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Summary

Important note concerning the NOAA "HOTLINE" Communications System:

Please note that this system is used for NOAA internal communications and the reports are
put in chronologically.  There is NO corrective "post editing" of the reports.  As a
result of this, early reports may have information that later proved to be incorrect.
Sometimes these errors are corrected in a later report, but sometimes corrections are made
over the phone or in-person, and no correcting message is entered.  This reflects the use
of this system as a real-time spill communications system and is not intended to be an
event-log. Please keep this in mind when reading HOTLINE reports for this incident.


If you have any problems with this system please contact the HAZMAT Duty Officer at
206-526-6317.

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Initial Report:
The SSC was contacted by USCG Activities New York (ACTNY) concerning reports by two
commercial airplanes sighting an oil slick offshore, about 15 miles south of Long Island,
NY. The position was reported as 40 degrees 21 minutes North, 73 degrees 48 minutes West.
The slick was about 3 miles long by 1 mile wide. A USCG helo sent to confirm the sighting
reported the slick in the above location and that it appeared to be light sheen with some
rainbow and some "sludge" in the center. ACTNY requested trajectory and weather support
from NOAA.


Ed Levine
NOAA SSC
USCG Battery Park Building            Phone =  (212)668-6428
1 South Street, rm. 301                Fax     =  (212)668-6370
New York, NY 10004-1466

The following is the report that was sent to ACTNY:

Date: March 24, 2001
TO: Ed Levine / USCG Lt CMDR Valentino  
FROM: NOAA/Hazardous Materials Response Division
            Modeling and Simulation Studies
            Seattle, WA 98115
      
SUBJECT: Mystery Slick off Long Island

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Glen Watabayashi
MODELING AND SIMULATION STUDIES, NOAA, SEATTLE, WA 98115.
PHONE (206) 526-6317.
_______________________________________________________
Per your request we have looked at trajectory implications of the slick reported off Long
Island. These notes are based on the following information:


On March 24, a mystery slick was reported about 15 miles south off the west end of Long
Island by a passing aircraft.  A later C.G. overflight confirmed seeing a 3 by 1 mile
sheen with patches of darker product. If any of this initial information is incorrect,
please let us know ASAP as it would affect any trajectory implications.

_______________________________________________________
1) Weather Forecast
This afternoon winds are expected to remain from the SW at 25 - 30 knots.  This evening
between 6 and 7 PM EST winds are expected to become W to WNW at 20 - 25 knots.  By
midnight winds are expected to become NW at 20 - 25 knots and remain from the NW and
strong through Sunday morning.  Sunday afternoon and into Sunday evening winds are
expected to be from the W to WNW a 10 - 20 knots becoming NW again on Monday.  Seas are
expected to be 4 - 6 feet Saturday and Sunday.


2) Trajectory Analysis
With the strong persistent winds we would expect the winds to dominate the movement of the
oil.   Without any persistent onshore winds, we do not expect any oil to impact the shore
over the next few days.


With the winds expected to remain from the SW this afternoon and become W to WNW to NW
tonight, we would expect any remaining oil to be E to SE 10 - 15 miles from the last
reported location by tomorrow morning.


3) Oil Weathering
Under the 4 - 6 seas and 20 - 30 knot winds expected this afternoon and tonight, we would
expect most if not all of the 3 by 1 mile sheen to break apart and disperse over the next
24 hours. Some tarballs and streamers may persist into Sunday but would be difficult to
observe from overflights.


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