2011/02/23 by Øyvind Breivik, Arthur A. Allen, Arthur A Allen +2 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing #Oil Spill Detection and Mitigation #Underwater Acoustics Research #physics.ao-ph #physics.geo-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.apor.2011.01.005
published as Appl Ocean Res, 33 (2011) pp 100-109 · 33 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables
openalex publication_date 2011/02/23 · crossref created 2011/02/23 · crossref issued 2011/04/01 · crossref published 2011/04/01 · crossref published-print 2011/04/01 · arxiv created 2011/11/03 · arxiv updated 2011/11/04 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · crossref deposited 2018/12/04 · crossref indexed 2026/07/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A method for conducting leeway field experiments to establish the drift properties of small objects (0.1-25 m) is described. The objective is to define a standardized and unambiguous procedure for condensing the drift properties down to a set of coefficients that may be incorporated into existing stochastic trajectory forecast models for drifting objects of concern to search and rescue operations and other activities involving vessels lost at sea such as containers with hazardous material. An operational definition of the slip or wind and wave-induced motion of a drifting object relative to the ambient current is proposed. This definition taken together with a strict adherence to 10 m wind speed allows us to refer unambiguously to the leeway of a drifting object. We recommend that all objects if possible be studied using what we term the direct method, where the object's leeway is studied directly using an attached current meter. We divide drifting objects into four categories, depending on their size. For the smaller objects (less than 0.5 m), an indirect method of measuring the object's motion relative to the ambient current must be used. For larger objects, direct measurement of the motion through the near-surface water masses is strongly recommended. Larger objects are categorized according to the ability to attach current meters and wind monitoring systems to them. The leeway field method proposed here is illustrated with results from field work where three objects were studied in their distress configuration; a 1:3.3 sized model of a 40-ft Shipping container, a World War II mine and a 220 l (55-gallon) oil drum.