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Laboratory Observations of Variable Size and Shape Particles-Artificial Sand and Oil Agglomerates: November 2016 Velocity Data

Metadata Updated: November 20, 2025

Following marine oil spills, weathered oil can mix with sediment in the surf zone and settle to the seafloor to form mats up to hundreds of meters long. Wave action fragments these mats into 1- to 10-centimeter (cm) diameter sand and oil agglomerates (SOAs). SOAs can persist for years, becoming buried in or exhumed from the seafloor and/or transported cross-shore and alongshore (Dalyander and others, 2015). These fragments are angular near the source mat and become increasingly rounded as they are transported. To quantify SOA motion, the USGS conducted experiments in November 2016 (field activity number (FAN) 2016-364-DD) and June 2017 (FAN 2017-329-FA) using various size, shape, and density artificial sand and oil agglomerates (aSOAs). Video and velocity data were collected under a range of hydrodynamic forcing scenarios in the Small-Oscillatory Flow Tunnel at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) located in Stennis, Mississippi. Between November 14 and 18, 2016, laboratory studies were conducted on spherical- and patty-shaped particles on a roughened flatbed. Two types of particles were used, one consisting of paraffin wax and sand, while the other was machine-fabricated out of aluminum and coated in sand. Between June 5 and 8, 2017, laboratory studies were conducted on spherical, patty, ellipsoidal, and angular-ellipsoidal particles using paraffin wax and sand, aluminum, and three-dimensional (3D) printed plastic particles.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 20, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 20, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-278b8c66-b7b1-41fb-b2a8-3eb0f0d6aa84
Data Last Modified 2021-10-29T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 68251e1a-07ff-4f28-bc80-0c25528e1435
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 2e3b822de317a1a1023142dd86964c5f50e5467fe98942816947ff84bd9cedd9
Source Schema Version 1.1

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