In-Situ Burning in the Marshland Environment-Soil Temperatures.
In-Situ Burning in the Marshland Environment-Soil
Temperatures.
(1872 K)
Bryner, N. P.; Walton, W. D.; DeLauter, L. A.; Twilley,
W. H.; Mendelssohn, I. A.; Lin, Q.; Mullin, J. V.
Volume 2; NIST SP 995; Volume 2; March 2003.
Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program (AMOP) Technical
Seminar, 23rd. Environment Canada. Volume 2.
Proceedings. June 14-16, 2000, Alberta, Canada,
Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 823-846 pp, 2000.
Sponsor:
Minerals Management Service, Herndon, VA
Keywords:
in situ burning; oil spills; cleaning; diesel fuels;
soil temperatures; heat flux; salt water; pool fires;
uncertainty
Abstract:
A series of burns was conducted to evaluate the impact
of intentional burning of an oil spill in a marshland
environment. Oil spilled in sensitive wetland
environments pose unique problems associated with
cleanup because mechanical recovery in wetlands may
result in more damage to the wetland than the oil
itself. In-situ burning of oiled wetlands may provide a
less damaging alternative than traditional mechanical
recovery. Many factors, including plant species, fuel
type and load, water level, soil type, burn duration,
may influence how well a wetland recovers from an
in-situ oil burn. Ten burns were conducted in a 6 m tank
to expose 80 plant specimens to conditions which were
designed to simulate a spill of diesel fuel and the
intentional burning of the spilled oil. Plants were
positioned at four different elevations, -10 cm, -2 cm,
0 cm and +10 cm, relative to water level. Forty of the
plants were instrumented with thermocouples in order to
monitor soil temperatures during bums which lasted for
either 400 s or 1400 s. The soil temperature data
indicate that a 2 cm layer of water should provide
sufficient protection to prevent permanent damage to the
plant/root system.
