a higher amount of evaporation when the slick is spread out to a greater degree. Fifty percent of hydrocarbons found in oil are removed from a light spill within ten days, by evaporation (Beer 1983). With crude oil, twenty-five percent of its volume can be evaporated during the first few days. Evaporation continues at a diminishing rate for several weeks (Smith 1968).
             The third step in natural degradation occurs when the wind and the waves cause the hydrocarbons to enter into a solution with the ocean water. Typically, the most soluble hydrocarbons are the most toxic.
             Emulsification is the fourth step in the natural degradation process. Insoluble components of the oil emulsify with the ocean water and are described as oil in water or water in oil emulsions, depending on the ratio of one to another (Beer 1983). Emulsions can contain up to eighty percent water. As the mass of the oil in the emulsions decreases through evaporation, the specific gravity or density increases, which makes the emulsions more likely to sink (Smith 1968).
             The next step is direct sea to air exchange. Wave-produced spray transfers hydrocarbons to the air in the same way salt is transferred (Beer 1983). There is a constant cycle of hydrocarbons between the sea and the air, but these are more localized along tanker routes, and coastal areas (Garrett 1975).
             The sixth part of this process is photochemical oxidation, which occurs when sunlight induces chemical changes in the oil and it begins to harden.
             The seventh step in the natural degradation of oil is sedimentation. As the density continues to increase, the oil and its other components become heavier than water, so they eventually sink to the bottom of the ocean (Beer 1983).
             The final step in the process is bacterial degradation. The remaining sediments on the ocean bottom are broken up by bacteria. If an oil spill ...