15 ft; concentration 7-12ft; all
pancake-shaped, much less than station #1; bottom at 50ft; thermocline co'fnc'fdes with nepheloid layer at 30 ft" [Irwin].
"From nepheloid
layer to surface, scattered "dead plankton" (peculiar white particles

that diver could not identify), 1 em particles, many at 3ft" [Phillips].
One sample was collected at 7 ft (very small flaky particle); also
an 8 mm underwater film was taken (.low sun angle but sun in clear).
Dive Station #6:
up 0940.
First look:
Divers--Northam, Irwin; divers down 0925;
one large piece of oil and several small pieces;
much less than previous tow.

"Mousse down to 5 ft; at 10 ft isolated small pieces; lots
of beasts; thermucline 35-40 ft; nepheloid layer, 50ft; bottom, 60ft;
no tar below 10 ft; pretty clean below" [Northam].
No samples; one
photo of bottom, one of surface layer looking up; remainder of 8 mm
78
film taken here, including surface mousse from underwater.

Underwater Photography:
On dive station #1 one roll of Koda-
chrome-64 11as taken using a Ni konos camera.
Divers report:
"There may be a problem with lighting; particles of tar

suspended in the water need to be back-lighted to bring them out
properly on film; next dive we will have one diver carry the lights
and the other take photographs for backlighting."
Most photographs are underexposed.
He was correct.
Also, they lack definition.
most successful are near-surface shots.
The
At dive station #3 and #6
a 50 ft roll of regular 8 mm Fujichrome movie film was shot using a

Fujica camera.
Details are given below.
the Port Aransas Marine Laboratory.
The film is on archive at
It lacks definition even more
than the 35 mm shots and is unsuccessful in showing tarballs subsurface.

Film sequence:
three pans: (_]) depth less than 10 ft;
(2) 25-30 ft; (3) in nepheloid layer.
One still sequence of particle
(approx. 2 mm in diameter at 10ft); two panoramas of particles at

5 ft, plus diver.
A surface to 10 ft deep drop; two panoramas at
10ft; diver plus writing slate; helicopter (not underwater!)

4.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise MOUSSE-I
On 5 and 6 August 1979, Ixtoc oil started washing up
on South Padre Island, particularly around Mansfield Cut and for
several miles north and south.
During this time, LONGHORN was
working in close proximity to the beach.
Vlindrows of small tarballs
were observed increasing in number and in the concentration of

tarballs within each windrow as the shore was approached.
In the
instances when LONGHORN got closer than two miles offshore or

approached Port Isabel and travelled through the cut, tarballs were
sparsely distributed or absent.
Even though the oil came ashore in
79
a semi-1 iquid mousse-1 ike form, LONGHORN sav1 no. such. patches of oil
close to shore except for the windrows of tarballs menttoned above.
On 9 and 11 August 1979 a survey of
~lustang
Island showed no oil
at all on the beach.

4.4 Pelagic Fauna
4.4. l
Birds
Several pelagic birds, or birds that spend part of the
year as pelagics, were seen during this cruise (Fig. 57).
On 7 August
at 1500 CDT a flock of 30 to 40 Black Terns was seen actively feeding

in a small Trichodesmium slick with ''particles submergec (log sheet
entry; v1ere they tarba 11 s?).
Later a medium-sized, unidentified
greyish petrel was seen and then the first of several Hilson's Storm
Petrels (Oceanitas oceanicusl was observed along with Cory's Shearwaters
(Puffinus diomedea).
Diomedea were seen feeding on schools of uniden-
tified fish that also attracted porpoises and sharks.
Small groups of
Storm Petrels (may also have included some Harcourt's Petrels,

droma castro) fed actively in the LONGHORN's
\~af<.e.
Ocea~
A tota 1 of 9 Cory's
and 15 1/il son's were seen before ni gf1ti'a 11 and on the 8 August 19
Cory's and 11 t1ilson's were. spotted along vlith a Blue-Faced Booby
(Sula dactylatra).
At this point the pelagics were seen with the more
coasta 1 gulls and terns.
A1so observed were several Sooty Terns
(Sterna fuscata).
4.4.2 Other Sightinos
No systematic attempt was made to catalog fish, porpoises,
turtles or
inv~rtebrate
sightings.
tities or associations were noted.
During the oil watch, unusual quanIn summary, flying fish were abun-
dant and porpoises frequently rode the bow wave while. the ship was
underv1c;y,
Other commonly sighted fish were tripletail, Sargassum fish,
so
pipe or needlefish, pufferfish, filefish.
Often these fish were in
slick and tarball regions, as in Sargassum windrows.
Some were
collected when they were in oil slicks (see sample log, section 4.7).
One small turtle was sighted and several crabs and squid were seen both
on and off station.
81
4.5 Cruise Maps
82

96\V
97W
98W
28N
27N
l~.-
26N
26N to 28N; 96W to 98W

Figure 37
83
LONGHORN Cruise
98W
MOUSS~-I.
8 Aug 1979
96W
to
97W
28N
Corpus Christi
.,.
...
1400 4
us
.....
+/
+
+ +
...
*+
... ++
+ .,
rltq.0fil 8 Au
.........
...
............
.,..
+
+
>
...
...
.,.
...
+
27N
+
+
+ +
#
+_,
...~!l:r.,.
+
+
..
01ZilZI 7 Au 9
26N
to
28N; 96W
to
98W
84
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE-I. 4

98W
97W
to
8 Aug 1979
96W
28N
27N
i
I
L_
./
26~1
Sl-ATION LOCATIONS. 26N

Figure 39
to
28N; 96W
to
98W
85

98Y/
97W
96W
28N
27N
/
I
L_
\
26~J
5m/:seo
SU~FACE
2l21, lZ!Kt-e
llZlm/:seo
30,1ZlKte
15m/.,ew
--
WINDS. 26N to 28N; 96W to 98W

Figure 40
86

98V/
97'1
Corpus Christi
r;
+'0~~
96W
28N
3o
-~
. "--
~;
8 Aug 1979
1
1J\
to
8
29. g
_8 7
+3ft 2
27N
+3t 2
+29. 9
3o
I' - - - - ':luiJ. ACE
OU .iERV i\ TIONS.
TEMF ERATURE CU
26!~
to
28N; 96W
t-o 98\v
87
LONGHORN Cruise MOU
E-Iv 4 to 8 Aug 1979

96W
I
98W
~I
I)J
ll
28N
Corpus Christi
27N
2G.4
.,.. 36 3
4
4
\I
I'
SL1~1:
f\CE U8 tRV 1\ TI N
SALINITY (1)pt)
N to
Figu\~e
02
1_:8!\l~
98\'J
88
LONGHOR~I
Cruise
0 1!
~J
1 79
98\11
I 28~1
Sl' ')F /\CE GBSERV /\ T I 1]

8= r.AFWt\LLS
F1gU'f'0
0
1.3
to
89
LONGHORN
("
L.rLJ 1 s:e
'
98\V
BN
Corpus Chri
7N
\I
l"l
r,
:;:; J
~-
.--
r \Lf:. U
S=SHt-:EN
RV
T
I
90
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE-I, 4

98W
97W
to
8 Aug 1979
96W
28N
+il
+W
+W
27N
+W

W=WINDROWS
Figure 45
to
28N: 96W
to
98W
91

97'1/
98W
to
8 Aug 1979
96\A/
28N
+G
27N
+G
+G
+G
+G
+~
+G
+G
'~-----
26N
SLH rACE OBSERVATIONS. 26N
G=SARGASSUM
Figure 46
to
28N; 96W
to
98W
92

98W
97W
to
8 Aug 1979
96W
28N
+T
+T
+T
27N
+T
+T
+T T
+H
26N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 26N to 28N; 96W
T=TRICHODESMIUM: H=WATER HYACINTH
Figure 47
to
98W
93

98W
97W
to
8 Aug 1979
96W
28N
+N
+~l+fii"~+N
*1'4
+N
+~l
+N
27N
+N
+i'l
+N
26N
ACE OBSERVATIONS. 26N
N::NO OIL SEEN
Figure 48
SUI~F
to
28N; 96W
to
98W
94
95

98W
97W
96W
26N
MEXICO
25N
24N
Figure 49
96

98\V
to
8 Aug 1979
97W
26N
MEXICO
25N
24N.
STATION LOCATIONS. 24N
Figure 50
to
26N; 96W
to
98W
97

97W
98W
96W
26N
\
MEXICO
25N
24N
H'J. 12lKt.s
5m/sec
212l.l2lKt.s
30.12lKt.s
10m/sec
15m/sac
SURFACE WINDS. 24N to 26N: 96W to 98W

Figure 51
98

98W
97W
96W
26N
MEXICO
25N
24N
TEMPERATURE CD Figure 52
99

98W
96W
97W
+
36.2
+ 36.3
26N
36.2
+ 36.2
*+~k
MEXICO
25N
24N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS, 24N to 26N; 96W to 98W
SALINITY Cppt)
Figure 53
100

98W
97W
B
96W
26N
+B
+J%3
+!i!s
+B
MEXICO
25N
24N
B=TARBALLS
Figure 54
101
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE-I, 4 to 8 Aug 1979

98W
96W
97W
26N
+S
MEXICO
25N
24N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 26N; 96W to ,98W
S=SHEEN
Figure 55
102

98W
97W
96W
26N
MEXICO
25N .
24N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 26N: 96W to 98W
G=SARGASSUM
Figure 56
105
4.6 Cruise Log
106
PAGE F.
CSE/SPD
DlST DPTH
SST
SSS
THIE
LATdL'
LONG~W
1400
27 3:-'.0
97 01.8
1500
~7
2a.0
s~
et.o
1600
27 19.0
s~
Bi.e
1~00
27 10.0
97 02.0
27
37
2S..3
1800
27 02.0
97 02.0
..;. ......
.-.~
37
29.3 35.472
1900
26 53.0
97 02.5
44
34
29.2 35.638
2000
26 45.0
97 07.0
187
8.9
31
29.0 36.116
22G
2100
26 35.0
97 07.0
187 10.0
24
28.1 36.365
315 21
2140
26 29.0
97 10.0
2200
26 27.0
97
'3ER
l.JI tlD
2
2t:
.... .-. {
.:.:>.
69
07.~
207
2220D 26 23.0
97 11.8
223
2225
97 13.0
8.0
73
18
C./C
27.5 36.380
340 19
26. :-. 36.332
~:37
160
2200
26 22.0
79
80
2240
2300
:31
26 17.0
97 06.5
LONGHORN cru1se MOUSSE-I
167 13.2
5 Au9 1979
T HIE
LAT 01:'
LONG<W:
CSE/SPD
0000
26 08.
97 08.0
167 11.5
0025D 2 06.4
97 12.1
125
1.0
101
0745D 26 00.1
~:-'
0;'.3
125
1.~~1
108
0820D
59.6
9~
0~.8
125
1.0
109
0840D 25 59.3
~~
36.7
125
1.0
109
2~
27
DIST DPTH
96
SST
SSS
26.1 36,413
RENRRr:S
341 27
107
LO!~GHORH
cru1se
MOUSSE-I
PAGE#
Au 1979
NONE SHEE TRRB MOUS WIND SARG TP!C HYAC
****
****
**ii-*
+***
Por~oise
Tarballs
UP
& f1Yin9 fish
to 2in in size,saMPle taken;
sq,uid
Windrows inc. in f'
**"'* ****'
****
re.:tuet1CY
tarballs sMaller
*i-*'*
Patches of
s~all
tarballs
towards shore
al~ost
continu
ous on sfc
Patches
LONGHORN c nli ~
MOUS~cE-I
thinnin~
out a bit
5 Au 1979
NONE SHEE TARS MOUS WIND SRRG TRIC HYAC
*'~** ****
*"*** ****
DePart banana docks PI
****
****
****
****
****
****
2 Mi froM PI Jetties,Patches of tarballs
108
~ONGHORtt
cr~1s~
MOUSSE-I
Au~
1~79
7INE
LATdL
LONG(W)
CSE/SPD
0900
25 5?.8
s~
86.4
177
1.0
110
0915
25
97 04.2
097
9.7
112
5~.6
DIST DPTH
SST
838
26.0 36.468
21
18?
(1'?7
114
0935
25 55.2
1000
25 55.5
!080D 25
97 02.2
115
112 10.2
119
30
28. t. 36.248
.-;. .;..tt.
--
44
28.8 36.220
108
52.~
~6
52.~
148 10.5
124
1100
25 4?.9
9~
47.6
095 10.5
130
1136
25 49.5
96 43.5
152
6.2
133
1148
25 47.4
96 42.8
037 12.5
136
1240
25
46.~
96 41.0
3.5
137
53
29.3 36.244
1300
~5
4;,4
96 42.0
0.0
139
54
29.3 36.237
1400
25 46.5
96 41.0
1. 0
140
53
29.0 36.225
1"34
53
29.2 36.223
134
53
2'?, 2 36.22:.::
134
-.....
037
1500
16fH1
0 ,(1
1624
!640D 25
48.~
96
:./C
145
145
In slick
Sto. 1
St. o. 1
;.
45.~
145
151
35
29.0 36.227
101 22
l~Q
26
28.5 36.262
082 17
169
25
045 11
Sta 2
(131 12
IJ /1,!,1
1700
25 5!.5
96 51.5
1800
25 50.0
9~
01.0
322
8.7
.:. ...
109
LONGHOPN cru1se MOUSSE-I

t-IONE :3HEE TAF:E: tlOU:::
~lHHI
F'AGE#
SAF~G
TldC H't'AC
~*~~
OIL OBSERVATION REMARk?
Dense Patches of
Fr~~uent
tarballs
3-s~~M
sMall tarballs
****
SPot
POSSlble
SaMPlin9 in
slick
!1~i
slick~Sta
starboard
1)
**** ****
****
Several tarballs per
**~""
Tarball~
****
****
****
Much More
Mlnute;flYin~
abunda~t
flsh
110
L0tJGHORN crulSE MOUSSE-I

T HIE
LAT< ti:O
LONG ( ll)
1~00
26 01.5
97 03.5
Au~
1?79
oER
D! ST DF'TH
322
172
PAGEl*
21
27.1 36.430
133
~2
u/W
to PI
------------------------------------------------------------------------~-------
2000D 26 01.7
97 03.7
312
LONGHORN cruise MOUSSE-I
0.3
USCG :3t1 FI
172
6 Au9 19?9
LONG(W)
CSE/SPD
1335D 26 05.8
97 07.8
312
0.3
178
1410D 26 06.0
97 08.0
312
0.3
178
1415
26 06.0
97 08.0
002
0.3
1?8
1440
26 07.5
97 07.5
002
3.7
179
1455
26 08.8
97 04.0
002 13.6
183
1530
26 15.0
97 07.0
161BD 26 21.5
97 07.8
290
9.5
196
1625
26 23.7
97 08.7
277
9.4
198
1635D 26 23.5
97 09.7
1'36
1642
26 23.3
97 10.3
200
1700
26 23.3
97 10.3
200
15
1730
26 23.3
97 18.3
280
15
1747
26 23.2
97 09.8
1758D 26 23.5
97 09.7
068
5.3
201
1755
26 23.9
97 09.5
033
5.6
201
1814
26 24.8
97
~~.8
190~
2E 24.0
9~
0?.8
Tli'tE
LAT<tl)
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
RniRRKS
WlfiD
Clear
28.0 36.337
14
28.0 36.365
022
041 12
105 11
.JettY
875
16
097 12
c.'c 270
1 '3'~
8.0
:::t,a 3 o.nchr
28.4 36.319
St o. :3
2
070 20
1_.;/~)
200
.-;./c
17
28.4 36.334
073
281
833
e.o
201
350
Stop slick
Sto. 4
2:3.4 36.335
078
'?
Stc. 4
lll
OtlGHORtl
cr~ise
MOUSSE-I
F'AGE#
lONE SHEE TAPB MOUS WitlD SAPG TRIC HYAC

****
***""'
***.,.;.
**** Tarballs scarce

.;;..;.;..:.:..;..
~***
Tarballs scarcE
Redd1sn e9rets 12 Mi +roM beach
****
****
Windrows runn1n9 E-W
~:thinnin9
out towar
o:t: :c. hr.) ro::
Windrows ot sheen
tll,.rn S11(.1.11
1 nl.. in..::-
t rJ.
~:
rbo.l1 ! ~
ManY sMall tarballs
Danca~e
~ r:rlp;;
si=e torball
o.r:r. :t t" t. :r be S
112
LONGHORN
cr~1se
MOUSSE-!
LONG(W~
Au~
GSE'SPD
1979
DIST DPTH
2000
26 24.0
9~
0?.8
033
0.0
201
20~7D
26 23.9
?~
08.?
16?
2.7
202
2050
26 23.6
97 07.3
2057D 26 23.6
97 07.7
344
2100
26 23.7
97 07.8
2118D 26 23.S
'?47 08.5
2132
26 23.?
9~
0?.8
205
2200
26 24.0
97 0?.0
205
2242D 26 23.7
97 08.6
2300
26 23.6
97 08.5
206
2335
26 23.6
97 08.5
206
T Ir1E
LAT <ID
LONGCW'
0000
26 24.0
97 05.3
0013D 26 25.4
97 05.9
2?1
6.8
210
26 25.8
97 06.1
291
6.8
211
0021D 26 26.2
97 06.2
291
6.8
211
0025D 26 26.6
97 06.4
291
6.8
212
0102D 26 30.5
9~
08.1
291
~.8
216
0121
26 32.5
97 09.0
327
6.7
212
0200
26 31.0
9~
10.8
0655D 26 29.0
9~
09.2
001~D
PAGE#
SST
SSS
28.3
3~.33~
SEA
~l
I tm
098
Sto 4
2(14
End Pi ,,_nk
2.7
204
Ret. t.: slik
31~
2.8
204
351
2.0
205
136
0.6
CSE.'SPD
28.3 36.300
Sta 5
anch~
17
28. 1
206
St.!J. 5
DIST DPTH
22(1
0.5
045
Sto. 5
22
126
223
SST
SSS
SEA
HIND
Ra1AF'KS
27.7 :36. 4(11
108 14
4.2~1
beQch
113
.LONGHORtl cruise MOUSSE-I

tlONE
SH~E
PAGEl
TARS MOUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC

Tarbolls scarce
of tarballs Jaries,soMe Places

verY thick,others thin
Fre~u~ncY
Tarball concentration
**** ****
****
~ui,!
thin
Needle fish t crabs
****
Th1ck cone. tarballs 1n windrows Passin

shiP
**~*
****
Au~
NONE SHEE TARB MOUS WIND SRRG !RIC HYAC
OIL OBSEPVATION REMARKS

FairlY clean onlY one Patch of tarballi
seen while runnin
****
Much sarassuM
A few scattEred tarballs
114
LONGHORN
cru1se
MOUSSE-I
Au~
1979
7IME
LiiT,tl
LONG,:W:'
0~30
26 28.8
97 09.0
0735D 26 27.8
97 08.2
0745
2~.0
97 0.5
0750D 26 25.7
97 06.5
262
3.6
0757D 26 25.3
97 06.E
262
:;:, 6
0810
26 24.5
97 06.7
0815D 26 24.2
97 06.2
148
6.1
22'9
0818D 26 24.1
97 85.9
148
6.1
22?
0838
26 23.0
97 04.0
0845D 26 24.2
97 05.0
0852
26 25.5
97 06.0
0925D 26 25.9
97 06.3
1115
26 27.0
97 07.3
236
1205
26 27.0
97 07.6
236
1230
26 27.0
97 07.0
236
1300
26 29.3
97 03.5
240
26
CSE~SPD
129 14.4
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
IHtm
PEIIAF~I:::;.
224
227
18
227
228
( ..... c 270
17
231
305 13.2
232
_,,
? ..., ~
308
0.8
Sto. 6
234
18
28.4 36.275
2
[J/1,.)
30
29.2 36.289
132ttit 26 31.1
'?7
035
1340D 26 32.9
96 57.7
035
9.6
246
LOF:ANR
1400D 26 34.8
9~
035
9.6
250
LORAN-A
~30.
54.7
LORAt~-A
c<~.Jt
ou~
c<~.;t
115
F'AGE#
NONE SHEE TARS MOUS WIND SAPG TRIC HYAC
OIL OBSERVATION REMRRI.S
Look._n~
f.:r :il
.=-:01'1E
.=.:.o.tt. .:ro:d :E-!'~>J.ll
rp)
t.o:rio.l
Priodic 1-2'' tarballs,wlndrows of sMall

er par~lclesiheadin~ tor Possible slic~
E:>~t. n:: 1 <}E -E-11 c.ko sf :- cov.:- ted \.J- SI1IO.ll

rb.,.ll::-~ rLH1tnn~ r.oo.rlll-:::1 tc ::-llck
In ::::-llc.k' h>:-H-'ilY oilo2d

:. :_;: .:- t
r.-1~
:.2::- ot
to.
r:lJ..:.t ;_
r-:.-r oo.1~1
Many sMall
tarballs~
occasional 1-2''
~ar
balls
Move 1nshore to locate & anchor in
sl1c~
USCG helicoP1er arrl'-'ES to Pick UP
so.M~l
':?:E-
****
.;.:..;.;.~*
~~**
****
ManY
Ion~
narrow sl1cks
****
l
~.,.;**
Slick covers entii"E
****
Fl ,-
irr~
f'l:E-h
~ro::-a
I
I
I
I
I
I
w
,__,
I
"-
,,
:..:..:.
("!
"'
I
I
:-1
'-'
"'
"'
w
a:
I
I
I
"':z:
:::::
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
,,,
If!
'D
...-.
1.(1
((o
1-
,_,.,
"',..., .,.
rn
(J
,,.
(J.
"'
fJ
'-(
I
I
I
IM
IN
~
I
I
1.:
"I;)
I-
II)
I
I
I
1_1)
()
;:;
::J
"'..'1',
3
''
=I1.!1
:z:
Co
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:::::
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.;)
(S,)
I
I
I
I
10
'"'
17
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o;:,;;:o
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~ONGHORN
sru1sE MO~SSE-1
NONE SHEE TAR2 MOUS WitD SARG TRIC HYAC
OIL OBSERVATIOII REMARKS

::f'IQll .:l1d,
f l:E 11
r.-ot.c.t~~=:::.
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t~rns
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7 sharks feedln9,Wilson Petrels & Corv _

heo.r wo.tet:::
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F'AGE#
NONE SHEE TAR8 MOUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC
Atl~
1919
NONE SHEE TARB MOUS WIND SRRG TRIC HYAC
****
****
***+

Visibilitt
decreasin~~
difficult to see
::ea sfc. teo det,errun' if oil i::. Pre::.ent
Possible t,o.rball=<Sf'"IJ.ll) ~ hJ.rd to deten.t
ne~ rain
****
----------------------------------------------------------------------------~---
DolPhins on boto.l
***.;:.
*~**
****
.,.*+*
.,.,..,.** ****
.,:.*** **+
~***
****
****
****
****
***.:.:.
***..:.
SMQll
turtleia~Pro~.
~O,;E.SI..II'"l
S0all area of sheen
5'' 01de) beside sar
120
LONGHOPN
cruli~
MOU;~E-I
8 Aus 1?7?
PAGE#
:::
THtE
LAT(tr>
0705~
27 19.2
8730
27 15.5
96 12.5
0800
27 12.0
96 13.5
0900
27 13.0
96 11.5
0910
27 13,5
96 12.5
337
6.1
395
320
0930
27 17.5
96 14.5
337'
2.?
399
234
1000
27 20.0
96 15.0
337
5.1
402
1 77'
2'3. 2 .34. .05
1100
27 28.5
96 18.2
297' 10.2
411
110
29.0 34,503
1130
27
3~3.
1200
.:.
.-....
.-...
.,:..:., ..,.
9. 27.4
317
1230
27 34.6
96 30.1
297
1245
27 33.9
96 31.5
1250
27 33.9
96 31.5
262
0.0
424
57
29.5 34.760
262
1330
27 36.8
96 40.5
307 12.8
433
46
29.9 34.467
095
1400
27 38.8
96 46.3
307 11.0
438
36
29.9 35.061
113 10
1435
27 41.1
96 51.5
307
8.8
444
1445
27 41.1
96 51.5
307
0.0
444
27
105
1506
27 42.4
53.8
307
9.7
446
24
114 11
1~.1
0?~
9.3
384
.c:- ....
.:.-..:.
2?.3 2:2.207
416
421)
c.-'
2"3.5 .32,1j11
28.9
77
:~4.
111 16
101 14
u .. ,J
337 14
137
098
:3
C/C
290
660
2'?, 1 35.847
423
424
415
38.2 34.721
31}, 3 33.766
Sta 9
u/w to PA
121
LOtlGHCF'rl c r:_;l ~ .: t10U ::::.E- I

tlOt~E
:;J-IEE TAF::E.
rwu::
PAGE#
l1HlD ::AF'G TRIC H'/A::
OIL OBSEPYAT!ON REMARKS
Rain to the E, 3 W1lson

Po. in 1 n9
""'**""'
****
****
***""'
SaMPlln9 in trich blooM
stor~
Petr~is
122
4.7
Sample Log
LmlGHORH CRUI.SE !lOUS::.E-I; SANPLE LJG
S7fdF,...DRTE
AIJ-~
TH1E
1700
ACT I'/ I TV CODE
LATOn
BIRD-!
27 10.0 97 02.0
26 3-5. 8 97 07.0
2100
SFC-1
1230
1240
SFC-1
LOt~: ~I)
DEPTH
F;EI1AF:K":
Surf
D-=a.d Lo.u;h. ~t.: 11

F i r:::.t tar u.s. 1.10. t.; r
!Hlrt'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sto.
12:3t
CARS 1-l
25 4?.b 96 43.0
5
Au-~
1617
CARS 1-3
STD 0
DISC 1-1
GRAB 1
LVFPOC 1-10
LVFPOC 1-15
LVFPOC 1-5
2~ 47.6 96 43.0
25 47.6 96 43.0
25 48.4 5'6 44.6
? 49.0 ~6 46.6
25 48.8 96 46.0
25 49.0 96 46.6
25 4'?, 0 96 46.6
25 49.0 Q.o 46.6
1810
1818
LVFPOC 2-0
L'/FPOC 2-5
25 59.5 96 00.8
25 59.5 96 00.8
1402-1420
1430
1500
1550
1ses
Sto.
1827
1833
L'v'FPOC 2-10
LVFPOC 2-15
GARB 2-10
SFC 2-10
--
25 59.5 96 00.8
25 59.5 96 00.8
25 59.5 96 00.8
-~ 59.5 96 00.8
surf
1o?::
0-30
11 R.::s.:-t t e
SO.J 01F:
::.urf
53
Sa.i'IP 1 e- not
re-taine-d
10
15
5
surf
5
10
15
10
14 fM water
.,.
1845
:.u rf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Sta. 3
1780
SFC 3
25 23.3 97 10.3 surf
6 Au
1700
DC 3-0
26
sud'
Iliver c.ollec.ted i 1
-' 10.3
,. 23.3
DC 3-10
23.3 ' !0.3 10
Diver collected i l
1840
,~..,
DC 3-3
Stn
1814
1830
SFC 4-0
DC 4-2
0?
-0
26 23.3 97 10.3
26 24.0 97 09.8
26 24.0 97 0'3. 8
5
10
15
0-15
0-15
26 23.7 97 07.8
26 23.'? 97 09.0
surf
surf
2300
2330
SHEEN 6(2)
ti!SK s-e
NISK 5-5
CARS 5-2
CRAB 5-1' 5-2
26 23.9 97 09.0
26 23.6 -~
-' 08. 1
26 24.0 97 09.0
18"0
GRAB 6
26 25.5 97 06.0
18
1930
1942
1355
2017
2050
CARS 4-2
LVFPOC 4-1
LVFPOC 4-2
LVFPOC 4-3
LVFPOC 4-4
PLAHK 4
PLAHK 4
i1
SI.Jrf
7 ft
5 ft
surf
26 24.0 97 e3. 8
26 24.0 97 09.8
26 24.0 97 09.8
26 24.0 97 09.8
26 24.0 97 09.8
26 24.0 97 09.8
26 23.6 ?7 17.3
1857
1919
Diver collEcted
0
0
0
Di ~Je r
CO 11 E'C tEd
oil
St a. rt Tow
End r.:;.w
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
2108
SHEEH 5(1)
26 23.7 97 07.8 surf
Sta.
2108
213'3
2210
5 ft
:a.urf
DiP n.et.
::'-tli'.!P
l es
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------8818-0842 PLAHK 6-1

26 24.5 97 06.7 10
-------------------------------------------------------~------------------------
Sta.
Sta
Sta.
Sta 10
1200
1205
1218
1210
SFC 7
SHEEN 7
26
26
26
26
0827-0904
STD 6
27 13.5 96 12.5
300
27 33.9 96 31.5
27 33.9 96 31.5
surf
surf
Tric.h blooM
27 41.1 96 51.5
15ft
Cl~nn
1248
CARB 7-2
FISH 7
SFC
~< 1)
1248
SFC 9(2)
1435
CARS
16-3
27.0
27.0
27.0
2?.9
97
97
97
97
07.0
07.0
07.0
07.0
5 +'t
~urf
Puffer fish
sur-f
surf
Trich and Tarba.lls
station
123
5 CRUISE MOUSSE-II (15 AUGUST - 22 AUGUST 1979)

5.1
Cruise Objectives
It was proposed to cruise a predetermined track in the area
between Port Aransas and approximately 150 miles 1 south of the

~1exican
border.
The major objectives of the cruise were to research
the mode and rate of transport of the Ixtoc oil, the general physical
oceanographic structure of the water column, the frequency of occurrenee of petroleum in plankton tows, the distribution and composition
of both sheen and dissolved hydrocarbon, and the presence of hydrocarbon in sediment.
The goal was to determine if a concentra-
tion gradient existed between Texas waters and major oil deposits
south of the border.
Sampling and observational strategy for surface oil remained the
same as on FSU-I and MOUSSE-I, except that surface currents were
measured directly on all anchor stations.
On-station techniques were
significantly different from those used previously and are detailed

in Part II of this report (see a 1so under "Cruise flarrative", section
5.2).
This cruise can be conveniently divided into four sections.
Each section represented a line of stations running approximately
normal to the isobaths from the inner continental shelf to the shelf/
slope break.
1
There were four such sections (cruise track, Fig. 59).
As of 0800 hrs, 14 August 1979, the oil was reported to be moving into
upper Texas waters. The track had to be revised to reflect this
although the basic plan of occupying predetermined stations, regardless
of the oil concentration at the surface, was not changed.
124
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE- I I. 15 to 22 Aug 1979

98W
96W
97W
95\11
28N
Cor-pue Chr-it.i
l2112ll2IIZI
1 Aug
27N
UNITED
STATES
26N
Aug
MEXI 0
25N
24N

Figure 59
125
The Roman numerals II and IV refer to previously occupied BLM station
lines (Flint and Rabalais, 1980)_, while V and VI were section lines
in Mexican waters, so numbered as to be in keeping with the existing
system.
Along the BLM lines, the BLM stations were reoccupied.
This
has the advantage of there already being two substantial baseline data
sets with which to compare post-Ixtoc oil conditions.
Because of the extra scope of this cruise, I was unable to maintain
a running narrative during the cruise.
however, were maintained throughout.
The deck log and oil log,

A brief chronological cruise
description is given below plus highlights taken from my notebook (see

also section 5.3).
As there were 24 stations on this cruise, no
station-by-station narrative is given here.

5.2.1
(BLM) Une IV
--Left Port Aransas, 1045 local; some slicks in channel;
a few scattered tar pieces at surface near Port Aransas; oil observation log maintained starting at 1045; deck log started at 1045.
The track was designed to parallel the shoreline of Padre Island
en route to the first line.
On cruise MOUSSE-I oil concentrations
nearshore seemed to increase as the shoreline was approached.
Oil had
come ashore even when just a few miles offshore the ocean surface was
clean, indicating very narrow northerly longshore current.
Consequently,
this course was run to circumvent the oil escaping our observation.
--Generally, large patches of slick, many square miles;
slick contains tar pieces up to several inches across and many pieces
of water hyacinth vtith oil adhering to them.
t1uch Sargassum but no
oil adhering to it as far as could be seen.
Later the wind increased
and windrows of oil s 1i ck with tar pieces were encountered spaced by

about 10 m; wind was onshore.
At one point a strong diesel odor was
126
detected along wi.th the sheen lsee cruise log, section 5.6, p. 2).
On this cruise a six-hour, two-man watch was established.
The
watch-standers were responsible for both surface observations and

station activities.
--En route to station, stopped in a heavy Trichodesmium
bloom and sampled; order of stations:
BU1 Line IV, starting on the
inshore end (station #4).

--Hi 11 have to go into Port Isabel in morning to pick up
current meter and deliver briefcase left on board.
--Arrived on station (station IV-4, first on the line) at
2243 hrs; anchored.
At night difficult to see if slick area; some
small whitecaps; lots of tar at surface, some several centimeters

across; in ship's lights, crabs, halfbeaks or needlefish, squid, other
schooling fish.
Station Activity (see Table 3):
Seven stations were occupied
along this line, four of which were dive stations.
A brief stop in
Port Isabel was made on 16 August to pick up some equipment.
Oil was
seen in one or more of its forms along the entire section, although
it varied considerably in concentration both spatially, en route, and
temporally, while on station.
All stations were taken at anchor.
Divers observed subsurface oil on all stations, one as deep as

65ft.
Both methods of filtration seemed to be successful, although
not as many tar particles were trapped in the filters subsurface as

would be expected from the divers' descriptions (see section 5.3.3 for
complete description of dive station results).
Transmissometer data seemed to be quite crude and at best indicated
whether or not the water was turbid, with little refinement.
Fluoro-
127
meter data was also not too successful and no defi.nite correlation was
apparent between subsurface oil concentration and fluctuation on the
fluorometer.
TABLE 3.
TYPE
Station activity on cruise MOUSSE-II, (BLN) Line IV
STATION
PLANK
STD
LVFPOC
FLUOR
CM
TRANS
LVP
SFC
GRAB
SHEEN
DIVE
CARB
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
5.2.2
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
;(
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Line V
-At offshore terminus of
(BL~1)
Line IV, steamed south
to approximately 25 12'N (2000 COT, 17 August to 0200 18 August).

General tar concentration at surface appeared to increase as we got
farther south.
Patches of many tar pieces alternating with clear spots.

-Weather squally.
Nearing seaward end of Line V, much
more oil in form of pancakes (up to 25 em diameter); lots of water

hyacinth.
Seas getting rougher as storm passes.

-Several porpoises and two landbirds (unidentified in
dark) trying to roost on LONGHORN.

occupied along this line.
Eight stations were
Due to inclement weather and/or very strong
surface currents, no dive stations were occupied.
Station line took
128
from 0225 COT, 18 August to 0600 CDT 19 August to complete,
Oi.l coverage
was heavy along Line V, with one area of very heavy mousse (station
V-6A, see below).
each station.
Table 4 lists the different types of sampling done on
Both the large volume filtering and pumping (LVFPOC and
LVP) seemed to be collecting some mi.crotarballs at depth, perhaps more

so on this line than on any previous lines.
TABLE 4.
TYPE
PLANK
STD
LVFPOC
FLUOR
CM
TRANS
LVP
SFC
GRAB
Station activity on cruise MOUSSE-II, Line V
STATION
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
SHEEN
DIVE
CARB
6A
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
After station V-5, the Smith-Mcintyre grab sampler malfunctioned and

was deemed unsafe to use for further work.
In between stations some attempt was made to count the number of
water hyacinths and Sargassum pieces per unit ocean surface area.
The
hyacinth, in particular, was abundant along Line V (117 pieces of oiled

hyacinth were counted in a 12-minute period at a speed of 9 kt (see
cruise log, section 5.6 p. 6, 1740 COT).
129
The "Big
t~ousse
Patch":
At 1110 COT, 18 August 1979,
en route to station V-6, we encountered a large area of heavy oil

completely covering the sea surface (Fig. 60).
The oil was reddish to
chocolate-brown in color, was highly viscid in texture and contained

several pieces of debris, of mostly unrecognizable ori'gin because of
_,.
~-.J
: ,~"
Figure 60.
Mousse patch showing damping

of surface waves.
their oil coating (Fig. 61).
It was presumed that this was a classic
case of "mousse" and station V-6A was initiated.

genuine mousse encountered by LONGHORN.
This was the only
A fluorescence profile was
taken, whi.ch badly oiled the pumping equipment (Fig. 62) and a surface
130
Figure 61.
sample collected.
Close up of mousse patch showing

debris; area approximately 20 ft
by 30 ft.
It was felt that the heavy oil concentration would
spoil the collection device for dissolved hydrocarbons so no carboy

samples were taken.
Similarly, there did not seem to be a safe and
easy way of getting the divers into the water to observe under the
mousse.
area.
A strong odor described as "old gas station" permeated the

The mousse made a memorable sound as it "slurped" against the
side of the ship.
When the surface of the oil was parted to reveal
the seawater beneath, several schools of small silvery fish and some
sharks were seen, perhaps utilizing the shade provided by the oil cover.
131
Figure 62.
Pump station (for fluorescence)

taken through mousse patch.
When the patch was first discovered the Captain radiotelephoned

the position to the U.S. Coast Guard as a helicopter drop and, later,
a coordinated overflight was to be made the same day.
Within
minutes of the communication (1210 COT) a DC-6 aircraft with the

legend ''Conair'' written on it and a designation of ''449'' made
severa 1 1ow passes over the s li ck, which had now drifted away from
LONGHORN.
The aircraft proceeded to spray the patch with what was
presumably a dispersant and when we we11
~ertain
that spraying acti-
vities had ceased, LONGHORN steamed back into the mousse.

After spraying, the patch appeared to be smaller in area, as if
132
the oil had been "herde.d" by tile ch.emica 1.
Its texture was now more
liquid (but in a thicker layer), although it was difficult to judge

exactly what the immediate effects of the spraying had been.
Another
surface sample was taken (see Fig. 6 ) but due to the extremely
noxious smell surrounding the patch, making some of our crew feel unwell, we
retreated from the mousse.
Surface currents on the edge of the patch
were 1.5 to 2 kt to the north (Fig. 81).

5.2.3
Line VI
--En route to Line VI from the inshore end of Line V;
extensive areas of heavy slick with varying degrees of 1 r pieces;

concentration ranging from almost none to perhaps 10% coverage.
little Saroassum or water hyacinth seen.
Very
Many shrimpers working and
groups of Laughing Gulls at rest on surface in slicks--no oiled birds

seen; also Sandwich Terns, Black and Royal Terns.
Near the northern
end of this traverse, some tarba 11 s 1ooked b1 i stered and darker co 1ored
than "normal", appearing to be semi-liquid.
It is probable that this
appearance was the result of the chemical dispersion being done in the
vicinity.
Nearline Line VI there was a definite lessening of the
amount of oil visible at the surface.

were occupied on Line VI, with one dive station.
Only three stations

On station VI-2,
surface samples and sheen samples were collected using the ship's Zodiac
workboat to be away from the influence of shipboard contamination.
These samples were retained by Roger Burke of Texas A&M and John Patton
of ERGO.
At sta:ion VI-3 an unusual flying fish was collected by John
Patton; the fish had extremely long "barbels" and may have been a
juvenal form.
by Patton.
The specimen did not preserve well, but was retained
133
TABLE 5.
TYPE
Station activity on cruise MOUSSE-II, Line VI

STATION
PLANK
STD
LVFPOC
FLUOR
CM
TRANS
LVP
SFC
GRAB
SHEEN
DIVE
CARB
X
X
X
X
X
X
5.2.4
(BLM) Line II
The run to Line II was the longest uninterrupted
traverse of the cruise, approximately 200 miles long from 24 lO'N to

27 15'N (2320 COT, 19 August to 2230 COT, 20 August).
The initial
part of the run was under frequent thunder squalls which occasionally
interfered with LORAN navigation.
South of the U.S.-Mexican border
there were some areas where no oil was seen, but on nearing the border
we encountered tarballs whenever observations were made.
\vindrows
containing tarballs, hyacinth and Sargassum, were very common; at one

time 146 windrows running normal to the ship's track were counted in
15 minutes.
XBT drops were made along this traverse (see Part II).
At 1050 COT, 20 August, a Sandwich Tern with oil on its belly was
seen; this was the only oiled bird observed on this cruise.
The seven
BU~
were reoccupied; two dive stations were made (.II-2 and II-4).
was observed on the surface or subsurface on dive station II-4.
stations
No tar
Oil
134
TABLE 6.
TYPE
Station activity on cruise MOUSSE-II, lBLM} Line II
STATION
PLANK
STD
LVFPOC
FLUOR
CM
TRANS
LVP
SFC
GRAB
SHEEN
DIVE
CARB
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
was seen in the form of tarballs and oiled water hyacinth along the
entire section but thinned out as we approached Port Aransas on
21 August 1979.
Throughout cruise MOUSSE-II oil was present on the sea surface
almost every time an observation was made.
Although we covered only
a narrow band of ocean along our trackline and the distribution maps
(Figs. 64-90) must not be considered synoptic, the oil represented the
dominant form of flotsam seen.
I have spent 17 years going to sea
on research cruises, throughout the world's oceans, and have never

observed such a widespread concentration of oil at sea before.
5.3. l

Figures 63 to 89 are maps showing the distribution of
oil in its various forms as found at the surface during cruise MOUSSE- I I.
Also included are cruise tracks, station locations, and various physical parameters pertinent to the oil distribution.
Tarballs (Figs. 71 and 84) were seen almost everywhere; in fact, on
135
only eleven observations was it noted that no oil could be seen (Figs.
76 and 90).
The tarballs were distributed patchily over the sea surface,
especially in the form of windrows (Figs. 73 and 87).
Their size was
generally quite samll (perhaps averaging 2-3 em diameter) but the

smaller the tarballs, frequently, the more numerous they were, as if
tarballs were being actively broken up.
As in previous cruises their
color was milk-chocolate brown as seen from the ship looking down into
the ocean in good light.
On one or two occasions their morphology was
quite different, having a blistered, liquid-looking appearance and we

be 1i eve that this was due to the action of chemica 1 di sp sants.
\1hen tarballs were found in extensive sheen patches they appeared to be
randomly distributed within the patches.
In these instances they were
normally seen to be bleeding sheen into the patch.
Again, the conclu-
sion was that whenever there was extensive sheen, tarballs would be
bound in that sheen but not vice-versa.
The large sheen patches,
stretching from horizon-to-horizon as viewed from the flying bridge

of LONGHORN (approxiately 60 square miles is visible at the height of
an average observer) were only found when the wind speed was low.
Extensive regions of this type of sheen were found in Mexican waters.
Sheen was also observed all along the coastline on our nearshore traverse
at the start of the cruise (see Figs. 72 and 85).
The large sheen
patches were also collectors of other flotsam, particularly items like

styrofoam cups, where 1-1ere i nva ri ably covered in oil.
No sheen patches
were observed offshore north of 26 lO'N (Fig. 72).

As the wind increased from calm, the sheen rapidly broke up into
patches, streamers and finally windrows.
A windrow formed after the
breakup of a sheen patch maintained a slick appearance on its surface.
36
Other windrows containing tarballs sometimes did not have the slick look
but tarba 11 s would often be seen to b1eed into the windrow.
The di stri-
bution of windrows, including those containing Sargassum and water

hyacinth, is shown in Figures 73 and 87.
In three separate estimates
of the distance between windrows (accomplished by counting windrows that

were normal to the ship's course at a given speed}, values of 34m,
22 m, and 37 m were obtained at wind speeds between 7 and 12 kt (see
cruise log, section 5.5, p. 6).
At this time the depth of the mixed
layer, often associated with the dimension of Langmuir cells (Assaf et

al., 1971), was about 25m.
The location of the mousse patch described in detail above is shown
in Figure 86.
This was the only region of extensive mousse found
during the LONGHORN cruises.

The floating water hyacinth, almost always covered in oil, had by now
(.late August) spread northwards to North Padre Island (Fig. 74).
It was
highly concentrated along Line V and northwards to about level with South
Padre Island.
Density estimates were made by counting the number of
large pieces (whole plants) visible out to the length of LONGHORN's

outriggers (27ft) in a given time period at a given speed.
At 25" ll'N;
97"W, near the mousse patch, there was an approximate density of one
piece of hyacinth per 250 m2 . At the same time, the number of Sargassum
pieces was one piece every 1300 m2.
Towards the southern part of the cruise track, water hyacinth was
scarce, being found only in two locations along Line VI (Fig. 88).
It
was as if the body of hyacinth found on MOUSSE-I had moved northwards

in the interim.
Trichodesmium was found in only two locations during MOUSSE-II:
27"N nearshore en route to Line IV (Fig. 74) and just south of 25"N
at
137
along the traverse to Line II (Fig. 88).

Sargassum was less frequently encountered and less widespread on
MOUSSE-II than on MOUSSE-I.
South of the border it was found only at
the seaward end of Line V (Fig. 89) although it was more widespread
north of 26N (Fig. 74).
Sargassum was less frequently found in
windrows on this cruise.
No evidence of oiling of Sargassum could be
found.
5.3.2 Wind, Currents and Water Masses
tiinds were predominantly from the southeast during the

cruise (Figs. 67 and 80) with speeds up to 25 kt but ave 3ging 12 kt.
There were a few periods of calm.
1-2 ft in height.
Seas ranged up to 5 ft but averaged
Local thundershowers and squalls were frequent,
particularly in the southern part of the cruise track.

Surface currents had a northerly component at the offshore end of
each station 1i ne (Figs. 68 and 81 ) but an easterly component on the
nearshore end.
There was considerable current shear towards the
offshore end of Line V where currents of up to 2 kt were recorded.

This northerly flow and the considerable ship's drift recorded on
cruises FSU-I and FSU-II probably represented the shoreward edge of
the Western Boundary Current (see Sturges and Blaha, 1976).
current measurements are given in Table 7.
Actual
It should be noted that
the longest measurement made (] hrs on station IV-6) did not cover a
tidal cycle.
Some of the variability seen in the current roses is
due to tidal influences (see Table 7 for the current meter data
listing).
Sea-surface temoeratures ranged from 26.9 to 29.8 (Figs. 69 and 82).
The high temperatures were just slightly lower than those measured
138
TABLE 7.
Surface currents at MOUSSE-II anchor stations.
: iR;t/ DATE Tit1E

~ ::1
tE
:~T.l
I '1'-5
: 7ft0
1715
17:30
1;'45
1:300
1845
LriT :1
"~
10. ,)
LOtl <~-J-'
'?6 54.;]
:.PEE II
D .i:~:.
a. 7
270
~ .. -'
300
0.4
0.2
0.2
0.6
>), 6
1'?2tt
-. ""'C'
3~)0
.-. E C'
.,j
,.1
225
0. 3
2~5
2000
0.5
26>3
JB~Je
8.2
266
3
3
160
:325
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------23:30
220
:3t.l !'/-2
:r
AtJ:j
~]0"30
>}.
0301
~1.
u.3
2!5
13.2
0 .3
0950
!245
255
280
305
0. 2..
06il
051
1:325
0.2
070
B. 2.
8.-1
~)4.5
0.5
235
0.4
0 ...
0.3
0.5
105
105
090
0480
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 :t
96..!0
'?6 .......
26 10.6
2'?5
0.'3
t.
00
I'/-~
-..~
07'17
>J820
~J?00
17' AtJ:;;
! 230
:3t:t f'-/-3
1-3-1.5
1515
8.3
a. 1
.26
8 ,.
~6
2:2. S
t::m
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------n:-: 1.::3o
25 10. 0
22.5 IJ. 5
0'?0
Stl
'~6
lf00
t730
1800
1:34.5
1"
lii.J=J
'3 t, 1 \'-15
0815
~)92~1
25 13.0
?6 .:17.
~J
0955
1>)30
1.3
!...I.
1.5
l.4
25 12. 0
1 3:30
1400
;r..l '/-4
25 12.1]
96" 51.13
1.~J
1430
0:30
050
s.-). Sl
~)45
1'500
1535
1.0
g. '3
345
18(15
2125
2240
~:11
'.,.'-_2
030
0."3
l)g
J l 30
~1246
30~1
200
210
21 (!
1~40
~T,;l,
025"
0:30
6:31:1
02'5
1 ?00
::.t.J}, './-3
tB5
25
.S".LJ
'?7 12.1:1
?( 15.0
0.4
'). 5
40
40
:J.3
:). 4
-' '
139
TABLE 7 (continued)
LONGHORN CRUISE MOUSSE-I!;
S~RF~CE
CURRENTS
~o9e
3TA#/DATE TH1E
LATOn
LONCWl
SPEED
DIR.
St a ':'-1
25
97 26.0
0.4
0. z
0.5
225
258
275
0327
0352
0517
4.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1550
24 12.0
97 19.8 0.4
045
Stu Vl-2
16:30
1700
1730
1755
1945
20
AJJ:;,~
Stl I I-3
1~W30
0. 5
0. 2
0. 6
000
000
335
345
295
0.3
280
a. 4
o. 3
2? 17.7
S6 22.7
0120
8.3
0400
0505
o. 3
0. 5
320
045
0.7
1.3
000
330
:355
32.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sta I!-6 0325

27 22.5
96 29.0 0.3
315
Sta II-5
0-530
0800
0830
27 27.6
96 36.0
0.5
during MOUSSE-I, indicating that some seasonal cooling was already

taking place in late August.
shore between 24N and 25N.
These are probably the result of coastal
upwelling and the cooler water from this upwelling has spread northwards
along the shelf.
An isolated patch of low-salinity water (lowest
measured was 33.3/oo) was found offshore south of 27N and another
region (33.1/oo) close to shore off Aransas Pass (STD stations 49
and 51, see Part II).
The majority of the surface salinities measured
were slightly fresher than Hestern Gulf Surface Hater (see Armstrong
and Grady, 19b8) around 36.3/oo.
Alon.g Line VI, at the southern end
of the study region, some salinities were <36/oo possibly due to a

remnant of fresh water from the heavy rains of July on the upper Texas
coast.
140

(1)
As Observed from the Surface:
Some careful observa-
tions were made of the behavior of tarba11s sinking from the sea surface.
The major problem was to make sure that turbulence caused by the ship's
motion through the water did not induce sinking.
The divers made their
observations well away from the ship on station.

Underway, one could observe the sea surface in daylight by standing
on the bow and looking out and forward beyond the influence of the bow
wave.
On station, oil could be observed at closer range but the
influence of the vessel could be a factor in the behavit: of particles

so observed.
For example, a lee would be created by currents on one
side of the vessel and particles would collect in the backwash along
that side of the ship.
Nonetheless, there was no doubt that particles of oil were sinking
naturally.
In windrows, small tarba11s could invariably be observed
at subsurface levels of a few centimeters deep.
At other times single
particles of oil could be seen to leave the surface where they were
floating and sink quite rapidly as far as one could observe given the
water transparency or until the ship moved out of visual range.
On
occasion these particles would go several tens of centimeters deep

and then be seen to return to the surface.
restricted to windrows.
This behavior was not
Sinking particles were usually only a few
millimeters in diameter.
(2)
Diver Observations:
In experiments using divers
tarba11s were taken from the surface to depth, released and observed.
Invariably, large tarba11s (several centimeters in diameter) rose again
to the surface. Turbulence. created by the diver's motion made it
141
difficult to determine the exact behavior of particles introduced or
found naturally at subsurface levels.
At all stations except station II-4, oil particles were observed

subsurface (see Table 8).
At all these stations except station II-4
there was oil at the surface as well (see cruise log, section 5.5).
Most of the particles were observed in the upper 10 ft of the water
column and thinned out rapidly below that (diver observations were
made using depth gauges graduated in feet and these units have been
retained in this report).
The great majority of particles seen were
small and had a thin, flaky appearance, quite
differer~
from those
observed at the surface; that they were oil was confirmed several
times by divers squeezing them between thumb and finger.
MOUSSE-II no subsurface oil was collected by divers.
On cruise
The samples
collected on MOUSSE-I were being analyzed in the laboratory during

TA8LE 8.
Summary of cruise MOUSSE-II dive station findings
TiMe
Sta.
Lat(N)
LaniW)
REMARKS
16
Au~
1030
IV-1
26 11.7 97 80.5
29-Minute dive.
16
Au~
1850
IY-5
26 10.0 96 54.0
0 88.0 0 00.0
0 oo.a o oo.a
25-Minute dive. Oil Particles to S5 ft.

Hi9hest concentration between 2B and
30 ft; Particles aPProx. 1 s~.MM.
17
Au~
0930
IV-6
26 10.0 96 29.5
0 00.0 8 00.0
22-~inute
26 08.2 96 22.5
8 88.0 0 80.0
23-Minute dive. Oil Particles fQirlY

SParse. None below 30 ft.
24 12.8 97 20.0
30-Minute dive. Oil Particles seen

down to 60 ft.
SPars~~ MOSt between
surface and 10 ft.
17 Auq
1215
IV-3
19 Au
1640
VI-2
0
0
21 Auq
1140
II-2
1350
II-4
08.0 0
00.0
27 28.5 96 44.7
0
21 Aug
ao.o o oo.o
00.0 0
00.0
27 33.5 96 50.6
09.0 0 ae.e
sParse.
Oil Particles to 30ft
dive. Oil Particles fairlY

None below 30 ft.
36-Minute dive. Oil Particl~s fairlY

conc~ntrated to 20ft.
None below.
26-Minute dive.
below surface.
No oil
~articles
seen
142
this cruise and we were also attempting to collect subsurface oil
quantitatively using the pumping techniques.
Some unsuccessful
attempts to use "s 1urp guns" as co 11 ecti on devices were made.

A typical dive station observation is given below, using notes
made by interviewing each diver after the station (station V-5).
$
Dive Station #1-5:
Divers--Laatz, Anderson, Northam.
"Went in with snorkel (free dive) approximately 15 ft; saw

fingernail-size particles; 30 yards away from SCUBA dive; Tri-X
pictures
= -20 ft level started, continued at 10 ft increments;
main accumulation between 20-30 ft; average size, pea-s zed and quite
thin; had to wait for some to turn before could take photograph;
lots of white animals; some had tar adhering to them (not motile);
went down to 65 ft; tar particles were smaller, about half pea-sized
but still there; did not go deeper; took 30 frames; some shots with
background; no current" [Laatz]. "Saw parti c 1es to 65 ft concentrated
in upper 20 ft; largest 1-2 mm 3 ; half pea-sized; may have been a concentration at 20 ft, dark brown; mostly flaky; saw some larvaceans
(probably same as seen by Laatz); saw "marine snow" [Anderson].
"Pretty thick tarballs down to about 12 - 15 ft; below, they started
to thin out; orders of magnitude less than found about 15 ft; went
down to 65 ft, still tarballs there associated with vegetable matter;
went down and looked at small pump, creating turbulence that stops
large particles from entering; put particles near but did not seem
to suck
th~1
up" [Northam].
Unde,water Photography:
On each dive station underwater photo-
graphs were taken using a Nikonos camera.

station~-5
Unfortunately, after
described above, the camera malfunctioned and all subsequent
films came out completely blank (i.e., not exposed).
Even on
143
station][-5 the photographs were generally unsatisfactory.
is a photograph of subsurface as seen during dive
Figure 63
station~-5.
More
sophisticated underwater camera equipment, lighting and techniques are

needed for future in-situ observations of subsurface oil.
Figure 63.
Tarballs, as photographed from beneath the

surface during dive stationJlr-5.
5.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise MOUSSE-II

On ll August 1979 Mustang Island beach was clear of
any Ixtoc oil.
On 15 August 1979, the morning that MOUSSE-II began,
fresh Sargassum mixed with large amounts of Ixtoc oil began washing up
on Mustang Island beach.
Between Access Road #l an~ #2 (7.2 miles)
the oil increased in size and frequency as one travelled south.
By
23 August, the day after the cruise ended, Mustang Island beach was
badly oiled and fresh oil was wasl1ing in daily.
Clean-up crews were
working the populated areas of the beaches from Brownsville to Aransas

Pass.
The heaviest concentration of oil to wash ashore on Mustang
144
Island landed on 23 and 24 August 1979.
Consequently, MOUSSE-II took
place at about the peak period of oiling of Mustang Island.

5.4 Pelagic Fauna
5.4.1
Birds
Fewer true pelagics were observed during MOUSSE-II
than on MOUSSE-I.
Blue-Faced Boobies were seen twice:
an immature
at station IV-5, 15 miles off South Padre Island, and an adult at

station V-6, 40 miles from the Mexican coast.
Three Wilson's Storm
Petrels and three Cory's Shearwaters were observed some 60 miles

offshore at 26 46'N; 96 2l'W.
Some early migrant lan 'irds were
seen well out at sea; these were Mourning Dove, Barn Swallow, Piping
Plover and Ruddy Turnstone.
Only one bird, a Sandwich Tern, was seen
to ce oiled in any way (Fig. 91).

Fish frequently seen during cruise MOUSSE -II were:
flying fish, tripletail, shark, needlefish, puffers, cowfish, filefish,
Sargassum fish, and trigger fish.
Also seen were king mackerel (two
caught, but not for science), dolphin (Dorado) and remora.
Porpoises
were abundant,and on station, free-swimming blue crabs and squid were

common.
Quite frequently, fish and invertebrates were observed near
or in patches and windrows (in particular) or tarballs.
Frequently
associated with the tarballs were pieces of Saraassum, normal habitat

for many small animals.
In some instances small fish werP seen using
large tarballs as shade and protection just as they might use the
Sargassum weed or other flotsam.
In the: case of the mousse patch,
schooling fish were seen beneath the floating oil when its surface was
broken.
Also seen during this cruise were a few migrating dragonflies
and one moth (35 miles offshore).
146
5.5 Cruise Maps
145
147
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE-II. 15 to 22 Aug 1979

98W
97W
96W
28N
11l01ill1l 21 Aug
27N
014
17
26N
CRUISE TRACK; 26 to 28N; 96W to 98W
Figure 64
148
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE-II. 15

98W
97W
22 Aug 1979
96W
to
28N
Corpus Christi
+
1:!00 15 Aus
+
..,_ 0tilrzJE 21 Auc
.....
..
...
27N
...
:t
..
...
...
0 ~6 Au 9
+ "Stt-
...
.V,
+ ~ 1 ,~ l7. ~.
;u ..:ra+
~nv9
.... ++
+
+
26N
+
++
SURFACE OBSERVATIONSP 26N

to 28~..
.....
96W
to
98W
149
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE-II, 15 to 22 Aug 1979

98W
97W
96W
28N
Corpus Christi
27N
26N
STATION LOCATIONS; 26 to 28N= 96W to 98W
Fi.gure 66
150

98W
97W
96W
28N
!Ni
I /
27N
\'
10.0Kte
'
26N
5m/eao
20.0Kte
10m/sao
30.1Z!Kte
15m/sao
SURF ACE WI NOS; 26 to 28N; 96W to 98W

Figure 67
151
LONGHORN Cruise
MOUSSE~ I I.
98W
15
22 Auq 19
- 9 w
97W
I BN
Corpus Christi
1------1--H------+------j
I
!
r
~t
ll.\) ~:::f7
- 1/
L____ ---
1,:-~
)\
l \
'. -------~-
;_0:
f- ~-~,'~J1
~--- -')(?1
c::::.vcm/sec
~-
----- ---
- - 40cm/sec
__
----
SU"c '" "F CURRErfl S;
6':1
C)
98~'
152
'
t\ua
t.o
96W
97\V
98\1/
28N
_3,0
Corpus Christi
I
+2 f.j 30. 1
+2
5~9.2
+29.. :3
I~ ~a 1
C..::;o
...
29.2
+
.4
.. 29.3
+29.3
+ 2\l,. 6
+29 .. 0
+29.. 8
27N
+29. 9
+29.. 9
+28.. 2
+29.9
+29.9
+28 8
r.)
,'o
26N
r'>C""!'.,-'~
l-j(''..l
-..JL
,..._)LJ' I I
..;.
r~\ ~
'
UJ
.~
.j..._..,
Fiqure 69
t.o
'; i1
'-
\I
>-< ' ' ?
i.)
to
153
98W
96W
97W
28N
Corpus Christi
4. 4
s'"
. .,
;5. 73"
l
+ 34.6
~>ri>
~1':;,(!1
+ ':)5.8
...
+ 35.8
~66
35
;,~-
+ 36.3
+ 34.2
+
.
/
35
\
:;6\
+ 36.3
+ 36.
l
Su.~r ACE
27N
+ 33.7
I
+ 36.3
~ 34-
I
\
+ 33.3
""' "'-------"'4+ 34. 4
"
'-
~?>5
~3{,
26N
OBSERVATIONS. 26N to 28N; 96W to 98W

SALINITY (ppt)
Figure 70
154
MOUSSE~ I
LONGHORN Cruise
98W
I. 15 to 22 Aug 197S
97W
96W
28~!
+8
+B
+B
+B
27N
+B
1\
~~
+B
+8
+8
+B
26N
_ JI~F,\CE
OB~ERVA TIONS,
B=TARBALL.S
2oN to 28N;: 96W to 98W
Figure /1
155
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE- I I. 15

98W
97W
to
22 Aug 1979
96W
28N
Corpus Christi
+
+~
+S
+S
+S
--
SURFACE ORSERVATIONS. 26N

Figure 72
S=SHEEN
26N
to
28N; 96W
to
98W
156
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE- I I, 15 to 22 Aug 1979

98W
97W
96W
28N
+W
+W
+W
27N
+W
+W
+W
+W+W
+W
+W
+W
26N
W=WINDROWS
Figure 73

98W
97W
96W
28N
Corpus Christi
+H
+I-'
+H
+T
+
27N
+H
+H
t-H
IL ______
+H
+H
+H
?6N
:-T; r:- ~CE JPSERV AT IONS, 26N to 28N; 96W to 98W
I ."'W \TFR ~YACINTH; T::cTRICHODESMIUM
Figure 74
158

98W
97W
96W
28N
Corpus Christi
+G
+G
+G
+G
+G
+G
27N
+G
+G
26N
OBSERVATIONS. 26N to 28N; 96W to 98W
G=SARGASSUI1
SUR~ACE
Figure 75
159

98W
97W
96W
28N
+N
1
+N
+N
27N
+N
+N
26N
c: 1: .F ,'\CE
N-=~10
,.JH~ERV AT IONS.
0 I L SF= EN
26N to 28N;: 96W to 98W
Figure 76
160
161

98W
97W
96W
26N
MEXICO
25N
24N
CRUISE TRACK: 24N to 26N; 96W to 98W
Figure 77
162
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE- I I, 15

98\V
97W
22 Aug 1979
96W
to
..
26N
++
MEXICO
.....
... ...
......
.....
"::!: ...
+
+
+
-r
.....
++ .......
25N
...
...
..
24N

LOCATION OVERLAY
Figure 78
to
26N; 96W
to
98W
163

98W
97W
to
22 Aug 1979
96W
26N
MEXICO
25N
24N
STATION LOCATIONS; 24
to
Figure 79
26N; 96W
to
98W
164

98\V
97W
96'11
26N
MEXICO
25N
24N
+---
SUR~\:E
10. 0Kta
20.0Kta
30.0Kta
WINDS. 24N to 26N; 96W to 98W

Figure 80
5m/aeo
10m/aeo
15m/aeo
165

98W
97W
96W
26N
l/
I/
MEXICO
'
\'
'
l;
/II;_/):
;.!;://
/
///
I f v,..
/ '' "
'
j
25N
'i - - ..--1--1.1----- _ _ _ _ _ _ _J...__ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____J
..,__.
SURFAr~
-~
24N
12l.5f\Ls
212lcm/sec
l.IZlKts
412lcm/sec
5Kts
- - - - 1.
--
CURRENTS; 24 to 26N;
Figure 81
612lcm/seo
~-------'--
gaw
to 98W
166

97W
98'1/
96W
+
i.,
28
26N
+29.2
MEXICO
+29.2
+ 8. 9
+29.1
+ 28.4
+ 28.5
+29.2
+29. 4
I
1
+27.4
'L'f
l_ I
25N
+29. 3
-t29. 5
+29.5
II
24N
..,__
i i
~ L.
'Vir
,\ 1".
'I' -
,_
'~
I
.J
3ER\ ;\ TI ON3, 24N to
T 'J.. _,_-:_.
.
(C)
Figure 82
26N~
96W to 98W
167
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE- I I. 15

98W
97W
22 Aug 1979
96W
to
26N
.. 36" 3
.. :36.:3
;;G7
(
MEXICO
:36.0
:36. 0
+fastEe 1
1 +:36.1
//+:36.1
3(, + :36.
_ _ ..{6-s. 1 :36. 2
2+ 36.3
.. 36.1
:3
.. :36:1"4:36.1
+ 36. :3
+ 36. 1
+ 36.1
25N
+ :36. 4
.. :36. 5
.. :36.4
:36. 0
/
/
J(,
I
(+
.. :36. 6 .. :35. 9
+
.. :35. 9)
.. :36.:3
:36.:3
as
..
:as. 2
:>"
24N
SALINITY Cppt)
Figure 33
to
26N: 96W
to
98W
168

98\V
97\V
96'N
+B
26N
+B-8
+fiB
MEXICO
+B
+B
~~
+B
...@
+B
+Gis
+B
+B
+B
25N
+B
+B
+B
+B
+B
+B
+l!lB
+B
+B
24N
B=TARBALLS
Figure 84
169

96W
98W
97W
26N
MEXICO
+S
+S
+S
25N
+S
+S
+S
+!liS
24N
S=SHEEN.
Figure 85
170
LO~JGHORN
Cruise MOUSSE- I I, 15 to 22 Aug 1979

97W
96W
981
26N
MEXICO
25N
24N
I I
. ,I '
1-
- '
r-
... ,_
1 1f
lERVATIONS, 24N to 26N; 96W to 98W

Figure P5
171

98W
97W
96W
+W
26N
MEXICO
+W
+W
25N
+W
+W
...__~~-------~----------1
24N
W=W I NOROWS
Figure 87
172
LONGHORN Cruise MOUSSE-II, 15 to 22 Aug 1979

96W
98W
97W
+H
26N
+H
+H
MEXICO
+H
+H
+H
+H
+fUi
+H
+l:;lH
+T
25N
...
24N
H=WATER HYACINTH: T=TRICHODESMIUM
Figure 88
173

98W
97W
to
22 Aug 1979
96W
26N
MEXICO
+G
G
+G
25N
+G
+G
+G
24N
G=SARGASSUM
Figure 89
to
26N: 96W
to
98W
174

98W
97W
96W
26N
MEXICO
+N
+N
+N
?5N
L~.
+N
---1--------l
24N

N=NO OIL SEEN
Figure 90
175

98W
96W
97W
95\V
28N
27N
UNITEO
STATES
26N
Scatclaw i
+<01.1...0
Tern
MEXI 0
25N
S....llcw
24N
BIRD OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 28N; 95W to 98W

Figure 91
176
177
5.6 Cruise Log
178
LONGHORN cruise MOUSSE-II 15 Au9 1979
---------------------------------------------------------------------------REMARKS
SEA WIND
LONG(W) CSE/SPD DIST DPTH SST SSS
TIME LAT'hl
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1045
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clear jEtti
1100
190
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1200 27 41.0 97 03.0 190
29.8
0
34.64~
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1300 27
97 04.0 190 9.0
9
29.5 34.382
3~.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1307D 27 31.1 97 04.8 218 9.4

10
1350D 27 25.7
97 09.4
218
9.4
17
--------------------------------------------------------------1400 27 24.5 97 10.5 212 9.4

20 29.3 34.598 -~ 133
18
1403D 27 24.1
37 10.7
203
8.1
19
1415D 27 22.6
97 11.3
203
8.1
20
1435D 27 20.1
97 12.5
203
8.1
23
1457D 27 17.3
97 13.8
203
8.1
26
27 17.~
97 14.0
207
8.1
27
1520D 27 13.8
97 15.0
196
9.8
30
1522D 27 13.5
97 15.1
196
~.8
30
1530D 27 12.2
97 15.5
196
9.8
31
1500
1550D
2~
09.1
97 16.5
196
~.8
35
1600
27 07.5
97 17.0
171
9.8
36
1620D 27 04.2
97 16.0
164
9.8
40
1700
97 14.0
171
9.8
46
26 58.0
:2
20
29.3 36.347
162
16
29.0 36.262
089
22
28.7 36.273
323 11
-----w--------------~-----------------------------------------------------------
1800
26 52.5
?7 16.5
175
5.9
52
17
113 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
179
LONGHORN cruise MOUSSE-II 15
Au~
1979
F'AGE#
NONE 8HEE TARB MOUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC
GIL OBSERVATION REMARKS

Slick inside Jetties
Scattered sMall Pieces tar at sfc; 9reen
wot>:t; :;~.,_rbo.-...e
Li9ht sheen; soMe sMall Pieces tar; 9ree
n wo.~-er
'""*** .;..;:.;:..;.
**** ****
Li9ht sheen; few brown Particles; sar9a!

s.ur'l
1.! 1 nd
rcn..J;;:.
SMall fish at sfc; 9ulls & black terns
e.:-din9
.:.;.*** ***.,.;.
Scattered sheen; few tarballs
**** ****
Lar9E area sheen-lon striP PerPendicul
ar to wind-frontlike
Sheen alMost 1n checkerboard Pattern; da
rk
**** ****
**** ****
**** ****
**** ****
****
****
r~en
wo.t.o;:-r;:..Mo.ll fi:::-htc9ull:::.
Enterin~
sheen area; ManY tarballs, soMe

stickin-=: to hYacinth
Extensiv sheen; scattered tarballs; sor

~assuM not oiled
****
Leavin9 extensive sheen area
****
****
Sheen area aP~rOXlMatelY

Y 200 M. diaMeter)
circular:rou~hl
AlMost ccntinous sheen-lon9 ~atches; QPP

ears to be a lar9e sheen area inshore
Lar9e area of sheen
****
****
'**** ****
**** ****
Sheen contains trichadesMiuM

Lar9e accuMulation of tarballs
E'SI')
llrl
Windrows of tarballs
trichad
180
LONG~IlPN
~ruise
MOUSSE-II 1e
Au~
1979
PAGE#
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------SEA WIND
REMARVS
CSE/SPD DIST DPTH SST SSS
T Ir1E LAT OD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1815D 2 50.2 ?? 15.9 167 9.7
55
LONG(W~
1825D 26 48.5
97 15.5
167
?.7
5~
18:35D2b47.0
~715.1
lt.7
:L?
5C:
1842D 26 45.8
97 14.8
167
9.7
59
1900
9~
173
.. '
62
26 43.0
14.0
1950D 26 33.8
97 12.4
171 11.1
71
1955D 26 32.9
97 12.2
171 11.1
72
2000
97 12.0
!73 11.1
73
26 32.0
17
28.2 36.342
15
28.3 36.309
0'?2 12
100 17
---------------------------------------------------------------------~----------
2010D 26 30.7
97 11.8
170
7.6
74
202~D
26 29. 2
9? 11. 5
170
7. 6
76
2100
26 24.5
97 10.5
162
7.6
81
14
28.0 36.329
130 18
2200
26 16.5
'~7
08.5
167
89
15
27.8 36.329
134 17
2243
26 11.5
97 07.0
17 '
''
7.2
2300
26 11.5
97 07.0
177
0.0
27.4 36.347
110
2315
26 11.5
97 07.0
16
94
16
94
16
Sta. IV-4
LONGHtlRN cru1se MOUSSE-II 16 Au 1979
TIME
LAT(I~)
LONGO.D
0000
26 11.5
97 07.0
0315
26 11.5
97 07.0
0440
26 11.5
97 07.0
0500
26 12.0
97 03.0
097 !0.9
0530
26 11.7
97 00.5
097
CSE/SPD
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
REMARKS
WIHD
Sta IV-4
16
~~~
0.0
94
16
222
Off lnchor
1S
4.5
Sta IV-4
98
20
~:
153
102
27
164
Anchor I 'l-
181
LONGHORN
cruis~
MOUSSE-II 15
Au~
1979
PAGE#
IWNE :o:HEE TAF:E: t10U:;: IHIIII SARG TF:IC H'IAC

.
~~.,.,..,
-
.,.,..,.,..,.,..,.,.
OIL OE::;.ER\'ATION REtIARi;S
SMall
-~ (1. :::. $
""'""**
.;;.'io-.;r:..;i,
ar~~
w.
she~n
lar~e
Jt
****
*""'**
****
*"t-o;,+.
tarballs
sar
Uf'l
SMall area of sheen;
*~**
;;..;,:..:,:..:.;.
sar~assuM
Wtndrows of
ta~balls(soMe
lar9~
in windrows
tarball~;
~~-
hyacinth coated
oi l/to.r
Windrows alMost continuous; sheen hard

o see due to wind
Windrows of sMall tarballs
****
****
**** ****
""*** ***"'
Sheen
~i/
lo.r<:.~e
en bleedin9
tJ.rbo.lls; ;;..t,een can be -::.;-
fro~
tarballs
Lar9e Patch sheen,rainbow colors,diesEl

odor
Heav~
****
**** ****
Very heavY sheen;
*.,;,**
****
sheen; diesel odor
es of
~ousse
lo.r::teC'?0 sa. YdS)
'-'0.1:-ct~
w/i sheen
Conttnous windrows of tarballs; soMe
**** ****
**** ****
****
.,.;***
s~r
9Q.SSUN
On anchcr I \1-4; LORAH-A
;:-:st_. iMated
rob 1 eM:s-r.>os i 1:. ion
Windrows of tarballs; saMPles taken
**'**
****
LONGHORII cruise MOUSSE-II 16 Au 1979

IWNE SHEE TARS MOllo: HIND SARG TRJC HYAC
**.;.;.*
****
****
****
**** HYacinth
****
coat~d
w/ tar/oil
AMount of oil Passin varies; at Present

verY sMall aMount
182
LOilGHO~H
T H1E
Cfl.ll.=. .:
tlOU::.:::E-11
16 hu9 1':01'?
SEA
LAT "fD
0600D 26 11.7
9? 00.5
045
0.0
102
0650D 26 11.7
97 00.5
045
0.0
102
1030
26 11.7
97 00.5
102
1150
26 11.7
97 00.5
102
24
1215
26 1:::.5
~7
21
PHGE#
WIND
REMAR~S
Of'f o.nchvr
2
100
To F't l"E-o.bl
062 27
Clear Jettv
062 20
067 16
067
(13.0
247
9.4
106
1225D 26 08.2
97 03.5
229
3.3
107
1300D 26 06.9
97 05.0
229
3.3
109
1320D 26 06.2
97 05.9
229
11 (I
1410D 26 04.4
97 es.2
229
112
1420
26 04.0
97 08.7
062
0.7
113
1500
26 05.7
97 03.5
062
"I,..,,
118
1600
26 09.2
96 55.0
067
8.4
126
1620
26 10.0
96 54.0
067
3.6
128
1830D 26 10,0
96 54.0
045
0.0
128
1850D 26 10.0
96 54.0
045
0.0
128
St.o. I'/-5
1940D 26 10.0
96 54.0
045
0.0
128
:3t o. I '/-5
2010D 26 10.0
96 54.0
045
6.0
128
2020
26 10.0
96 54.0
097
0.0
128
2040D 26 09.5
96 52.5
111
4,3
129
2052D 26 09.2
96 51.6
111
4.3
130
27.4
29.2 36.278
37
37
097 17
Anchor IV-5
u/w to IV-2
183
LOt~GHORN
c.rui.;..;: tlOUS":;E-II 16 Au9
197~
NONE SHEE TAR8 MOU<; HHIII '3ARG TRIC HYAC
****
**~*
F'RGE#
OIL 08SEPVATION REMARKS
Nu~~rous tarballa~hYacinth~
f/Oi 1
HYdralic line on
cran~
coated w/ to.
.ruPtured
Sto. IV-l,PrePare for dive
oPerations~see
dive- lo9
Lo.r9e :sheen o.reo.
**** ****
****
**** ;.;.;:.**
****
****
~J/
f1o:-o.t...y concent ro.r, ion
to.rballs in center;o.PProx 5nMi off PI
**;;.*
Lar~e area sheen~ low concentration of

arballsio.PProx lnMi off PI
Docked USCG PI Sta to Pick uP current. to'J>:
ter
De~art
**** ****
**** ****
**** ****
**** ****
**** ****
**** ****
****
****
****
****
PI, head to IV-5
Windrows sheen W' tarballs
ali~ned
axes, Nuch hYacinth, fe~oJ subsfc J:~art
Windrows of shen
W/
alon9
3-5in tarballs
Tarballs not concntrated
****
****
****
SMall tarballs nbundant at sfc;tarballs

present at 15ft :
Tarbo.lls to 65ft :;::,
SE-E'
divers lo"::
****
****
**** ****
****
****
To.rba.lls obvious in F:'la.nkton t,ow
184
LONGHilRN cruise MOUSSE-II 16
Au~
1?7?
888
SEA
WIND
REI1AP.KS
LATOD
LONG(W)
CSE/SPD
21ee
26 09.0
?6 51.0
097
o.t:
130
4(1
2:3. 1 :36. 306
097 25
2230
26
0~.0
?6 42.0
0?7
8.3
-=-~
1 o.
4~
28.7 36.193
0~7
18
2205D 26 07.4
9 41.6
042
6.9
2215D 26 08.8
96 40.7
042
6.9
141
26 10.0
?6 39.0
147
6.9
143
50
28.8 36.329
068
LONGHIJ~N
SST
TinE
2235
DIST DPTH
PAGE#
Anchor IV-2
cruii.t- t10USSE-: I 17 Au-g 1979
Tl11E
L8T(N)
LONG;fl:
0145
26 10.0
96 39.0
0400
26 10.0
96 39.0
0430
26 10.0
0450
26
CSE/SPD
DIST DPTH
0. 0
143
50
1!5
0.0
143
50
96 39.0
052
0.0
143
50
e7.:
96 3.e
~52
10.6
146
49
'510
26 06.5
96 33.:
~;.7
7.6
149
esas
26 07.4
96 32.0
c~ 7
6.5
0530
26 10.2
9~
30.0
0540
26 :0.0
2~.5
osee
26
:a.e
9~
29.~
:~-
SSS
SEA
REMARICS
I-IlND
2
2
160
052 10
59
114 10
1s1
62
135
154
176
5. 1
154
64
0.0
154
04
154
64
1030
26
te.e
96 2?.5
1200
26 68.2
96 22.5
0~7
4.7
161
9~
22.5
045
0.0
161
?~
22. 5
0.0
161
1215D 26 02.2
SST
28.9
Sto. IV-2
Off anchot
Anchor I'/-6
2
16'?
5
Seo: o i 1 c.ct"'l
Ot' f o.nc.hJ r
154
91
0~7
Anchor IV-3
So:e o i 1 c.cwt
~1
130
Ur.- o.nc.ho r
185
LONGHORN
crulS
MOUSSE-II
1~
Au~
197~
NONE BHEE TARS MOUS WIND SARG TR!C H1AC
PAGE#
Oil OSSER'IAT!ON RE11ARKS
****
'****
F~w
****
****
~***
****
****
tarballs at sfc
Larqe
tarbnll~
Sfc fairlY
clean~scattered
tarballs
****
LONGHORN cru1se MOUSSE-II 17
Au~
1979
NONE BHEE TARS MOUB WIND SARG TRIC HYAC
****
**** ****
**** ****
**** ****
****
*'***
****
*.,_.**
*"-H:~
****
NuMerous hyacinths coated w/ tar/oil;sMa

11 shark&flyin9,needle,~Puffer fish
****
****
Tarballs approx 5cM diaMeter
****
VerY few tdrballs at sfc
****
****
****
PrePare for dive, see dive lo9
186
LOtlGHI)F:t-l
T!11E
+:.rl.ll~-0:
t10!_I::;:;E-I I 17 Au:;; 1'?7'?
PAGE#
LAT.II
SEA
1600D 26 0?.5
?S 22.5
1615
26 10.0
96 22.5
1850
26 10.0
96 22.5
1858D 26 99.4
?6 23.1
000
~.2
6.4
tHt~D
162
IJ/t.<l
16:3
Dr1ft 1'/-7'
? 1
218
105
'?
c./c.
164
2
124 15
2000
26 00.0
96 22.8
187
9.2
173
104
28.2 36.313
089 16
2100
25 51.1
'36 25.0
19:2
9.:2
182
106
:29.2
36.3~:1
100 20
2130D 25 47.0
96 25.5
186
8.0
186
2300
9t: 28.0
192
:;,(
1!19
124
28.8 35,'?00
114 11
Au<:~
1'379
25 34.5
LONGHI)Rt~
crui::..; t10US:3E-I I H:
TIME
LATOD
LONGO~)
CSE/SPD
0000
25 26.0
96 29.0
192
8.6
207
143
28.9 36.091
117 12
0100
25 21.0
96 34.0
219
6.7
214
144
29.1 36.119
116 11
0155
25 14.(1
":lt'7 :;:,S.f1
1}9;-'
;3.b
222
14f:
29.2 36.128
05'? 12
0210D 25 13.6
96 3?.0
138
5.3
223
6225
25 12.0
9~
36.0
0510
25 13.0
9~
36.0
0542
25 15.0
96 36.0
0615
25 17.0
96 37.0
267
3.8
230
24.::
2. 1
230
0620Il 25 16. '?
~6
~:7.
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
to IV-7
t::~s
REIlARKS
IHIHI
:.-'C
'3~~1
Dt"ift V-7
247
9.6
226
161
088
143
241 21
228
u/vJ to
v-.;
P 1 o.nk '/-6
187
LONGHORN
cru1s~
F'AGE#
MOUSSE-II 17 Au 1979

Continious tarballs between IV-3
IV-7
****
Occasionnl windrows;sMall aMt sar9assuM;
****
****
**** **.;;.*
O.PPt"OX
30
POt"POiseH
b f
i::.h COMMOn
****
****
TJ.rball concentration inc.reasin9; thick
*.;;.**
Tarbo.lls scarce
indrows(l~
Piece~
r..J
tar)
****
NOI~E
SHEE TARB t10US WIHD SARG TRIC H'IAC
Patches of ManY tarballs alternatin9

c.l eo. r areas
****
****
***"*
****
****
****
****
****
****
Lo.r~E
****
Blue face boobY,barn swallows
**** ****
**** ****
****
****
****
M1.~ch
w/
Mor.:- oi 1 in 10-anco.ke forM; hYacinth=
coated w/ tar/oil
Pancake tarballs & coated hYacinth

;2 doves;shorebirds
188
LO~IGHORtl
.TH1E
1180
crui!~
MOUSSE-II 18 Au9 1979
LfiT<H.l
LONG(W)
25 !3.0
96 47.0
CSE/SPD
DIST
1.7
240
1. 4
241
DPT~
SST
SSS
SEA
28.5
fAGE#
,;
loll tiD
REI1ARKS
176
St.J. V-6R
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1239D 25 12.0 9S 49.3 090 -. .... 242

.;.,,:.
1235D 25 12.8
96 49.5
25 12.0
96 51.0
1310
090
2.3
242
LJ/W
t.o V-5
244
1505D 25 12.6
9~
51.0
645
0~0
244
1600
25 12.0
9~
51.0
26:
e.o
244
1625
25 1!.5
96 51.0
267
1700
25 09.0
96
21 13.2
1?40
25 11.0
97 00.0
254
Anchot V-4
1745
25 li.B
97
254
St, o. V-4
1930
25 11.0
97 00.0
103
0.0
254
57
103 14
1S55
25 11.0
97 00.0
27
Q.0
254
57
_,
1 ,. '
133 15
37
098 12
Anchor V-3
37
155 11
u/w to V-2
5~.0
~0.0
252
21J&OD 2.5 10.7
-??
ae. B
24:"
9. 1
25;.
210e
0~.0
97 10.0
2~2
9.1
26~
25 05.0
97 12.0
05.0
?7 12.0
2325
25
~5
LONGHI)RN
cru15~
3.0:
267
MOUSSE-II
T HIE
LAT (II)
LOHGO~-'
00!5
:;s
97
~9
0.0
zs~
8~9
1Q~~
CS!::: '.;PI-
tt<'
2.1
27'1
ol145D 25 e7.3
9:- 15.?
2.31
2.1
27'2
0220
~T
25~
2.1
2T6
25 05.0
19.0
UP o.ncho t"
195 13
U/1.>.1
59
134 13
3..0$6
41
DIST 1JFTH
ts.o
B8.0
222 14
27
3:ST
SSS
SEA
~II
HD
!60 11
'.,1-4
Sto. V-4
REMARKS
Ancho~
V-2
189
LONGHORN
cru1~e
MOUSSE-II 18 Au
****
****
****
****
**"'*
**** ****
**** *~**
PAGE#
1~79
****
****
****
****
**~*
****
OIL 08SERVATION RniARKS

L~r9e Patch~s
of tarballs
VerY thick Mousse;exten3ive;sa~Ple;aircr

aft sPraYs disPersant
Aircraft c:Jeparts~Mousse appears concentr
ated ~ thickened
Receive caMera,filMJSO.MPle lables,&info

re ovrfli9hts froM helicopt~r
**** ****
**** ****
****
**** ****
""***
****
**** **.;;.*
****
****
""***
****
****
****
****
**** ****
****
****
****
****
****
*.;;.**
~10USSE ... I
w/i slick on sta V-4
****
I 19 Au"'3 1979
NONE SHEE TARS MOUS WIND SARG TRIG HYAC
****
****
'E
117 Pieces oiled hYacinth & 21 Pieces 1.m

oiled sarCJO.SSUI'l observed.~.~,/i 12 Min offp
SaMPlin~
**** ****
****
****
****
ed)& sheen
****
.;;.;:.**
LONGHORtl c rui s
C:ont. i nuOllS windrows, t,a rbo.ll s (Panc.ak e
s~all
tarballs in
windrow~
190
F'AGE#
SEA
26.0
26~
1~.9
282
0315D 25 04.0
97 26.0
045
6.6
282
0525
25
~4.0
97 26.0
0. (1
2E:2
0535
25 85.0
97 26.0
0300
25 04.0
9~
Plo.JW
284
18
295
20
27.8 3i::. 492

27.4 36.501
97 28.0
0800
24 48.0
97 28.0
197
o.~
302
22
0900
24 40.0
97
2~.8
219
8.0
310
..;...:.
1000
24 31.0
97 31.0
197
?.2
319
lf:
:.::e.s
?;- :.::1.2
1=--h
3.1
320
1100
2J. 28.0
97 :32.0
207
3.1
~:23
18
1200
24 10.0
97 39.0
1330D 24 10.4
97 35.0
084
.,
,;.,..;
1350D 24
10.~
97 34.1
084
2.5
1445D 24 10.8
97 31.6
084
.:;.,
1525D 24 11.0
97 29.8
084
'
.:. -'
..
35(1
1530D 24 11. 0
97 29. 6
IZ184
2. 5
350
24 11.2
97 27.6
084
2.5
352
1640D 24 11.3
97 26.5
084
2.5
353
1905
97 20.0
24 12.0
149 15
283
24 55.0
1~15D
lHilD
18
0700
1010i) 24
163 11
219
26.9 36.47'5
1:~:::
27.5 36.391
207 12
Anchor \II-1
342
"'"
UP o.ncho t
346
..
t.>ji,J
28.7 36.
...)
0~39
Se.e oi 1
cofl
Off o.nchor
191
LONGHORN crulSi MOUSSE-II 1? Au1 1979
PAGE#
0 I L OBSEF:VAH OH REtIARKS
L1 P-l.: oi 1 1~ sfo:1 ::O 11 r~ re::.e:nt.

red ~ dark-alMost li<tuid
**** ****
*.;.,** ****
;;.~.;.,* ****
Hto.vY ::-he en ~' sMall \ o. PProx lCf'r)

s;see:Ms to 9~t thicker further S
HeavY sheen &lar9er tarballs
~-arbo.ll
~soMe
tarbc
lls bleedin9
Clear;sheen aPPearin9 on horizon
****
****
**** ****
**** ****
HeavY sheen
**** ****
.;,.*** ****
Lar9e area
**** ****
**""* ****
Lar9e area sheen'
t~
SNO:ll to.rballs
sheen~few
tarballs
av~
tarball concentrJt
icn
Sfc water fairly clean

Divers in water,se:e diver lo9;Zodiac col
lectin~ sfc saMPles
192
LONG W)
1915
CSE 'SPD
DIST DPTH
24 12.0
97' 20.0
1935D 24 08.9
97 18.2
15~
10.S
363
2000
24 05.0
97 16.0
097 10.5
3~7
99
2040
24 07.5
97 09.5
097
7.5
373
174
2055
24 07.0
97 09.0
067
.::.. '
..,
374
SST
SSS
SEH
IH tH1
t.J.'LJ
2200D 24 09.1
~7
06.5
~147
232BD 24 11.7
97 03.5
047
.,
29.0 35.911
136 15
097 10
'/!-:~:
f,O
Plan!:
VI-~
Sto. '/I-3
o-._. ( {
2.8
381
LONGHORN crul:E' MOUSSE-II 20 At.F.; 1979
TI11E
LATOn
LONG(Wl
CSE/SPD
0(1\31
24 13.0
97 02.0
092
0108
3.5
DIST DPTH
38$
252
SST
SSS
29.1 36.254
SEA
REMARK~;
I.JI !IIi
119 21
130 16
29.1 36.157
100 12
C/C.
005
24 04.0
96 55.0
012 11.2
394
0145D 24 13.7
96 52.7
012 13.2
404
0200
24 17.0
96 52.0
012 13.2
407
732
29.4 36.340
121 10
:>400tth!
0250
24 30.9
96 49.0
015 15.9
420
585
29.5 35.995
!54 11
29.5
0355
24 39.0
96 47.0
01~
8.5
430
516
29.5 36.032
128
0455
24 47.0
~~
42.0
087
9.2
439
293
29.3 36.416
226
0530D 24 52.8
96 40.9
010 10.1
445
0555
24 57.0
96 40.0
057 10.2
449
201
29.4 36.116
229
0650
25
0~.0
96 36.0
057 10.3
45~
19~
29.2 8i.070
212 10
465
169
29.2 36.175
.,:.,:.,
0730D 25 12.0
9~
32.7
027 10.0
0750
96 31.0
057 10.1
25 15.0
,.-,..,
193
LONGHOR/1
cru1~e
MOUSSE-Il 19
Au~
PAGE#
197?
NONE SHEE TARB MOUS WIND SARG TPIC HYAC

4 barn swallows
****
****
NuMerous tar/oil coated
h~acinth~
Net unidentifed f1Yin9 f1sh
LONGHORN cruise MOUSSE-II 20 Au9 197?

****
****
****
****
****

Several windrows of heavilY tar/oil coat
ed lar9e hYacinths
****
~***
NO 011 visible w/ search li9ht
****
VerY littlE oil seen
****
****
****
****
****
****
***~
****
****
**** ****
**** ****
****
F1Yin9 fish
ManY f1Yin9 fish;showers in area
Position esti~ated due to inabiltY to ob
tain accurate LORAN readin9 in squall
194
F'AGE#
~lOtlE
'3HEE
TA:-:~8
110U'3
~ll liD
:::R~G
'?
TF; I C HYRC
0815D 15 20.8
?6 29.3
615 14.4
475
0830D 25 24.3
96 28.3
015 14.4
478
0850
25 29.0
96 27.0
057 14.4
483
157
29.2 36.122
183 10
0950
25 35.0
96 26.G
012
6.0
489
148
29.1 36.092
106 13
1030D 25 43.0
96 24.0
013 12.3
497
1050
25 47.0
''6 23.0
352 12.3
501
150
2:3,7 36.022
128 12
1150
25 56.5
96 22.0
002
9.5
511
126
28.9 36.344
137 10
1300
26 08.0
96 22.0
9.8
522
102
29.2 36.322
134 13
1305D 26 08.8
96 22.0
005 10.0
523
1400
96 21.0
002 10.0
532
86
28.8 36.103
153 11
26 18.0
077
1435D
8.2
1500
26 29.0
96 22.0
002 11.0
652
112
29.9 34.389
149 13
1608
26 37.0
96 20.0
002
8.2
540
238
29.9 33.316
143
1650D 26 45.8
96 20.8
275 10.5
549
1700
26 47.5
96 21.0
002 10.5
551
397
29.9 33.726
120 13
1800
26 55.0
96 21.0
002
7.5
558
408
29.9 34.140
111
1900
27 04.0
96 20.0
002
9.0
567
289
29.8 34.177
117
2000
27 13.0
9~
20.0
002
9.0
576
192
29.5 35.559
124
2025~
27 15.7
96 18.5
579
183
St.o. II-7
2230
27 16.0
96 19.0
580
161
IJ/W
Plo.nk
195
.LONGHORN
HOt~E
crt11se
MOUSSE-II 20
SHEE TAPB MOUS
~ItiD
Au~
1979
SARG TPIC HYAC
PAGE#
OIL 08SEPVATION
PEMAR~S
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------**+* Frequent hYacinth! coat~d

tar/oil
b!/
*~**
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
146 windrows in 15
****
Tern w/oil on underbody
~in ~eriod
****
***~
*~**
****
****
****
****
15 windrows Per Min ; ManY flyinq
fi~h
***~
Out of lar~e sheen-tarball area; 5catter

ed Pancake tarballs
****
****
****
****
****
70 windrows in 8 Min
****
+.++.+.
****
****
**~*
*~**
3 Wilsons & J CorYs
****
****
****
****
Occasional sMall tarballs

ths
~I
SMall tarballs
Very little sfc oil
****
****
****
****
Little sfc oil
W/
afew
h~acin
196
LONGHORN
TH1E
LAT:tP
2330
27
LONGHORN
MOUS;E-Ii 20
~rui~i
197?
F:EI1iiF'I:o
1~.2
9~
cru1se
22.0
MOUSSE-II 21
nu
THIE
LATOI!
LO~lG
0000
27
1~.~
96 22.7
0145
27 17.7
96 22.7
317
0245D
2~
20.9
96
26.~
0315
27 22.5
9~
04BGD 27 22.5
,.., . . . . .-.~.
Au~
Au~
CSE.'SPD
1979
DI ST DPTH
SEA
130
8.0
586
130
320
4.9
591
2?.0
137
593
96 29.0
045
0.0
593
137
0.0
593
1:'
95
0530
27 23.5
96 27.5
279
2.5
595
95
0600
27 23.2
96 32.5
27~
8.~
600
0630
27 24.0
96 36.0
0850D 27 23.6
96 34.7
160
0.5
604
0910
~r::
34.5
307
0.5
604
96 35.2
331
8.3
605
.::..::. ....
WIHD
340 15
Gft Anchor
Plo.nL
.;.o
0915D 27 23.?
SSS
5:::6
1)450
27 23.5
:.ST
176
I I-6
Rncho r I I-.:.
160 11
St..;; I l-6
191
Plo.nk II-5
:3
LONGHORN cruise MOUSSE-II 21 Au; 1??9

T li'IE
LAT (tl':o
LONG(WJ
1025
27 28.5
96 44.7
1030D 27 28.6
96 J4.8
316
1.1
615
1220D
2~
96
~6.4
316
1.1
617
1300
27 30.5
96 47.0
357
1320
2~
2S.~
3J.5
~~
50.0
1350D 27 33.i
9i
~9.~
CSE./SPD
DIST DPTH
615
01S
- . '
SST
SSS
SEA
2
4. 1
621
0.~
~22
WIIID
Plo.nk I I-2.
197
LONGHORN cruise MOUSSE-II 20
ALl9
PAGE# 10
197S
NONE SHEE TARB MOllS WIND SARG TR!C HYAC
fiONE SHEE TARE:
~lOllS
WIIID SARG TR!C H\'AC
t~c
.:.f.:. ,.o.r/oil :;.een or collec:r:.ed o.t
II-
****
A few tar/oil coated hYacinths & to.rbQll

s seen enroute to II-6
**~*
Windrows of tar/oil coated hYacinths R P

ancake tarballs runnin9 po.ro.llel to sh1P
****
****
.;;..;;.;...;..
****
A few sMall tarbo.lls
****
****
Vo::ry little oil
NONE SHEE TARS MOUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC
****
****
Much
flotso~'well
oiled
Divers in water; see dive lo9
198
LOtiGHORN
cru1!e
MOUSSE-II 21
Au~
19~9
T HIE
LAT, tl
1435
27
33.~
9~
49.0
322
0.~
622
1500
27
3~.0
9~
54.0
317 12.0
627
1600
27 42.0
317
634
96 57.0
6.5
PAGE~
204
22
11
Plan~
II-~
153 14
u. to II-1
029 10
Anchor Ii-1
199
LONGHORN
cru1s~
MOUSSE-II 21 Au9 1979
tiONE SHEE TARE: NOIJ:; IHIW SAF:G TR!C H'IAC
F'AGE# ll
OIL OBSEPVAT!ON REMARKS
**.;.:..;.:.
****
FairlY clean water , isolated tarballs
****
200
5.7 Sample Log
201
LOr!GHORtl
CF~U
I SE tlOUS:::E-I I: :3AtIPLE LOG
>=o.::~.:-
S TFI#-'DATE TH1E
ACT I \1 IT',' CODE
LRTdli
15 AJ.l::t
:?.FC-1, SFC-2
26 5:3.0 '317 14.0
1700
LOII<IL<
DEPTH
F:Et1AF:KS
S1.<rf
Tric.h. + Tor
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------St. o 1'.,1-4
So.r,r. 1
STD 7
26 11.5 . ' 07.(! 0-14
6 Ro;.e:t
2'345
TRANS I\t'-4
26 11.5 97 07.0 (1-14
2329-2~=40
16
Au:;~
0[115
(H}45
0100
0115
0130
0"
FLUOR 1'/-4
1'1-4-1
LVFF'OC I \1-4-2
l'.,.'FPOC 1'1-4-5
LliFPOC I'l-4-10
L\!FF'OC
0335
l'/P-IV-4-5
L'..'F'-I'l-4-1
L'/P-11/-4-10
L 1/P-! 'l-4-14
0627-0642
STD 8
0230
f1300
0315
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
~~
t ~
11.5 '37 07.0

11.5 97' 07.(1
11.5 '37 07.0
11.5 0"' 07.0
11.5 97 07.0
11.5 97 07.0
11.5 97 07.0
11.5 97 07.0
11.5 97 07.0
0-14
1
2
U)
1
1
10
14
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sto. I ',0-1 0550

SFC !V-1
26 11.7 97 00.5 0-25
0650
0700
0740
0755
0810
13835
0910
0920
0940
1105
1145
1210
TRAI1S IV-1
FLUOR IV-1
LVFPOC IV-1-1
LVFPOC IV-1-2
L'./FPOC IV-1-5
L'iFPOC IV-1-10
CARS IV-1-5(1)
CAB IV-1-5(2j
L '/P Iv'-1-1
LVP 1'/-1-5
L'/P IV-1-10
SHEEt! I '/-1
GRAB 111-1-25
PLRtiK IV-1
26 11.7 97 00.5
26 11.7 97 (10.5
26 11.7 ~7 0tl, 5
26 11.7 97 00.5
97 00.5
97 00.5
97 00.5
97 00.5
97 00.5
97 00.5
97 00.5
0" 00.5
" 00.5
97
26 11.7 97 00.5
26 11.7 97 00.5
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
11.7
0-25
0-25
6 Rosette-
=llf')P
l e::.
1-25
1
2
5
10
5
5
1
5
10
1
25
0-25
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------I'l-5 1638
FLUOR IV-5
26 10.0 96 54.0 0-30
S~a
1655
1700-2000
1715
1735
1755
1815
1825
184~
1840
1900
1904-1914
1930
1930
1945
2045
LIIFPOC I I.J-5-1
26
26
L'v'FPOC I '1-5-2- 26
LVF?OC IV-5-5 26
LIJFPOC Il!-5-10 26
LVP IV-5-1
26
GRAB IV-5-35
26
L\/P IV-5-5
26
SFC IV-5
26
L'IP IV-5-10
26
STD 9
26
TRANS IV-5
26
L'/P !V-5-15
26
LVP IV-5--20
26
PLANK I'/-5
26
CM IV-5-1
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
96 54.0
96 54.0
96 54.0
96 54.0
54.0
96 54.0
96 54.0
% 54.0
96 54.0
96 54.0
96 54.6
96 54.0
96 54. (1
96 54.0
96 54.0
Q'
.o
1
1
2
5
10
1
35
5
5
10
0-30
0-35
15
20
0-35
9 Rosette
SO.NPlE':5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sto. I 1/-2 2300

SFC IV-2
26 10.0 96 39.0 :surf
17 Au:;
2330-0480
0000
0014-0034
0015
(1040
0055
0155
Ct1 IV-2-1
FLUOR I'/-2
STD 10
L'/FPOC
LVFFOC
L'v'FPOC
LVFPOC
26 10.8 96
26 10.0 96
2S 10.0 96
IV-2-1 -0 10.0 96
IV-2-2 26 10.0 96
I '/-2-5 26 10.0 96
IV-2-10 -0 10.0 96
,.
,.
39.0
39.0
39.0
39.0
39.0
39.0
39.8
13-30
0-49
1
2
5
10
12
F~oset t
Sllf'lf:l 1 t::.
202
LQ!.lGHO!t~H
'3TA~L"DrlTE
CRUISE MOU3':.:E-I I; :3Ar1PLE LOG
TIME
ACT I\' IT\'
CODE
02(1(1
L\'P I '/-2-1
021(1
0225
i... \ F'
0225
02'~:0
03013
13338
0345
0445
IV-2-5
L'/F I\'-2-10
::TD 11
':...\1? !i,l-2-20
L'/P I\-'-2-30
TRANS I'\''-2
GF:A8 I V-2-4'3
PLANk !'.'-'=
Pl':l~
LATOn
LOtH I~)
26 10.0 96 39.0
26 10.0 '?6 39.0
26 10.0 ?6 39.0
26 113. 0 '?6 39.0
26 10.0 96 39.0
26 1 0. ~3 ~6 39.0
26 10.0 96 39.0
26 10.0 96 39.0
26 10.0 96 39.0
DEPTH
P.Et1MRf~S
1
5
10
0-49
tlN.l 9(160
20
3[1
0-4~
49
0-49
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------a. IV-C 0153(1

L'/P IV-6-1
26 10.0 '36 29.5
:::. t
i)634-t1646
tb40-l325
0640
0700
~720
0738
0740
0750
0820
0840
0900
8910
0920
STD 12
Ct~
I'l-6-1
L\IP IV-6-5
L'IP 1\1-6-10
TRANS IV-6
26 10.0 96 29.5
26 10.0 o.b 29.5
26 10.0
26 10.0
26 10.0
STD 13
26 10.0
L\/P IV'-6-20
26 10.0
L\IFPOC IV-o-1 26 10.0
L".IFPOC !V-6-2 26 10.0
LVFPOC IV-6-5 26 10.0
LVFPOC IV-6-10 26 10.0
FLUOR 11/-6
26 10.0
GRAB I\1-6-62
26 10.0
96 29.5
29.5
29.5
29.5
29.5
29.5
29.5
29.5
96 29.5
96 29.5
96 29.5
CM IV-3-1
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
% 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96
o.b
96
96
96
96
96
0-62
1
5
10
0-62
0-62
12
Ro~~tte
SO.f'IP 1 ES
Mod 9060
20
1
2
5
18
0-35
62
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1210
FLUOR IV-3
26 138.2 96 22.5 8-30
Sta I '/-3
1230-1515
1230
1300
1300
1320
1320
1330
134(3
1355
1415
143B
1440-1500
1500
1500
1510
L\IFPOC IV-3-1
L"/FPOC IV-3-2
IV-3-1
LVFPOC !V-3-5
LVP IV-3-5
SFC I\1-3( 1)
LVFPOC IV-3-18
LllP
LVP IV-3-10
TRANS !V-3
SHEEN J'.,.'-3
ST!I 14
SFC IV-3(2)
STD 15
PLANK I'l-3
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
2~
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
08.2
08.2
08.2
08.2
08.2
08.2
88.2
08.2
08.2
88.2
08.2
08.2
08.2
08.2
08.2
1
1
2
1
5
5
Sur I
10
10
0-92
Su rt'
0-n
10 Rosette
0-92
Mod 9060
Surf
SO.tlP 1 E'S
0-92
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1620-1845 CM !V-7-1
26 10.0 96 22.5 1
Sta !V-7
1620
1620
1620
1640
1640
1640
1700
1700
1720
1739-1754
1750
1800
1817
L'JFPOC !V-7-1
SFC IV-7(1)
LI/P IV-7-1
SFC IV-7(2)
SFC IV-7<3)
LVFPOC I'-l-7-2
LVP !V-7-10
LVFPOC !V-7-5
L'-.IFPOC IV 7 10
STD 16
FLUOR !','-7
STD 17
TRAijS !\.'-7
26 10.0 96 22.5
26 10.0 96 22.5
26 10.0 96 22.5
26 10.0 96 22.5
26
26
26
26
26
26
26
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
26 10.0
26 10.0
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
96 22.5
1
Surt'
1
Surf
Surf
2
10
5
10
0-100
0-30
0-100
0-97
So.r"CJO..S.SI.ll"'
Sa r<Jo.~suM & HYa.cint.h
9 Rose-t.te
11od 9060
SQf'IP
10: S
203
LCtlGHOP.N CF.:UI:::E
'3TA#.-DATE
~11lll'3 'oE -II
: SAMPLE LOG
f'l ':''?
LOfl ( W>
TIIlE
ACT I'/ I TY CODE
LAHti:.
1820
1850
GRAB !V-7-H10
26 10. 0 ''6 22.5

26 ~9.2 ~6 23.2
0300
LVFPOC V-7-1
STD 18
L\IFPOC V-7-5
PLAI~K
IV-7
DEPTH
PEIlAF;KS
100
0-97
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------'/-7
:3245
SFC 1/-7
25 12.0 .o 36.0 surf"
0'
:: t 0.
.,o,.
Al...t9
0302-03~:9
0330
0345
0355
0440
>)455
053(1
0600
L\.'FPOC 1/-7-10
STD 19
LVP \1-7-1
L','P V-7-5
LVP V-7-1@
PLAI~K
V-7
25 12.0 96 36.0
25 12.0
25 12.0
25 12.0
25 12.6
25 12.0
25 13.@
25 13.0
96
96
96
96
96
96
36.0
36.0
36.0
36.0
36.0
36.0
96 36.0
25 13.0 96 36.0
0-168
5
10
0-168
1
5
10
12 Rosette
Soli'H~'
1&S
Mod 9060
0-168
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sta V-6
13715
PLANK V-6
25 13.0 96 47.0 0-95
0735
0745
0800
0810-0840
0815
0815-1030
0845
0845
0910
0910
0940
0940
0940
0945
1000
1005
LVFPOC V-6-5
LVP V-6-1
LVFPOC l,_}-6-10
LVP V-6-5
LVP V-6-10
FLUOR Y-6
CARB \1-$-5(1)
CARB 'v'-B-5(:2)
LVP V-6-15
TRANS V-6
47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
25 13.0 96 47.0
FLUOR <i-6A
L'/FPOC V-6A-1
CN V-6A-1
SFC V-6A<2)
25 12.0 96
25 12.0 96
25 12.0 96
25 12.0 96
FLUOR Y-5
L'JP Y-5-1
LVFPOC V-5-1
CM V-5-1
LVP Y-5-5
LVFPOC '1-5-2
L'JP V-5-10
LVFPOC V-5-5
LVP \1-5-15
LVFPOC 1..'-5-10
GRAB 'J-5-70
STD 22
TRANS Y-5
STD 23
PLANK V-5
25 12.9
25 12.0
25 12.0
25 12.0
25 12.0
25 12.0
25 12.0
25 12.0
STD 20
SFC '.J-6
L'IFPOC './-6-1
STD 2!
L'.'FPOC './-6-2
Cl1 V-6-1
25 13.0 %
0-95
Mod 9060
sur~
1
0-95
9 Rosette
:SO.f"'P 1 e-~.
1
5
1
10
5
10
0-30
5
5
15
0-90
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sta V-6A 1!15

Hea.vY Mousse
SFC Y-6A(!)
25 12.0 96 36.0 surf
1120
1200
1210
1210
36.0
36.0
36.0
36.0
0-3<1
1
1
Surf
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51. e
96 51. e
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
96 51.0
0-30
1
1
1
5
2
19
5
15
10
70
0-70
0-70
0-70
0-70
t1ousse o.fter
SJ:>r>lY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sto. V-5
1300
SFC Y-5(! >
25 12.0 % 51.0 surf
.,
ij
.J
1310
1320
1325
1330-1535
1340
1350
1400
1420
1420
1440
1440
1505
1520
1545-1555
1630
.,.
-o
25
25
25
25
25
25
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
11.5
Mod 9060
9
Ros~tte
SilNPl e:=.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1720
PLANK \1-4
25 1!.0 97 e0.e 0-57
204
LOt~GHORtl
'3TA#
CF:UISE NOus:.E- I I; SfliIPLE LOG
ACT I '/I TY CODE
LAHID
LOI~<W)
DEPTH
REMARKS
!730
ST:D 24
.,,
.'
0-57
Mod 9(160
1755-1805
FLUOR 11-4
STD 25
25 11.0
1740
1805-1 '?40
1815
Ct1 V-4-1
LVFPOC 'v'-4-0
DATE TH1E
Sto. '/-4
P'J.9>?
1820
1830
!845
1855
t?GO
1910
1910
1930
LVP V-4-5
LI!FPOC V-4-2
LVFPOC V-4-5
LVP 'v'-4-10
SFC V-4~'2)
L'..'FPOC V-4-10
GRAB V-4-57
TRANS V-4
25 11.0
25 11.0
25 11.0
-~ 11.0
25 11.0
25 11.0
25 11.0
25 11.0
25 11.0
25 11.0
25 11.0
25 11.0
o~
00.0
97 0[1, 0
0"(
00.0
97 00.0
97 00.0
0"
. ( 00.0
97 00.0
97 00.0
97 00.0
97 00.0
97 ee.o
97 00.0
97 00.0
0-30
0-57
1
5U
12 Ro:=..:-tte
SO.f'IPlt.a.
rf"
5
2
5
10
surf
10
57
053
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------St.., ...'-3
2125-2240 Cl1 'i-3-l
25 05.0 97 12.0 1
2125
2145
2150
2205
2210
2220
2225
2235
2247-2255
2300
2300
2315
FLUOR V-3
l'v'FPOC V-3-1
L\IP V-3-1
LVFPOC V-3-5
LVP V-3-5
STD 26
LVFPOC 1/3-10
L\/P V-3-10
STD 27
SFC V-3
TRANS V-3
PLANK V~3
25 05.0 97 12.0
25 05.0 97 12.0
25 05.0 97 12.0
25 05.0 97 12.0
25 05.0 97 12.0
25 05.0 97 12.0
25 05.0 97
25 05.0 97
25 05.0 97
25 05.0 97
25 05.0 97
25 05.0 97
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
0-30
1
1
5
5
0-34
10
10
0-34
11 Rose-tte
SO.f"'P l
e-:=:
surf
034
0-34
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------19 Au
PLANK V-2
0000
25 08.0 97 15.0 0-30
Sta. V-2
0020
0030
0030
0035
0050
0100-0240
0110
(<!15
0140
0150
0200
0205-0215
FLUOR V-2
L'<FPOC V-2-1
SFC V-2
LVP V-2-1
LVFPOC V-2-5
CM V-2-1
LVFPOC V-210
LI/P V-2-10
LVP 11-2-15
STD 28
TRANS V-2
STD 29
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 os.e 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
25 08.0 97 15.0
0-30
1
2
1
5
1
10
10
15
0-28
0-28
028
25 04.0 '37 26.0

25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
25 04.0 97 26.0
surf
11od '3060
7 Ro:s.ett.t-
SO.C'lP 1 o?S
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------V-1
'J-1-1
25 04.0 97 26.0
St.11
0325-~3517
C~l
0330
0340
0345
0400
0400
0420
0420
0435
0445
SFC V-1
0445
0500-13510
0530
LVFPOC \1-1-1
L1lP V-1-1
LI/FPOC V-1-5
L'v'P 11-1-5
L'/FPOC V-1-10
LVP V-1-10
TRANS Y-1
STD 30
FLUOR Y-1
STD 31
PLANK V-1
1
1
5
5
10
10
016
0-16
016
0-16
0-16
Mod 9060
8 Rosette- saMPles.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
205
LO!'IGHCRt~
CF:lll ~:E
MOUSSE-I I:
3RiIPLE LOG
r.a.:;~e
STR# 'DATE THIE
ACTIVITY CODE
LRTUD
St ,,
24 10.0 97 39.13
24 18.0 97 39.0
24 10.0 97 39.0
24 10.0 97 39.0
24 10. a 97 39. f1
24 10.0 0
. '' 39,0
24 10.0 97 39. f)
24 10.0 97 39,0
'./l-1
1200
CN \IJ-1-1
FLU OF: \,II -1
<:Fe \/I-1
L'IFPOC 'i!-1-1
LVP VI-1-1
1230
LV'P \J!-1-5
1245
L\IFPOC VI-1-5
L\/P VI-1-10
1140-1.330
1151
1155
1281
1245
LI!FPOC 1!!-1-10
TRAijS 'JI-1
:>TD 32
~;TD 33
PLANK VI-1
DEPTH
LOIHW"'
1
0-18
1
1
1
5
5
10
10
0-18
24 10.0
24 10.0
24 10.0
24 18.0
24 10. 0
97
97
97
o-'
39.0
39.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.8
12.0
12.9
12.@
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
12.0
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
20.0
20.0
20.0
29.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
20.0
1
0-30
5
1
5
10
10
15
0-64
0-64
0-69
0-64
FLUOR Y!-3
STD 36
STD 37
LVFPOC Vl-3-1
SFC VI-3-1
L'/FPOC 'v'I-3-5
L\'P VI-3-1
L'/FPOC ''l-3-10
LVP Vl-3-5
L\.~P \1!-3-10
24 07.5
24 07.5
24 07.5
24 07.5
24 er.s
24 137.5
24 07.5
24 07.5
24 97.5
24 07.5
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
97
09.5
0-30
0-150
B-150
1
o- 15.7 93
25 1o.7 93
26 15.7 93
26 15.7 93
26 15.f 93
2300
L'JFPOC I l-7-1
STD 38
Lv'FPOC ll-7-5
LVFPOC I I-7-10
L'/P ll-7-1
LVP Il-7-5
FLUOR ll-7
CARB II-7-5(1/
CARS Il-7-5(2)
STD 39
PLANK ll-7
26 15.7
26 15.7
2b 15.7
GO 15.7
27 16.8
,_
_, 16.0
0015
8025
L'v'P !l-3-1
L'/FFOC ll-3-1
_, 17.7 96 22.7
o-
1250
1255
1255
39.0
RE11ARKS
0-18
Hod 9060
0-18
8 Ro:::se-P,e s.a.f'lP 1e-s
.97 39.
39.0 0-16
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sta ','I-2 1550-1845 Clol 'i!-2-1
24 12.0 97 29.0 1
1.::15-1325
1341:3
1600
1600
1620
1630
1645
1715
1720
1730
1755
!820-1830
1840
1900
LVP Vl-2-1
FLUOR. VI-2
LVP VI-2-5
24
24
24
L'v'FPOC 1/I-2-1 24
L'1'FPOC VI-2-5 24
L'lP '/I-2-10
24
LVFPOC VI-2-10 24
L'./P Vl-2-15
24
TRANS Vl-2
24
STD 34
24
STD 35
24
PLAHK '1!-2
24
(1
11 Rosette
Mod 90oe
:SQftP 1 t?"!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sta VI-~ 2040

PLAHK 'v'I-3
24 07.5 97 09.5 0-150
205'5
2100
2131
2135
2150
2155
2205
2215
2235
2255
99,5
09,5
19.'5
09.5
09.5
09.5
09.5
09.5
09.5
Mod 9060
11 Roset.te
SQf'IPles
surf
5
1
10
5
10
----------------------------------------------------------.---------------------Sto. ll-7 2025
SFC Il-7
26 15.7 93 18.5 surf
20
At.l.;;~
21345
2852-2113
2105
2130
2130
2145
2145
2159
2155
2243
-"
~-
18.5
18.5
18.5
18.5
18.5
93 18.5
93 18.5
93 18.5
93 18.5
96 19.0
96 17.5
1
0-166
5
10
1
5
0-39
5
5
0-165
0-165
11
~1od
R:)s<:t t. e SO.MPl<?S
9060
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sto. II-3 2330

PLANK l!-3
27 17.2 96 22.0 0-124
21
Au9
27 17.7 96 22.7
1
1
206
LONG!iOF:~l
STA#
CFU l e:E 1101J': :::-E -1 I; SAr1P:_E LOG
DATE TIME
ACT I'./ iT".'
CCDE
rJo 9E
LAT.tD
DEPTH
LOtl (li)
,;;.,
17.7 ;.t; _.:.. "f
27 17.7 96 22.7
, ......
27 "
96 22.7
'. f
27 17.7 '?6 22.7
0120-(:11~:7
CN !I-3-1
l'-/F II-3-5
L'...'FPOC. !I,>5
L'/P I!<:-10
l'/FPOC !1-3-10 27 17.7 '36 22.7
STD 40
27 17. 7 96 z-;.--'...
STD 41
27 17. 7 ~6 22.7
13325-0505
0325
CM Il-6-1
L'/P II-6-1
0030-[112~1
0040
0045
0050
1)100
;) 115
,~
>:EIIAF:V,S
1
5
5
1(1
10
~)-120
Nod
0-124
!1
~06C
Rcsct, te Soll')f:olo:.:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------03!5
2':'1,
L'/FF'OC II-6-1 27 22.5
:=:to II-6
~j345
0345
0350
0420
LVP II-6-5
L'IFPOC ll-6-5
'3FC II-6
-~6
>)
27 22.5 96
27 22.5 96
27 22.5 96
27 22.5 96
27 22.5 '"6
27 22.5 96
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
29.0
0435
0440-0457
0445
0530
II-6-10
L'v'FF'OC II-6-10 27 22.5
CARS II-6-5<1l 27 22.5
STD 42
27 22.5
STD 43
27 22.5
CARS II-6-5(2) 27 22.5
PLA11K Il-6
27 22.5
0630-0830
Cl-1 II-5-1
l420
0435
L\IP
96
'j6
96
96
96
96
5
5
s.u rf
10
10
5
0-90
0-90
5
11od 9060
11 Rose-tte sas(st=- 1 e-s
e->e
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sta II-5 0630

STD
27 24.0 96 36.0 e-73
tlod 9060
44~
0640
0640-0652
0700
0715
0740
;)825
0855
L'/FPOC II-5-1
STD 45
L\IFPOC I I-5-5
LVP II-5-1
LVF' !I-5-5
L'iP II-5-15
PLANK I I-5
27 24.0 96 36.0
Z7 24.0 96 36.0
27
27
27
27
27
24.0
24.0
24.0
24.0
24.9
27 23.5
36.0
36.0
36.0
36.0
36.0
96 34.5
96
96
96
96
96
1
1
a-73
11 Rosette SO.f'lPlt:s
1
5
15
e-7e
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------St. a Il-2 1025

PLANK !I-2
27 28.5 96 44.7 e-50
!030-1155
1040
1045
CM !I-2-1
SFC Il-2
LVP Il-2-1
TRAHS !I-2
STD 46
CRRB II-2-5(2) 27
30.5 96 47.0
30.5 96 47.0
30.5 96 47.0
30.5 96 47.0
30.5 96 47.0
30.5 96 47.0
30.5 96 47.0
30,5 96 47.0
30.5 96 47.0
30.5 '36 47.0
30.5 96 47.0
1340
1340
1345-1351
1355
1400
1400-1420
1435
LVP I I -4-5
STD 48
STD 49
TRANS II-4
LVP II-4-10
CM I I -4-1
PLANK I I-4
28
28
28
28
28
28
27
33.5
33.5
33,5
33.5
33.5
33.5
33.7
50.0
50.0
513.0
50.0
50.0
96 50.0
96 49.0
5
0-32
0-32
1607
STD 50
27 42.0 96 57.0
0-20
1050
: 100
1105
1125
1127-1137
1200
1200
!205
LI/P II-2-5
LVP II-2-10
STD 47
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
27
CARS Il-2-5(1) 27
SHEEH II-2
27
surf
1
0-50
0-50
5
10
0-50
5
Mod 9060
11 Rosette $O.s'1Ples
surf'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------13:30
L'IP I I -4-1
28 33.5 96 50.0 1
Sta. II-4
96
96
96
96
96
0-32
Mod 9060
9 Rosette saf'lF:>le-s
10
1
e-32
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sta I I -1
1600
PLANK Il-l
27 42.0 96 57.0 0-20
Mod 9060
207
LOHGHOF:II CRUISE
STR# 'DATE
MOUS';E-I I; SAMPLE
LON(W)
LAT(Hl
1615-1655
Ct1 ll-1-1
STD 51
CAR8 II-1-5<1l
LVP II-I-I
LVP ll-1-5
TRAHS Il-l
L'IP II-1-10
27 42.0 96 57.0
27 42.0 96 57.0
27 42.0 96 57.0
1630
1645
1645
1700
Il
ACT!I'!T'i CODE
1b30
F:-o.<:~e
T!~IE
1622-1630
. 'l
LOG
27
27
27
27
42.0
42.0
42.0
42.0
96 57.0
96 57.0
96 57.0
96 57.0
DEPTH
REMARKS
1
0-20
8 Ros.ette
I
5
0-20
10
SO.f"lf:' 1t!~
208
6 CRUISE FSU-II (31 OCTOBER - 6 NOVEMBER 1979)

6.1
Cruise Objectives
The major objective of cruise FSU-II was to recover some of
the current meter arrays deployed on FSU-I.
Some of these were
refurbished and redeployed while others were left in location.
All
will be recovered in July 1980.

A related objective was to study the thermohaline stucture of the
water column using STD stations and XBT sections.
These programs are
part of the Florida State University project to study the Western

Boundary Current in the western Gulf of Mexico (see section 3.1).
Current
meter and XBT data are being processed at FSU and are not included in
this report.
STD data, collected by UTMSI/PAML personnel are
presented in Part II.

A further objective of the cruise was to make surface observations,
as in the three previous LONGHORN cruises, for the presence of Ixtoc
oil and to collect samples for geochemical analysis.
At this time
(early November) the currents were no longer bringing Ixtoc oil ashore
on Texas beaches, the beaches had been cleaned up considerably and
public interest in the oil spill was generally waning.
The departure of cruise FSU-II was delayed for two days
because of the passage of a cold-front through the South Texas region.
Prior to the front's passage strong winds (20-30 kt) had been blowing
from the southeast.
The reversal of the wind direction momentarily
calmed the seas and departure was made on 31 October 1979 at 1210 CST.
The cruise track is given in Figure 92 and the cruise log is presented
209
LONGHORN Cruise FSU-II. 31 Oct to 6 Nov 1979

98W
95W
96W
97W
28N
Ccr-pu.. Chri ..t.i
27N
UNITED
STATES
26N
MEXI 0
121111121121 5 Nov
25N
~L-~--~~~~ov~---r----J24N
1
121121111121 4 Nov

Figure 92
210
in section 6.6.
A direct course was set to the inshore end of the
current meter section at 24N.
Sea-surface observations were made
until nightfall: cloudy, discolored water, man-made debris and Sargassum,

but no oil.
Due to a burned-out searchlight, no night observations
were made from the bow but attempts were made from the stern when each
surface-salinity sample was collected.
At first 1i ght on 1 November 1979, tarba 11 s were observed at
24 39'N; 97 18'W, and two surface samples collected.
Winds were
steady from the north and seas began picking up with many whitecaps.
Tarballs were found from here south to the 24N parallel where the first
STD station (#52) was taken (see Part II for STD station location map
and the sample log, section 6.7, for positions).
STD stations were taken throughout the day and night and surface
observations made wherever time and personnel permitted.
light lamp had been installed.
A new search-
During the daylight hours of 2 November
current meters #1, 2 and 4 were recovered (.see Table 1 for positions).
At 2100 hrs, STD station #58 was taken in 2000 m of water with winds
and seas increasing.
meter #5.
Overnight the ship steamed slowly towards current
Visibility was poor and it was not possible to observe
from the bow due to breaking waves.
A LORAN-e malfunction further
complicated matters and LONGHORN was virtually hove-to for several

hours.
The port-side stabilizer ("flapper-stopper") parted during the
night and the ship began to roll substantially in 8 to 10 ft seas.

Despite these problems, observations continued and no oil was seen
overnight.
At daybreak on 3 November STD station #59 was taken in
2400 m of water.
STD #59 occurred in the roughest weather to-date and
probably represented the limit that LONGHORN can operate in with this
211
type of equipment.
The station took 2 hrs 45 mins to complete.
The
LORAN-e seemed to operate normally in daylight, although occasional

bad data were displayed.
The weather remained bad throughout 3 November and it was deemed
too rough to attempt a current-meter recovery.
Consequently, LONGHORN
steamed out along the current-meter section as far seaward as 95W,

taking an XBT profile.
Occasional windrows containing tarballs were
seen overnight, although observations were hampered by heavy rolling

and bright moonlight causing reflections off the sea surface.
Seas
calmed down somewhat by morning and current-meter array #6 was

recovered.
STD #60 in 3328 m of water was the deepest station ever
taken from LONGHORN.
The station took 2 hrs SO minutes to complete.
Following this, LONGHORN steamed north taking XBT drops, changed

course at 25 32'N; 95 44'W to a direct line for Port Aransas.
More
STD stations were taken until an electronics failure prevented further

use of the STD.
More tarballs were found well into U.S. waters, as
well as Sargassum, occasional water hyacinth and some Trichodesmium

blooms.
6.3
Distribution of Oil and Relationship to Other Factors

6.3.1

Tarballs were the major form of oil seen during cruise
FSU-II (Figs. 99, 108 and 116).
Sheen was seen only once on the
cruise and no maps of sheen distribution are presented.
The tarballs
were generally small, perhaps smaller than observed on the three

previous cruises.
with Sarsassum.
They were frequently found in windrows and together

They were found in three widely scattered locations,
each one quite extensive in area:
(1) along the Mexican coast from
212
24" 40'N to 23" 55'N and then out to sea to 97"W; (2) a sma 11 er area
centered on 23" 50'N; 95" 35'W; (3) along the trackline from 25" 50'N;
95" 55'LI to 26" 30'N; 96" 20'\L
At the southernmost part of the
cruise track tarba 11 s were 120 nm offshore.
They were also 30 miles
north of the border, 60 miles offshore at a time (5 November 1979) when

the current reversal was supposed to be transporting the oil southward.
At several locations tarballs of considerably darker color were
mixed in with the more traditional mousse-colored balls.
Occasionally,
these darker pieces were seen to have goose barnacles growing on them.
A great effort was made to sample these (sample FSU-II-SFC-4).
The
darker "tarballs" turned out to be small pieces of driftwood with

barnacles attached.
Extensive areas were observed where no oil was seen.
Also, along
parts of the cruise track, no. observations were possible so it is not

known how far north tarballs were on the inshore parts of the track
(Figs. 99 and 108).
Due to the strong winds prevailing during the cruise, most of the
debris including oil was found in windrows (Figs. 101, 110 and 118).
At times even these were obscured by foam and whitecaps.
However,
north of 26" 30'N, no windrows were seen.

Sargassum was abundant but only in the waters south of 26" 30'N
(except for an isolated patch at 27"N; 97"W).
Sargassum was seen mostly
aligned in windrows with other flotsam; sometimes these windrows were

comprised entirely of Sargassum floats and similar-sized tarballs,
indicating that some grading was occurring perhaps because the floats
would be the last part of decomposing weed to sink (see Figs. 100, 109
and 117 for Sargassum distribution).
213
Occasional Trichodesmium concentrations were found well out to sea

(Figs. 102 and 119).
At 26 32'N; 96 22'H (cruise log, section 6.6,
p. 9) masses of peculiar white fronds were seen subsurface within a

Trichodesmium patch.
No sample of this substance was collected.
few water hyacinth pieces, mostly stems, were seen coated with oil
while one plant was observed still green.
On no other cruises had
green hyacinth been seen (Figs. 102 and 119).

Man-made debris was sparse but the usual styrofoam objects were seen,
often covered in oil.
6.3.2 Hind and Hater Masses
The wind was strong throughout the cruise, averaging
about 15 kt (Figs. 96, 105 and 113).
It blew with remarkable persis-
tence from the north to slightly north of northeast for the whole time
except briefly during the passage of a weak front (Fig. 105).
Just
prior to the cruise the winds had been blowing steadily from the
southeast for several days, uncharacteristically for that time of year.
Sea-surface temperatures were considerably lower than in the
previous three cruises, ranging from 2l.8C to 26.7C (Figs. 97, 106
and 114).
cruise.
A few cold fronts had reached the Gulf coast prior to this
The difficulty of presenting the data as if it were collected
synoptically is illustrated in Figure 97 where a temperature drop of

3C near Aransas Pass occurred in the five and a half-day period of
the cruise.
The dynamic effect of the outbreak of cold air following
a frontal passage (see Nowlin and Parker, 1974) was revealed on

several XBT profiles and on the more northerly STD profiles (see Part
II).
Below the Mexican border, temperatures were uniformly about
26.5C.
214
Sea-surface salinity varied widely from 28/oo near the Aransas Pass
to 36.7/oo south of 25N.
An isolated lens of water <33/oo was found
around 26 20'N (Fig. 98) coincident with the Trichodesmium blooms and
the region where tarballs were found at their most northerly point.
An extraordinary rainfall of 12 inches in one day at Freeport (NOAA,
l979a) occurred on 19 September (also 13 inches reported at Aransas Pass),
but little rain fell throughout October.
These persistent fresh water
lenses must have their origin in runoff from abnormal rainfalls such as
this and those that occurred in July and earlier in May (see NOAA l979b,c).
Very little oil was observed to be subsurface on this
cruise (all observations were made from the surface vessel).
The
considerably rougher weather and number of observations made at night

under poor lighting conditions may have accounted for this.
However,
nowhere in the cruise log (section 6.6) is mention made of subsurface

oil, although I recall seeing small tarballs just subsurface in some
windrows.
6.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise FSU-II
No "new" oil was reported to have beached in Texas during
the period 31 October to 6 November 1979.
However, considerable amounts
of tarballs were at the tide line each day along Mustang Island beaches
and a dramatic upswing in the number of oiled shorebirds occurred
subsequent to 6 November l 979 (Amos, in preparation).
It was generally
considered that the tarba 11 s were "reworked" Ixtoc oil being washed
ashore as the beach profile changed and buried Ixtoc oil was exposed.
On 9 November 1979 the first oil from the BURMAH AGATE washed ashore
on San Jose Island.
My own observations were that small quantities of
215
new oil washed up on Mustang Island immediately after the cruise but
whether this was Ixtoc or AGATE is unknown.
6.4 Pelagic Fauna
6.4.1
Birds
Pelagic birds were scarce on this cruise with only two
being sighted.
One of them has been tentatively identified as a
species of Skua, possibly the South Polar Skua, Catharacta maccormicki.

Photographs of this individual (Fig. 93) have been forwarded to
various experts for verification of this record.
If correctly iden-
tified, this would be the first record of a Skua from the Gulf of
Mexico.
The bird was sighted at 23 44.3'N; 96 38.2'W.
A Sooty Tern,
Sterna fuscata, was seen resting on a floating one-gallon cooking oil

bottle at 25 37'N; 95 48'11.
Migrating landbirds seen were Marsh Hawk, Mockingbird, Eastern
Meadowlark, Tennessee Warbler and Lincoln's Sparrow.
All tried to
find refuge on the LONGHORN; the Eastern Meadowlark succeeded and was
given a free ride from Port Aransas to 90 miles south of the Mexican
border (see Fig. 120 for 1ocati on).
Fish were not as commonly seen on this cruise as on
the previous three cruises.
Flying fish were the most abundant, being
restricted mainly to Mexi.can waters.

widespread.
Sightings of porpoise were
Monarch butterflies were seen on two occasions, one
about 40 miles offshore (Fig. 120).
216
Figure 93.
Bird seen during cruise FSU-l!, tentatively identified

as a species of Skua.
217
218
6.5 Cruise Maps
219

98W
97W
96W
28N
\
27N
I
\
til12!11i!i3
CRUISE TRACK. 26N
\.. 100121
1 Nov
o 28N; 96W to 98W

Figure 94
26N
220
LONGHORN Cruise FSU-11. 31 Oct to 6 Nov 1979

98W
97W
96W
28N
1210 31 Oot
+
012!05 6 Nov
... ...
...
+
+
27N
:t
+
+
+
+
"*"++
-;.
+
"*
12!0012!
1 Nov
1012!0
26N
SURF ACE OBSERVATION'S. 26N to 28N; 96W to 98W

LOCATION OVERLAY . .
Figure 95
221

97\V
98\V
96W
28N
27N
l1
>
l
j
26N
liZI.IZ!Kt.s
21ZI.IZ!Kt.s
31ZI.IZ!Kt.e
5m/eec
SURFACE WINDS. 26N to 28N; 96W to 98W

Figure 96
liZim/sec
15m/eec
222

98W
97W
96W
28N
.?
r&<y
f:r"
.'I;
"'
1')15
.17~
J'
<y'b
.'I;
(~)-"
f:;o~
N'/;
27N
q,
)I" ' ) '
f:;o'b
.'I;
f:r~
.'I;
.'<-<y
"'"
~
&:~
rrjJ'~
26N
f:;oq,
.1:;
SURFACE OBSERVATION~. 26N to 28N; 96W to 98W

TEMPERATURE (C) .,..'l>Figure 97
223
LONGHORN Cruise FSU-II, 31 Oct to 6 Nov 1979

96\V
97\V
98W
28N
"'q,.
27N
J
I
,~<
">'=':~
26N
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS~ 26N to 28N; 96W to 98W

SALINITY Cppt)
}""~
Figure 98
224

98W
97W
96W
28N
Corpus Christi
+N
+N
+N
+N
+N
+N
27N
+N
+N
+N
+N
'
+N
+B
26N
N=NO OIL SEEN: B=TARBALLS
Figure 99
225

97\V
96\V
98\V
28N
'l
27N
26N
~~

G=SARGASSUM
Figure 100
226

98W
97W
96W
28N
27N
+W
+W
+W
26N
W==W I NDROWS
Figure 101
227

98W
97W
96W
28N
27N
+T
+m
26N
T=TRICHODESMIUM; H=WATER HYACINTH
Figure 102
228
229

98W
97W
96W
IIIJ !alil
26N
1 Nov
MEXICO
25N
wP"""
3 Nov

Figure 103
230

98W
97W
95W
26N
+
MEXICO
25N
...
+
+
+
+
+
+
.......
+
+ lill1l01il 2 Nov
....
..
.,. ...
+
;t-A01
24N
++
+
3 Nov
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 26N; 96W to

LOCATION OVERLAY Figure , o4
98~
231

98W
97W
96W
26N
MEXICO
tj
25N
'\
'
.//111 I
J!
IJ
24N
.
Figure 105
SlJRF Ar.F WTNnS. ? 4N t.o
?AN~
flnW t.o
!Iff I
232

'!}'
96W
97W
98~1
<:>
26N
MEXICO
25N

TEMPERATURE (C) Figure 106
233

96\V
98\'/
97W
X
00
'
26N
<!>
'Q
MEXICO
<?
.,,
?><:>
X
.p'~-
t/'
.f.;''?>
/7b
'?>
25N
'\
'/,'<>'

SALINITY (ppt)
Figure 107
234

97W
98\v
26N
MEXICO
+N
25N
+N
+8
+8
+8
+!il
+8
<1!8 +8 +N
tJN+e>B
24N
+N
+N
+N +N
+l

N=NO OIL SEEN; B=TARBALLS
Figure 108
235

98 11/
97W
96W
26N
MEXICO
25N
J
+G
+G
+G
+G
+G
+G
+G
~G
+G
+G
+G~
+G
24N
+(

G=SARGASSUM
Figure 109
236

98W
97W
96W
26N
MEXICO
25N
+W
+W
+W
+W -HI
-oltl;;w
+W
+W
24N

W=WINDROWS
Figure 110
237

97W
96W
95W
26N
Elflllm 5 Nov
25N
24N
CRUISE TRACK, 24N to 26N;
Figure 111
238

95W
97W
96W
26N
I>
+
...
...
....
...
...
111111flll'l 5 Nov
25N
...
...
...
i: oF 'i OOI'lfll
+. .,. . .
2 Nov
24N
+
+
-t+
+
+
~.,.I<IDfiJ1 3 Nov
..,..,.
+
+
+
+
.,..,.
fll_f
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS, 24N ~ 26N; 95W... to 97W

239

97W
96W
95W
26N
l
25N
\
24N
SlJRFAf:F WT
Figure 113
240

.~ 96W
95W
97W
<:>
26N
,.roo"-
"
,.......
:v
17'0
#
..
*~
>:"'
.'V
,~\
...
,h~
25N
rff>''l.
~e-
:;,'t,t "
,r,)f;."e
... I'>
.1!>'
~~
<
:r
I'>
SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 26N:

TEMPERATURE (C)
Figure 114
24N
95~~o
97W
241

0""
96 w
95W
97W
K
(j)
26N
-r. .
~'?>
e:,-":1
'!i
'?>":>
-r'?>
lo
$":>
'?>":
25N
~'0
~'0
,p-"
~
~'?
"?0
lo
~'ll>''?>4>.'?>
X
'lP
4>'
-r lo 4>''?> '1>- lo
~'0 ":>/ / . ' 'lP "''lP'/, 'lP'/,
3&
"

SALINITY (ppt)
Figure 115
24N
~
'/,
...
~- -r. -r. ~
to~26N:
,p
95~~o
lo
97W
242

97W
96W
95W
~
26N
~8
I
+8
+8
+N
+N
""+~
.25N
+N
+N
+N
'
+N
it'N +n+B
+N
.s.
24N
+N
+N
+N
+N +8+N +8
SURFACE OB~~RVATIONS. 24N t;

N=NO OIL SEEN: B=TARBALLS
Figure 116
+N
+N
;~N:
+N
+N
;5W+N ;; 97W
243
LONGHORN Cruise FSU-II, 31 Oct to 6 Nov 1979

97W
96W
95W
26N
~G
+G
+G
+G
25N
24N
+G
+G
+G-+6;
+G +G+G +G

G=SARGASSUM
Figure 117
;g
+G
+G
26N; 95W to 97W
244

97W
96W
95W
26N
+W
+W
25N
I
-
24N
+W
+W +'II +W
~~

W=WINDROWS
Figure 118
245

95W
96W
97W
26N
T
+HI
+H
25N
24N
T=TRICHODESMIUM; H=WATER HYACINTH
Figure 119
246

98W
96W
97'11
95W
28N
Co,...pue Ch,...i .. t.i
27N
UNITED
STATES
26N
..S......y T.....,
+Teow
111...-l:ol
MEXI 0
25N
24N
+SI<ua Sp.
BIRO OBSERVATIONS. 24N to 28N; 95W to 98W

Figure 12Q
247
6.6 Cruise Loa
248
F"AGE~
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------F;EtlAF;I o
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.. -'
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1500
27
1~00
27 13.0
97 04.4
!82 !0.5 36
~:3
1~00
27 03.0
97 05.5
182 10.0 46
35 25.2 3:::. 3;5
1747D 26 55.4
97 06.1
184 9,6
54
1800
26 54.4
?~
06.;
182 5.4
55
34 25.1 32.787
1900
26 45.2
97 07.2
1Z2
8.~
64
32 25.3
2000
,,..
.!.b
182
-~.5
?4
26 25.5 33.85::0
002 11
2100
26 26.2
97 07.3
172 ?.5
83
18 25.3 34.456
359 13
2200
26 16. 7
97 06. 3
172 9. 5
93
18 25.5 34.421
359 15
2~.5
~7
04.0
"'""Jo ...,
:)
~82
10.0 2
24.8 32.471
3
001 12
002 11
3~.462
C/C 1~5
-------------------------------------~------------------------------------------
2300
26
LONGHORN
. Tlt1E
97
06.~
cru1se
04.~
172 10.2 103
FSU-2
21 25.3 34.951
359 17
1 No" 1':17'9
LF!T(N)
LONGcW;
SSE.'SPD
0000
25 56.5
97 04.0
172 10.! 113
24 25.7 35.032
001 14
0100
25
4~.4
9~
04.4
187 10.0 123
25 25.8 35.007
003 11
0200
25
3~.2
~~
1),._;,(1
187"
132
25 26.3 35.026
003 11
0300
25 26.9
97 88.0
187 10.4 143
27 2b.t1 35.171
004 13
0400
25 18.4
97 0s.;
187 9.5
151
33 26.2 35.384
006 14
0500
25 08.0
?7" 12.0
192 10.5 161
39 26.3 35,329
006 14
0600
24
??
192 10.6 172
45 26.5 35.327
004 14
5~.
!~.5
?.::
DIST DPTH
SST
SSS
SEA
l.J!IID
REMARKS
C/C
180
c,c 185
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
249
....... ..:. ...
Debri~-plastic
~*""'"'
+.:...:,.;.:.
pie~es+bottle
Sun sets No visual observatiOns
'
****
****

I lONE SHEE TARB tIOU,. 1-11 ND '3AF:G T?I C HYAC
""*"'*
+***
oJerni~h
250
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------FEr1AF:f:::
CSE ;PD DIST
SST SSS
h
D~TH
LOtK'~
51 .::,;.4
0845
2d 32.2
9~
1S.?
......
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5'?
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0949
24 23.0
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1000
24 22.1
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24 13.1
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24 05.4
97 3B.6
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23
5~.7
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26.8 36.263
188 8. 2
214
187
8.~
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97 21.5
187 5.0
208
62 26.7 36.245
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23.3
232 ?.1
217
64 26.4
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232 10.2 227
49 26.5 36.253
801 13
97 35.0
117 9.7
234
27
344
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161 8.8
234
34.7
0?7 0.8
235
1400D 23 58.3
97 32.6
107 8.2
237
1437
23 56.9
97 27.3
087 2.2
242
1500D 23 56.5
97 27,4
192 0.8
242
1520
23 56.3
97 27.4
077 0.7
242
1528
23 56.4
97 25.8
077 11.0 244
1600D 23 56.3
97 21.3
031 7.8
_..._.
1633H 23 56.3
?7 16.6
067 7.8
252
1700
97 16.3
262 0.6
253
1345
23 53.9
23 56.!
9~
21.3
tn38 l7"
1~
Sto. 2
C/C 225
Sta 3 STD52
St.CI.
2?
~03
13
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001 11
Sta 4 STD53
2S. 5 36. 31~:
StQ 4
084 23
0:34 14
121
2'54 13
;ta. 5 STD54
1::01
C1'tb 15
Sta. 5
60
').;.,:.
U/W orf sto
26.7 36.448
251
PAGE#
NOttE SHEE TAPS MOUS WIND ;APG
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"
:-1)
m
3
:J)
,.,,_,.,"'
__ _,
Z53
NON~
;HEE TAPE
MOU~
W!tlD SAPG TFIC H)'AC
OIL 08SEP\IAT10N
Dc.tL _:
\.'t:t'Y
REMAP~S
SMall tC'.t"bo.ll..:
SPC.rS.
Wlndr:tWS
O:d
ta.r;
SO!''l"
Cl!JI'If':>Z
of s.ar9a.s.::.w,
t~o
LONGHOPN
crUIS-E
FSU-2
det in it~ tarballs
se~n
2 Nov 1'?79
NONE SHEE TARS MOUS WIND SAPG TRIC HYAC
OIL 08SEF'\IAT!Oil F'EIJAF:ICS
1n
s.Potll~ht
<'54
F'AGE#
TINE
LAT.Il:
os00
23 57.5
97 to.o
0?i0
23
5~. =
~~
-..-,
c-
:0.2
e.c
2?4
J32 6.4
2~5
1~7
.:.:
~'
0948
2S
5~.2
1000
23 57.1
2'?5
't
Ct06 11
..
-.;.:..,
\j(\4
003 13
300
(H)4 1 '?
307 0.3
300
004
97 04.3
314
300
23 56.0
97 04.9
321
300
12[1f1
2.2: 56.(1
97 05.(1
14.2 0.1
301
5?4 26.9 36.343
1305
23
97 04.-
0?2 0.3
301
613
1325
23 56.1
~7
03.9
081 2.3
382
004
1330
23 56.0
~~
02.1
081 8.8
302
1400
23 56.0
96 59.4
087 6.8
306
1500D 23 55.9
96 49.9
691 8.7
315
1600
23 55.7
9~
40.4
087 8.7
323
23 51.?
96 32.2
1127.7
23 50.9
96 28.?
139 7.6
335
'?e 28.?
17:3 e.?
335
2?~
97 08.3
0?2 5.8
297
1026D 23 56.4
9~
06.0
10~
6.8
2~9
1030
23 56.0
~~
04.8
235 i.8
1100
23 55.?
97 04.8
1110
23 55.8
1113
1730
1758D 2:::
~5.9
s~3.
9~
69.6
092
~.
472 26.8 36,383
:3;'8 26.7
~;6.35.2
14
I.J '\>_I
Or t
St
10 C:11#2
(l,
E J
Stu 10
284
:t,o_ :0 Ct-1#2
1.39 17
u ..-1 .1 o+ t
.::
i56 16
:<BT
(H)l
:=.t ~
16
26.8 36.232
005 1 t
358 23
Sta 11 CM#4
CM :on .:urt.
255
PAGE#
1] I L
_.._ __ ..,..,.. .......
08'3EF:'/AT I Otl F:EflARf:S
ll 1 ndrotl;; ot ;:,o. r"ill~.sslJ!'I t.J t :i tbo.ll .:. j

t.C sh1~.: cour:::.:.: t l1n:;c; t1~h
Occo~lono.l
W/
~ieee~
~ar~assu1q
in
~O
(J>: .,.
wlndro~.:
SMall tarballs
"""':'**
. . '*""'*
tlorr)l,,l U.lindrot,l.: o+ :;ar9a::..:.1J,1 "f l:":'.t;:.'

l'"nln) 1.$.1'10.11 rorbo.ll::.;tlnn"il ti.:.h
Water blue-blue; CU1'1Ulon1Mbus
256
LOt-J,:;noF:rl
.:ru1.;. .:
F:u-~
REtIAF:K:O
T tlE
LFIT di '
1945
23 4?.0
96 29.7
2100
23
4~.0
2308D 22 45.5
0001
23 46.7
96
22.~
1!7 0.9
-,'-
.:. ; '
336
.-
1:"
1811
2012
004 22
Sta12 STD5S
:.t.Q
2012
;:
004 15
2012
~:
001
28.~
04S 1.8
340
LOtlGdJ'
CSE.SPD
I1JST DPTH
96 27.4
027 1.9
342
SST
~SS
SEA
3
1811
12
1:-'
fl !liD
REMRRLS
233 26
-----------------------------------------------------------------~-------------26.2 36.450 ~;
23 4t:.1 96 26.1
0020
0028
23 46.1
96 26.2
20~
2.8
343
0046D 23 46.3
96
06~
1.8
344
00540 23
~6.4
96 25.4
066 1.8
344
9100D 22
4~.4
9~
25.3
066 1.8
344
023BD 23 47.6
96 22.7
066 1.8
347
05BBD 23 49.4
96 18.3
066 1.8
351
0600D 23 50.1
96 16.6
066 1.8
353
0625D 23 50.4
96
1~.8
066 1.8
353
B640D 23 50.6
~6
!5.4
066 1.8
354
0705
23 50.9
96 14.7
077 1.7
355
0730
23 50.9
96 11.8
12~
~.4
358
9820
23 50.6
96 12.8
277 1.1
358
25.~
007 15
c.c 200
c:c 000
26.7 3b.391
2b. 5 36.
e r r.:ot
Sta13
STD~~
3'~4
4
2359
LOF:AN
OB5 26
257
5
OIL OBSEPVHTION PEMARYS

NOt~E
SHEE TAPB !1C:US ~~I tlD '3hRG TF: I C HYHC
-----------------------------~--------------------------------------------------
258
I r1E
u~:
SEA
r!
F: Et1 HF: 1~.::.
lJ It HI
26.6 36.3;.":2
1155D 23 51.0
9~
06.5
OSS 5.4
371
122 5.4
37"1
1208
23 51.1
1300
23 48.7
96 01.4
092 5.0
376
26.736.308
1400
23 48.8
95 55.6
0'?2 5.3
381
26.7 36.383
1580
23 47.7"
95 5t.3
092 4.0
385
26.7 36.2@4
084 23
16013
23 4 7. 1
'?5 45. 5
092 5. 4
39~1
26.7 36.176
004 21
1700
23 46.3
95 38.?
092 6.1
397
26.7 36.192
804 21
1800
23 45.8
95 32.3
087 6.1
403
26.5 35.894
003 21
1900
23 45.:::
'?5 25. 7"
(1'~2
6. !
40'~
26.5 35.185
004 21
2000
23 45.8
95 19.5
092 5,7
414
26.7 35. 121
004 22
2108
23 37.4
95 13.6
087 9.9
424
26.4 35.340
006 15
2200
23 45.2
95 06.8
087 10.0 434
26.4 35.356
006 15
2300
23 44.5
95 00.3
292 5.5
440
26,3 35.703
002 17
SST
LONGHORN
cru!5~
15225
004 21
FSU-2
TIME
LAT'tl'
LONG(W!
CSE.'SPD
DIST DPTH
0000
23 45.8
?5 05.5
292 4.5
444
0100
23 47.6
95 12.1
28~
6,4
451
95 18.9
297 6.4
SSS
SEA
lH IW
004 15
(H37
1~:
12
0301)
23 .51. 8
~5
24. i
297 5. 5
463
~306
0400
23 51.9
95
32.~
267
r.s
471
(B)9 11
0500
23 47.7
95 36.6
262
s.s
~76
C/C
285
259
F"HGE#
OIL OBSEPVRTION
REMARf~S
--...-- ---.,.,.
Wtndrows of sartassu: u. tarballs

PoorlY-deftned w1ndrows ot
sarassu1~;
f 1
"1n-s t 1s.h
windrows of sartassur,;
-,.,.--
on~
tar ball
+~"**
.:,..**'""
Noonlt"9htffull i;shu:
roll1n~
hel\)11;
****
*'***
LONGHOPN
cru1~e
tlONE '3HEE TFIF:8
FSU-2
ttou:.
4 fko" 1979
lJ I tW SAF'I:; ;pIC H'i'FIC
OIL 08SEPVATION
REMAR~S
Seas calMin down

~.:;;.+.,..
~*+-:o-
8r1s;ht.
f'JC<~::on
Phlke:: 1t dtf+t:ult \:
+or oil
Nothln visible in
s~otlltht
ct1e:.~
260
SSE'SPD
DIST DPTH
S3T
SSS
SEA
REt1ARI:e:
IWID
TH1E
LHT.tl
0525
23 46.9
~5
35.0
177 3. 8
0558
23 44.5
~5
38.0
35~
4.2
480
001 13
8ta14
CM~6
0~10
23 43.6
95
38.~
052 1.0
481
084
CM on
~urf
0~20D
23 43.8
95
38.~
045
1.~
481
0751
23 44.5
95 38.0
222 1.7
482
008 13
retrieve CM
~.,j5
38. 2
22'? 1. 0
482
0300D 23 44. 3
::.:
0~00D
23
43.~
95 39.0
229 1.0
483
0928
23 44.0
95 38.6
32~
7.9
485
009 15
dYe Paten
1020
23 43.5
95 39.4
287 0.9
486
001
3t.a15 STDt:O
1115
23 43.0
95 39.?
287 0.8
486
001 11
Sto:'> 15
1290
23 42.7
95 40.3
317 0.6
487
3328
005 13
Sta 15
1300
23 42.4
"35 41.4
277 1.1
488
3328
CH)l 11
St.o. 15
1319
23 42.4
95 40.1
037
3.~
489
3319
1400
23 44.5
95 38.6
057 4.2
492
3310 26.6 35,950
064 17
PDR problef
1448
23 44.5
95
38.~
35~
0.7
4Q~
3200
004 2!
u-w orr sta
95
38.~
358 8.7
494
26.5 :35,'?74
503
26.6 36.094
004 13
XBT 25
13.6 516
26.6 36,116
008 15
XBT 26
26.6 36.044
006 14
~BT
1500D 23
4~.3
1600
23 55.0
'?5 3'?.!
357 ::.. ';"
1700
24 08.6
95 39.4
35~
180~
24 12.3
95 40.0
357 3.7
520
27
261
LONGhORtl srulSE
t~ONE
FS~-2
3HEE TAF:E: r1CHJ::,
~i
PAGE#
OIL OBSEPVAT!ON PEMARkS
I tiD .:.HF:G TF: I C HYAC
:::lick F::it:.ho::: 1.o.11th .::.,to.ll

1tO: .:.o. r<:lo.s::.ur
ono: Patch of
t~rbo.ll::.
:: ;:..:.
sh~en
one Patch of half-dollar .:.tzed tarball::

+**~
****
***~
****
+'**""
**""*
Sar9assuM; diMe-stzed tarbo.lls; Juvenal
t i::.h
wtndrows ot onE 1nch tarballs W/SQr90.!3u

('I
T:irbo.lls
Ui'l
r.-la~tlC
de-bn::;
lo:ts of" SQr9a:::.;;;:.
263
PAGEt
N0t4E SHEE TARS MOU; WitlD SARG TRIC HYAC
... :.,..:..,..
~.;.;..-~
SPOt 11 -!1ht
LONG~ORN
cru1se
Cob.=.
FSU-~
NONE SHEE TRR8 MOUS WIND SARG TRIC HYAC
**~.;.:.
SPotli~ht
obsrevation
E~tensi\e
windrows o+
.:,:.+.+.+.-
****
****
**.;.."""
.:.;.+;.
--*.;.:. .:..**
--.:...;.:. *-**
***':'"
***.:..+.+++.As above+
**~*
sar~
+ tarballs;
trichodes~lUM
subsurface
****
Occasional
~"""*""
*+** ,...,:.*"'
3ar9assu~.-TrlchodesMiuM
***"'
--~
*+*- ... ,.. ... .:.

~,.-~
~**
as be
ore one tQrball
E~:tens1ve windrows tar+ sar9:Man~

~~ater 9reener; Much Trich
""*""'".:,...
--~~
Pieces water hYacinth(oiled)
Windrows tar+sori;a
?reen frond
--.:.;.-~***+one
t~w
r~Mnant
flSh;
H~acinth
2E2
:..:)t-lGHOF:t1 .; nn..: ~
F:.u-~
PAGE#
LONG(tl
CSE..-SPD
I1IST DPT!-i
1900
24 13.4
95 40.4
~5~
1.2
2100
24 38.9
95 41.5
35~
16.6 547
2300
24 55.9
95 43.5
35~
8.4
563
~lou
l97':l
LONGHORN cru1se FSU-2
T!liE
LAT'N
LOttG r tJ,.
CSE..-'SPD
0000
25 05.2
95 44.3
35~
1)100
25 06.9
0200
SET
s::.s
521
26.3 35.588
332
SEA
001 12
RE~IARKS
~IIHD
D I ST DPTH
SST
9.3
573
26.4 35.492
091 15
'?5 45.1
357 1.9
575
26.3 35.374
001 12
25 23.3
95 45.2
357 16.3 591
1646 26.3 35.310
001 18
o3Bft
25 32.0
?5 44.8
35~
001 22
0515
25 32.0
~5
0690
0700
s.;-
e;eo
1317
44.3
357 0.2
600
1317
25 37.0
95 47.9
332 2.0
606
988 25.8 35.544
001
25 44.8
95 53.5
332 9.2
615
1042 26.1 35.313
901
0730D 25 48.7
95 56.5
326 9.4
620
0800
25 52.6
'35 59.3
332 ?.4
625
1042 2-5. 1 35. 0~9
(1~11
12
0900
25 59.8
96 04.5
332 8.6
633
33.76~
001
722 24.5 33.108
001
:3
978 24.4
96 11.3
280 0.8
641
1116
2S 05.2
~6
332 0.8
642
5:32
0131
1200
2-5 10.5
96 16.9
342
649
448
001
1207
26 11.3
96 17.0
349
~.1
Stat;' STD62
1007D 26 05.0
12.3
Sta16 STD61
23.9 32.61;)4
C/C
335
265
LOt~GHORr~
PAGE#
crul!e F5U-:
SaMRle FSU-2-83 netted
****
** ... *
**""*
SaM~le
~***
****
.,.;. ;.; :. ;.; **""""
FSU-2-84 neetted
H1ndrows to.r
sar~
:.;, Tridd
JUf'lPln~
flsh
.,.;...;*;.. .,.;;...4..,.;.
Hater ver~ 9re~n & full of Tr1ch: soMe

tran9e white trends subsurface
t.1ater now blue but st 111 t.urbicH
~
..:;.~arbo.'9e
tloatin..:;.~
No oil seen
****
****
s~ot
1i
<:~ht.
'Metal druM
lo..:;.~
Wlth
SPotli9ht
obs
***.;.:.
***+
***""
**+*
LONGHORN cruise
FSU-~
HONE SHEE TRPB MOUS WIND SRRG TPIC HYAC
****
****
~***
****
t'
lcuH 1n
266
6.7
Sample Loq
~CTIV!T'i
St.o. 1
StoJ. ,::.
0845
SFC-i
CODE
LATlNJ
LON<W>
DEPTH
24 32.2 97 19.9
Surf
24 23.0 97 21.3
Surf
FEtlARKS
ll
SaP1Ples
131 ~:
'3TD 52
23 59.7 97 35.0
0-27
1455
:3TD 53
23 56.8 97 27.3
0-58
Sta 5
1643
STD 54
23 56.3 97 16.8
0-121
6 RosettE SaMPles
Sta b
1834
'3TD 55
23 56.7 97 89.0
0-406
6 Rosette SaMPles
Sta 7
21337
STD 56
23 55.7 97
as.e
0-587
6 Rosette SaMPles
STD 57
23 53.9 96 52.6
0-1299 12 Rosette
2104
STD58
23 47.0 96 28.7
B-1839 12 Rosette SdMPles
GblO
STD 59
23 513.9 96 11.8
STD 60
23 43.5 95 39.4
13-3116 12 Ro:=.ette So.filf:lles
STD 61
25 32.0 95 44.8
St l 12
5 Nov
Ros~tt~
Sa1~Ples
St a 17
1014
'3TD 62
26 05.0 96 11,3
0-654
b Rosette SaMPles
Sto. 18
1335
1415
STD 63
26 24.3 96 19.3
0-525
26 26.7 96 20.2
Surf
6 Rosettes onlY
1445
SFC-4
26 28.1 96 20.8
Surf
Sta 19
SFC-3
Sar~assuM+Tarbls
267
7 SUMMARY
Four cruises were made aboard R/V LONGHORN during the period
23 July to 6 November 1979 on which observations and collections were
made specifically to study the distribution and morphology of Ixtoc I
oil at and beneath the surface of the western Gulf of
This
~lexica.
is Part I of the Final Report on the findings of those cruises and

it covers the observations of oil, both surface and subsurface, and
some of the mechanisms controlling its distribution.
Part II contains
the physical oceanography, while Part III has the geochemical results.
The report covers the time from when the oil was well south of
the Mexican border but spreading north, through the period of maximum
activity and publicity when the oil beached on South Texas beaches,
to a period when the seasonal current change had apparently reversed
the flow of oil back into Mexican waters.
7.1
Forms of Ixtoc Oil Encountered and Conditions Observed

On all cruises oil was observed at the surface in one or more
of several forms and in several frequently observed conditions and

"associations".
The common forms were: (1) tarballs; (2) sheen; (3) mousse.
The
conditions specifically noted were: (1) no oil seen; (2) the existence
of windrows.
The associations were: (1) Sargassum; (2) water hyacinth;
(3) Trichodesmium; (4) other flotsam, including anthropogenic.

conditions noted although not systematically observed were:
Other
faunal
associations, including fish, invertebrates, pelagic mammals and birds

and migratory landbirds and insects.
Systematically measured and noted at least every hour while the
268
ship was underway were: (1) sea-surface temperature; (2) sea-surface
salinity; (3) wind speed and direction; (4) sea state; (5) basic
v/eather observations.
7.2
Distribution of Ixtoc Oil at the Surface

The cruises covered the region from 23 50'N to Port Aransas
(27 44'N) and out to sea as far as 95W or 150
n~
offshore at 24N.
In late July 1979 all the oil was well south of the border (FSU-I);
by early August some had penetrated 30 miles north of the border
(MOUSSE- I); in mid to 1ate August (MOUSSE- I I) oi 1 was found over the
entire cruise track and was seldom not seen.
By early November
isolated large areas of tarballs were still encountered (with one

patch 30 miles north of the border), but most of the Ixtoc oil was
then south of the border.
The nearest LONGHORN came to the source of Ixtoc I oil was 320 nm.
By the time the oil reached the areas investigated the well-known
"mousse" form had generally degraded into tarballs.
of heavy mousse was found:
Only one region
during cruise MOUSSE-II in Mexican waters
at 25 lO'N; 96 SO'W (map, Fig. 85; photographs, Figs. 5, 6, 60

and 61).
The mousse patch completely dampened all but the ocean
swell (under light wind conditions), imparted a strong odor to the

surrounding atmosphere, contained considerable amounts of debris,
mostly unrecognizable, provided a cover for some schooling fish and,
while we were examining it, was sprayed with a dispersant from a
passing aircraft.
Tarballs, sheen and windrows, while noted separately during observations are related in their distribution to the wind field in such
a way that they will be discussed together here.
Tarballs or tar
269
pancakes (as they might more appropriately be named) were by far the
most common form of oil seen.
Their median diameter was probably less
than 3 em and only seldom were they up to 20 em wide; frequently,

they were less than 1 em in diameter.
During cruise MOUSSE-II it
appeared that the entire ocean (as viewed along our cruise track,
Fig. 59) was covered with tarballs; but not as a continuous cover.
Rather, whenever one looked at the sea surface one saw tarballs.
The
actual surface area covered was, in my opinion, not estimable by

inspection.
The tarballs were normally in patches, streaks and, most
often, in windrows.
Hhen the wind was calm or light the tarballs spread out over the
surface and invariably a sheen patch formed.
Tarballs were then seen
to be "bleeding" irridescent wakes into the sheen, particularly in

sunlight.
He never encountered oil-produced sheen without tarballs.
Conversely, however, tarballs were often found without a surrounding

sheen.
As the wind increased from calm the patches of sheen broke up
into smaller patches, then into wide streaks and finally into windrows.
The stronger the wind. the less shiny was the surface of the slick.
and in winds in excess of 20 kt or so it was hard to tell whether or not
sheen was present.
7.3 Distribution of Ixtoc Oil Subsurface
7.3.1
Viewed from Surface Vessel

Hhen the tarballs were concentrated in windrows they
could frequently be seen sinking, sometimes out of sight and other times
returning back to the surface if that particle could be observed long
enough.
Occasionally a tarball would suddenly leave the surface and
begin to sink quite rapidly for no apparent reason (e.g., no wave
270
broke over its surface to provide any impetus to sink).
Wnen the winds
were calm and tarballs were usually in patches of sheen they were never
observed to sink.
7.3.2 Diver Observations
Oil (tarballs) was seen by the divers beneath the surface on ten of the eleven dive stations occupied on cruises MOUSSE-I
and MOUSSE-II.
Tne one station where no oil was seen subsurface had no
oil on the surface.

Tarballs were mainly found in the upper 10 ft but were observed as
deep as 65 ft.
Underwater photographs were mainly unsuccessful in
documenting the concentration of tarballs subsurface, so the divers'

descriptions have been used.
Results of the quantitative pumping
experiments are still being evaluated (see Part III of this report)
and are not included here.
Divers were in general agreement about the subsurface oil although
some were consistently more conservative in their estimates.
The con-
centration of oil subsurface was much less than that on the surface.
Particles were usually only a few millimeters in dimension and were
almost always described as thin and flaky (one diver said he had to
wait for one to rotate before he could photograph it).
Four samples
of these flakes were collected by the divers.

All stations were taken in water shallow enougn for the divers to
reach the thermocline (detected by body sensitivity to temperature),
frequently the near-bottom nepheloid (turbid) layer, and occasionally
the bottom.
They reported no obvious change in particle density
coincident with the thermocline, just a general thinning out of

particles with depth.
Only on one station was a layer of "high
272
Mexico.
It was found in great abundance, sometimes exceeding that of
Sargassum, on the first three cruises but only in a few locations on

the last (November) cruise.
The plant was sometimes seen intact:
roots, stems, leaves, bladders and even flowers in a few instances,

but was more often in fragments of one or more of the above parts.
It
v1as always seen floating at the surface, was often found in windrows
with both tarballs and Sargassum, and was almost always oiled.
In
fact, water hyacinth was seldom seen without tarballs or not oiled.
The oiling of this plant was extensive--all parts seemed to absorb
oil, the more decomposed the plant was (with more fibrous material
exposed), the greater was the oiling.
At times, oiled hyacinth looked
like giant tarballs in the shape of the plant.
Several of these oiled
plants were collected and are now preserved at PAML.

7. 4. 3 Tl'i chodesmi urn
Blooms of this
the first cruise (July)..
blue~green
alga were found on all but
The patches were generally extensive and
were located most frequently north of 26N and may have been associated
with the interfaces between fresh and salt water lenses at the surface.
They were most often detected on days when the winds were calm or
light; they imparted a slick-look to the ocean surface and often
dampened capillary waves.
At the edges of a typical bloom a scum
would form and the algal cells, presumably in aggregates, could be

seen several centimeters beneath the ocean surface.
Quite often
tarballs were found within a slick area that contained masses of

Trichodesmium.
In these instances the surface slick was enhanced by
active bleeding of the tarballs.
Trichodesmium blooms had a white-to-
yellow-to-orange color when viewed from the surface vessel.
273
7.4.4 Other Flotsam

Pieces of wood and man-made garbage were also frequently
seen and often smaller pieces would be associated with tarballs along
with other flotsam in windrov1s.
The most ubiquitous form of anthropo-
genic material was styrofoam cups; these and other styrofoam objects
were generally coated with oil.
7.5
Pelagic Fauna
Although these observations were not made in any systematic way,
the results of our observations show that no obvious massive kills of

organisms (large enough to be seen v1ith the unaided eye) occurred due
to the presence of oil at the surface.
unoil ed fish were found dead.
One unoi 1ed bird and a few
Only one oiled bird was seen on cruise
MOUSSE-II and two on MOUSSE-I.

7.6
Hind and viater Regime

Hinds shifted from the preva i1 i ng southeaster] i es during July
and August to northerly winds during the November cruise.
There were
very few periods of calm during the cruises.

Hater temperatures reached their peak of about 30C during the early
part of August but dropped to below 22 in the northern part in November
in response to the outbreaks of cold air accompanying frontal passages.
Evidence of coastal upVJelling was found on the two tftOUSSE cruises
in August.
This could be seen in both the STD sections (Part II) and
in the surface temperature record.
Temperatures as low as 26C were
measured off Brownsville, and a band of VJater whose surface temperature

was <29C persisted all along the U.S. and tiexican coasts.
Low salinities were found well offshore to the north of the Mexican
border on a 11 four cruises.
These were anomalously 1ow for this 1ate
274
summer-early fall season and were probably caused by the abnormally

high precipitation that occurred in the Texas-Louisiana coastal
region. 1
Direct surface current measurements, made only on MOUSSE-II anchor
stations, showed a predominantly northerly flow on the offshore ends
of each section, but a more coastally-directed flow on the nearshore
ends.
Northeasterly currents of 2 kt were measured at 25 lO'N;
96 SO'W.
Ship's drift estimations showed that, at least during cruise
MOUSSE-I, there was a southerly-directed flow associated with the

low-salinity lenses surveyed when an overflight had reported oil in
the region.
Two coastal stations received phenomenal rainfalls in July and

September: Alvin (July), 35.7 inches; Freeport (September), 31.6
inches.
275
8 CONCLUSIONS
A hypothetical model--to illustrate the behavior of Ixtoc oil in
the Gulf of Mexico, based on our field observations--follows:
As the semi -1 i quid form of oil known as "mousse" flows away from
the well-site it weathers into tarballs by a process not observed
by us in the field.
of dispersants.
This process may be accelerated by the use
The tarballs go through a sequence of events that
contribute to their further weathering at sea:
with winds blowing
above 10 kt they are concentrated into windrows due to the convergence of Langmuir cells in the upper mixed layer of the ocean.
Within these
~~indrows
they are subjected to turbulent forces and some
may sink beneath the surface in local downwelling zones.
When
buoyant forces overcome local turbulence they rise again to the

surface.
In shallow water, should they sink to the bottom turbulent
(and turbid) boundary layer, they may become entrapped there and
if they adhere to sedimentary particles might be incorporated into
the surficial sediments.
This would most easily occur in a well-
mixed, neutrally stable water column, such as those found at some

locations on the shelf (e.g., at STD station #53, the entire 58 m
of the water column was isothermal and isohaline; see Part II).
strong thermocline may well present a barrier to sinking of a

particle whose density is less than unity.
As the winds and sea change to calm, subsurface tarballs rise back
to the surface and spread out over a large area.
The action of
direct solar radiation and heating in the surface microlayer causes

the more volatile fractions of the oil to ''bleed'' and a sheen or
276
slick region is produced.
These processes are repeated over and
over again with the normal cycle of surface wind fluctuations.

A factor peculiar to the Ixtoc oil spill during late summer 1979
was the contact of the oil with masses of water hyacinth.
the plants in a coating several millimeters thick.
Oil covered
Whether the plants
ultimately become water-logged and sink is not known, but this may
be a mechanism for transporting oil into the bottom sediments.
It is known that some Sargassum sinks (Hoodcock, 1950) due to
encrusting organisms or seasonal mortality and ultimately reaches
the bottom (Schoener, 1970).
The hyacinth, however, is remarkably
buoyant (Penfound and Earle, 1948), especially the bladders, and with
a coasting of oil would be even less likely to sink in saline water.
Water hyacinth covered with oil began washing up on Texas beaches
along with tarballs and the hyacinth is probably an efficient scavenger
of oil from the sea water, transporting it to shore rather than to the
bottom of the ocean.
While some literature exists on Sargassum in the Gulf of Mexico
(El-Sayed et
~.,
1972), I can find no reference to hyacinth being
washed out to sea and its ultimate fate.
The plants have a low
tolerance to salt water (Penfound and Earle, 1948) and undoubtedly

die shortly after entering the marine environment.
The source of the
hyacinth is probably the rivers of southern Tamaulipas,Vera Cruz,

Tabasco and Campeche.
The rainy season is these states occurs from
May and June to October, at a time when runoff from Texas and Louisiana
.,.,
Rivers is (normally) at a minimum.
I observed immense rafts of water
hyacinth being transported out to sea near the mouths of several rivers
in these Mexican states during the month of July, just prior to cruise FSU-I.
277
Ixtoc oil does not adhere to Sarcassum, perhaps due to the weed's
naturally produced oils not presenting an absorbant surface.'
Even
samples of oil and Sargassum collected together showed no oil adhering

to the plant.
Other debris scavenged Ixtoc oil from the water: glass
and polyethylene containers, metal cans, and particularly styrofoam,

became coated with oil.
At this writing these oil-covered items still
wash up on Texas beaches.

Ixtoc oil washed up for only a few days on South Texas beaches
before the current reversal pushed it back south.
During this time,
in many places, it washed in as mousse rather than tarballs.
Yet north
of the border we observed only tarballs at sea, even close to shore.

It is probable that the tarballs coalesce into a form of mousse in the
surf zone under the action of solar heating and wave action.
The large-scale transport of Ixtoc oil as revealed by the LONGHORN
cruises' field observations was not greatly different from that deduced
from the aerial observations.
Not readily detectable from the air,
however, were the windrows of small tarballs on the leading edge of

the advancing oil slick.
A comparison of LONGHORN data as ground truth
for aerial data is now being undertaken at this laboratory (Amos, in

preparation).
Some Trichodesmium blooms were misidentified as oil
slicks from the aerial surveys.

Two features of the circulation not revealed from the overflights
were the persistence of fresh surface water well offshore throughout
the late summer and fall with apparent southerly flow and upwelled
cold water along the~coastline, particularly from Brownsville south.
Sarqassum weed, when washed ashore and dried out, does get coated
with tar.
278
The fresh water was caused by the abnormal rains of July and September
1979, and the upwelling induced either by the constant onshore winds
or by the convergence of the opposing coastal current regimes typical
of the western Gulf of Mexico.
Both of these features may have
affected the fate of lxtoc oil and its ultimate beaching.

The existence of large amounts of tarballs some 30 miles north of
the border in early November, long after the seasonal current reversal,
was a surprise finding.
The retreat of Ixtoc oil may have been an
oscillatory phenomenon as strong southeasterly winds alternated with

northeasterlies prior to the passage of each front.
Smith (1978) shows
the importance of coupling between the wind field and currents on the
inner shelf in the western Gulf of Mexico.
His current measurements
also demonstrate that cross-shelf currents periodically dominate the

flow vtith both onshore and offshore currents occurring (Smith, 1977).
279
9 REFERENCES
Amos, A. F., 1980.
At-sea observations of Ixtoc-I oil.
Texas Academy
of Science Meeting, March 7, 1980, Corpus Christi, Texas.

Amos, A. F.
(in preparation).
Ground truth observations of Ixtoc
oil compared to overflight data.

Amos, A. F. (in preparation). The oiling of shorebirds following the
Ixtoc oil spill.
To be submitted to American Birds.
Armstrong, R. S., and J. R. Grady,

the Gulf of Mexico.
1968.
The late summer waters of
Commercial Fisheries Review 30(8-9):56-60.
Assaf, G., R. Gerard and A. L. Gordon,
1971.
Some mechanisms of
oceanic mixing revealed in aerial photography.
Geophys. Res.
76(27):6550-6572.
El-Sayed, S. Z., vl. M. Sackett, L. M. Jeffrey, A. D. Fredericks, R. P.
Saunders, P. S. Conger, G. A. Fryxell, K. A. Steidinger and S. A.
Earle, 1972.
Chemistry, Primary productivity and benthic algae of
the Gulf of Mexico.

22.
Serial Atlas of the Marine Environment, Folio
American Geographical Society, 29 pp + 6 plates.
Ewing, G,
1950. Slicks, surface films and internal waves.
J. Mar.
Res. 9(3):161-187.
Flint, R. W., and N. N. Rabalais (eds.), 1980.
Environmental studies,
south Texas outer continental shelf, 1975-1977.
Special report to
Bureau of Land Management, Washington, D.C. Contract AA55l-CT8-5l.

Fogg, G. E., 1978.
Nitrogen fixation in the oceans. Ecol. Bull.
(Stockholm), 26:11-19.
La Fond, E.
731-751.
NOAA, l979a.
1962.
Internal waves lD_
1~.
N. Hill (ed.) The Sea, Vol. I.
New York, Interscience Publishers.

Climatological data, September 1979, Vol. 84, No. 9,
NOAA, Environmental Data and Information Service, National Climatic

Center, Ashville, N.C.
280
NOAA, 1979b.
Climatological Data, July 1979, Vol. 34, No. 9.
NOAA, Environmental Data and Information Service, National

Climatic Center, Ashville, N.C.
NOAA, l979c.
Climatological Data, May 1979, Vol. 84, No. 9.
NOAA, Environmental Data and Information Service, National

Climatic Center, Ashville, N.C.
Nowlin, W.O., Jr. and C.A. Parker, 1974.
Effects of a cold-air
outbreak on shelf waters of the Gulf of
~lexica.
J. Phys.
Oceanogr. 4: 467-486.
Parr, A.E., 1939.
Quantiative observations on the pelagic Sargassum
vegetation of the western North Atlantic.
Bull. Bingham
Oceanogr. Coll. 6: 94 pp.

Penfound, v!.T. and T.T. Earle, 1948.
hyacinth.
Ecol. Monographs 18(4): 448-472.
Schoener, A., 1970.
Pelagic Sargassum and its presence among the
deep-sea benthos.
Smith, N.P., 1977.
The biology of the water
Deep-Sea Res. , 17: 923-925 ..
Near-bottom cross-shelf currents in the north-
western Gulf of Mexico:
a response to wind forcing.
J. Phys. Oceanogr. 7: 615-620.

Smith, N.P., 1978.
Low-frequency reverses of nearshore currents in
the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

Smith, N.P., 1980.
Contr. Mar. Sci. 21: 103-115.
BLM hydrographic project, 1!!. Flint, R.W. and
N.N. Rabalais (Eds.), Environmental Studies, South Texas

Outer Continental Shelf, 1975-1977.
Special Report to Bureau
of Land Management, Washington, D.C., Contract AA551-CT8-5l,

3 volumes.
281
Sturges, W. and J.P. Blaha, 1976.

Gulf of Mexico.
iloodcock, A. H., 1950.
9: 77-92.
A \1estern Boundary Current in the
Science, 192: 367-369.

Sursurface pelagic Sargassum.
J. Mar. Res.,
282
10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
10.1
Contract Support
Cruises FSU-I and FSU-II were NSF-sponsored cruises headed
by Dr. Wilton Sturges of Florida State University supported by NSF

Grant No. OCE78-20722 entitled "Response of a Western Boundary Current
in the Gulf of Mexico."
Cruises MOUSSE-I and MOUSSE-II were funded by NOAA-ERL and
DOT-USCG under NOAA Contract No. NA79RAC00141, Tasks II and III,
respectively.
Task II (Principal Investigators:
A. F. Amos and P.L.
Parker) entitled "Mexican Oil Underwater Search & Survey Expedition";

Task III (Principal Investigators:
P.L. Parker and A. F. Amos) entitled
"Study o"" a Concentration Gradient of Hydrocarbons along the TexasMexico Coast".

10.2 Cruise Personnel
I wish to thank the permanent crew of the R/V LONGHORN who
assisted with the scientific data collection in addition to their
ship-handling duties:
Dona 1d L. Gibson
Boat Captain
Noe T. Cantu
Technical Staff Assistant IV
Hayden B. Abel
Technical Staff Assistant III
Tracie R. Laatz
Cook II
The following scientific personnel participated in the

cruises aboard LONGHORN:
Cruise FSU-I:
Wilton Sturges
FSU
Professor (Chief Scientist)
Anthony F. Amos
UT-PAML
Research Associate
Phi 11 i p Bedard
NOVA U
Research Associate
283
Gary Mitchum
FSU
Research Associate
David Szabo
FSU
Research Assistant
Edward Tankard
NOVA U
Research Assistant
Halter Sohl
UT-PAML
Research Assistant
Anthony F. Amos
UT-PAML
Research Associate (Chief Scientist)
E. W. Behrens
UT-GGL
Research Scientist
Craig Hooper
NOAA-ERL
Project Coordinator
Jerry L. Bird
UT-PAML
Graduate Research Assistant III
UT-PAML
Garry Ph ill ips
UT -PAf1L
Summer Student
Carlos Brunet
UT-PAML
Summer Student
Mac Irvin
UT-PAML
Summer Student
Cruise MOUSSE-I:
~1ark
A. Northam
Three additional people were aboard on Leg 2 of this cruise:

Jim Rudde
CBS-TV
News Reporter, Da 11 as
Paul Riggs
CBS-TV
Cameraman, Channel 7, Dallas
Jim McDonald
USCG
Strike Force Observer
Anthony F. Amos
UT -PM1L
Research Associate (Chief Scientist)
Craig W. Griffin
UT-PAML
Research Scientist Associate II
John Patton
ERCO/U. GA
Research Scientist/Fed. Coord.
UT-PAML
Research Scientist Assistant I
VJilliam Laatz
UT-PAML
Scott Milton
UT-PAML
Jerry L. Bird
UT-PAML
Cruise MOUSSE-II:
~like
Litwin
Richard K. Anderson UT-PAML

r~ark
A. Northam
Roger Burke
Graduate Research Assistant II
UT -PN1L
TAMU
Graduate Student
284
Cruise FSU- II:
Hilton Sturges
FSU
Professor (Chtef Scientist)
Anthony F. Amos
UT-PAML
Research Associate
David Hunley
FSU
Research Assistant
Pablo Clemente-Colon TAMU
Graduate Student
Michael Gunter
UT-PAML
Graduate Research Assistant I
Mark Dobbs
UT-PAML
Technical Staff Assistant
Edgar Findley
UT-PAML
Technical Staff Assistant
would especially like to thank Tony Sturges, Craig Griffin and
the many people who "eyeballed" the ocean, day and night, looking for
oi 1.
i[
A-1
APPENDIX
Hewlett-Packard 9825-A Computer Programming
On each of these cruises, an H-P 9825-A desk-top calculator
with printer, two flexible disk drives and an interface buss (HP-IB)
was used to collect and process data presented here.
At the laboratory
a Hewlett-Packard 9872-A four-color plotter was used to produce the

distribution maps in this report.
The system of programs described below was largely developed
for this project and as an aid to producing the report.
pertinent to part l are described here.
Only programs
A-2
Cruise Logs
The sequence of programs used to produce the cruise logs:
DEKDIL Records Deck log and Oil log data on cartridge tape.
Data entered
by hand at end of each 24-hour or other convenient period.
Computes
true course and speed of ship and wind velocity.

Subroutines called:
DIST, LZERO, POSIT, WINDV
INTERP Interpolates positions between fixes using the tapes recorded by

DEKOIL.
Given a time when any event (course, speed change, underway
sample taken, observation made, stop on station or start up off

station) occurred, a position, course, speed (or drift) is calculated.
Subroutines called DEDREK
BECKMN Computes salinity from conductivity ratio determined for surface
salinity samples using a BECKMAN induction salinometer.
Records
data on DEKOIL output tapes.

TABLE Prints cruise log data as reproduced in this report (sections 3-6,
4-6, 5-6 and 6-6).
Cruise Maps
Programs used to produce the cruise maps (sections 3-5},
4-5, 5-5 and 6-5).

DigGMX Used to digitize western Gulf of Mexico coastlines and major
isobaths.
bathymetry.
Includes provision to enter place names and label

Data re-recorded on flexible disk.
GMXplt Plots coastal outlines and/or bathymetry using data from DigGMX.
Plots using Mercator projection to any scale or segment of the
region (minimum 1 latitude by 1 longitude)
Subroutines called: Mercator
A-3
TRKp lt Plots the fo ll o~ti ng data on Mercator projection maps.

"
Cruise track, surface temperature, surface salinity, station

location, locations where observations were made and one or more
of several symbols where different types of oil or other
conditions were observed.
Data sources are the DEKOIL tapes
Subroutines called: Mercator

VECplt Computes and plots wind vectors on Mercator projection maps.
Data
sources are the DEKOIL tapes

Subroutines called DEDREK, key
CURplt Computes current roses and plots them on r1ercator projection maps.
Essentially the same as VECplt but its data source are separate
files of current meter data loaded using CURNT
Subroutines called: DEDREK
CURNT Loads surface C/M data on tape
Navigation programs
LORAN
l)
Has two modes of operation
Computes geographic position from LORAN-A fixes, LORAN-e
fixes or a combination of the two.

2)
given a geographic position computes all LORAN-A and LORAN-e
lines for that location (or any two specified lines)

Subroutines called AZIMTH
DEDRIK (Uusually used as a subroutine) performs dead-reckoning computations.
Can accept as input geographic positions, course, speed, start
time, end time or elapsed time or any combination and output the
remaining parameters.
Can also be used to compute vectors.
Subroutines called DIST, Tdift, Tadd.
A-4
Subroutines
AZIMTH Computes geodetic distance in meters between two fixes and the
geodetic forward azimuth.
DEDREK ca 1cul ates a dead-reckoning course and speed between t1vo known
positions given two times and a third for which the interpolation
is to be done.
(see navigation for full explanation)
DIST
Calculates the distance between two fixes using Clarkes 1866 spheroid
KEY
Plots a key for vector diagrams
LZERO Adds leading zeros or blanks to alphameric data fields for printouts
i4ercator:
Converts latitude and longitude to the correct scale factor for
plotting on a t1ercator projection

POSIT Converts geographical positions to quadrart-form and vice-versa
e.g. 97 15'W ~-96.250
Tadd
Adds a time, in hours to a time date group to produce a time date

group (e.g. 26 July, 2000 hrs + 14 hrs
Tdif
= 27 July, 1000)
Computes the difference in hours between two calendar time/date

groups (e.g. 26 July, 2000 to 27 July 1000 hrs
= 14
hrs)
WINDV Calculates true wind speed and direction given relative wind speed
and direction and ship's course and speed.

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THE IXTOC OIL SPILL

IXTOC OIL SPILL

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE

THE IXTOC OIL SPILL

PART I--FIELD OBSERVATIONS:

JULY - NOVEMBER 1979

Final Report to National Oceanic &Atmospheric Administration

Watch and Logging System

2.3 Weather Observations

2.4 Sea Surface Temperature and Salinity

2.5 Oil Observations

2.6 Other Observations

2.7.3 Sample Logs and Station Summaries

3.2 Cruise Narrative

3.3 Distribution of Oil and Relationship to Other Factors

Tarballs, Sheen and Flotsam

Winds and Water Masses

3.3.3 Subsurface Oil

3.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise FSU-I

3.4 Pelagic Fauna

3.4.2 Other Sightings

3.5 Cruise Maps

3.6 Cruise Log

3.7 Sample Log

4 CRUISE MOUSSE-I (4 AUGUST - 8 AUGUST 1979)

4.2 Cruise Narrative

Leg 1: Port Aransas- Port Isabel

Leg 2: Port Isabel - Port Isabel

Leg 3: Port Isabel - Port Aransas

4.3 Distribution of Oil and Relationship to Other Factors

Tarballs, Sheen and Flotsam

4.3.2 Wind and Water Masses

4.3.3 Subsurface Oil

4.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise MOUSSE-I

4.4 Pelagic Fauna

4.5 Cruise Maps

4.6 Cruise Log

4.7 Sample Log

5 CRUISE MOUSSE-II (15 AUGUST - 22 AUGUST 1979)

5.2 Cruise Narrative

5.3 Distribution of Oil and Relationship to Other Factors

5.3. 1 Tarballs, Sheen and Flotsam

5.3.2 Wind, Currents and Water Masses

5.3.3 Subsurface Oil

5.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise MOUSSE-II

5.4 Pelagic Fauna

5.4.2 Other Sightings

5.6 Cruise Log

5.7 Sample Log

6 CRUISE FSU- I I (31 OCTOBER - 6 NOVEHBER 1979)

6.3 Distribution of Oil and Relationship to Other Factors

6.3. 1 Tarballs, Sheen and Flotsam

6.3.2 Wind and Water Masses

6.3.3 Subsurface Oil

6.3.4 Beaching of Oil During Cruise FSU-II

6.4 Pelagic Fauna

6.4.2 Other Sightings

6.5 Cruise Maps

6.6 Cruise Log