This paper presents an algorithm for spots detection in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images that can be used to support environmental remote monitoring. Monitoring areas with high frequency of oil spillage by accidental or illegal oil discharges can prevent marine damage spreading. But the presence of speckle noise in SAR images limits the visual interpretation of scenes because it obscures t...

An increasing awareness of environmental issues, coupled with a number of recent events, has focused considerable attention on the likely consequences of a large oil spill. If the impact of these accidental releases is to be minimises, the risk assessment and contingency planning must be based upon a sound understanding of the dispersion process. This is required to determine both the lateral s...

We use the Helmholtz free energy balance and the Mayer-Stowe-Princen method to derive general expressions governing multiphase pistonlike displacements in noncircular capillary elements with arbitrary wettability. We take into account hysteresis in oil/water, gas/water, and gas/oil contact angles. We study both two- and three-phase systems. We find threshold capillary pressures for gas invasion...

this paper presents results analyses of specific potential blowout scenarios for subsea oilpipelines between the coast of mainland of iran and khark island in the persian gulf. the analyses have been carried out with the sintef oil spill contingency and response (oscar) 3-dimensional model system.some hypothetical three-day blowout scenarios with light and heavy iranian oil have been investigat...

We investigate the spreading at variable rate of a water drop on a smooth hydrophobic substrate in an ambient oil bath driven by electrowetting. We find that a thin film of oil is entrapped under the drop. Its thickness is described by an extension of the Landau-Levich law of dip coating that includes the electrostatic pressure contribution. Once trapped, the thin film becomes unstable under th...

Essential oils from anise, hyssop, thyme, ginger, camomile and sandalwood were screened for their inhibitory effect against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in vitro on RC-37 cells using a plaque reduction assay. Genital herpes is a chronic, persistent infection spreading efficiently and silently as sexually transmitted disease through the population. Antiviral agents currently applied for t...

Understanding how people communicate during disasters is important for creating systems to support this communication. Twitter is commonly used to broadcast information and to organize support during times of need. During the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill, Twitter was utilized for spreading information, sharing firsthand observations, and to voice concern about the situation. Through building a series of...

Spreading of liquids and soft solids on a rigid surface in a surrounding liquid medium is investigated by utilizing the lateral sensitivity of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). While the QCM has been used extensively to study systems with spatial variations in the direction normal to the crystal's electrodes, few studies have exploited the QCM's ability to sense changes in loading in the p...

Aqueous core/polymer shell microcapsules with mononuclear and polynuclear core morphologies have been formed by internal phase separation from water-in-oil emulsions. The water-in-oil emulsions were prepared with the shell polymer dissolved in the aqueous phase by adding a low boiling point cosolvent. Subsequent removal of this cosolvent (by evaporation) leads to phase separation of the polymer...