Longhorn reports : the IXTOC oil spill. Part 1, Field observations : July - November 1979

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 western Gulf of Mexico. 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 reversed 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". ... 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 95°W or 150 nm offshore at 24°N.