ime, but what most people do not know is that the ocean has a natural cleaning process of its own. The first stage is when oil is spilled; it spreads into a thin layer on the surface of the water. As this layer thins, the oil's surface tension and other factors such as water currents and wind, controls the rate of spreading. The higher the surface tension, the more slowly a spill spreads. Spreading is important in the lifecycle of a spill. It increases the oil's exposure to sunlight and air, thus enhancing the rate and effect of other weathering processes, such as evaporation (American Petroleum Institute p.1)
             The second stage of the process is called dissolution. Dissolution of oil means that most oil components are water-soluble (dissolves in water) to a certain degree, especially low-molecular-weight aliphatic hydrocarbons. Polar compounds formed as a result of oxidation of some oil fractions in the marine environment also dissolve in seawater. Compared with evaporation, dissolution takes more time. Hydronamic and physicochemical conditions in the surface waters strongly affect the rate of the process (offshore enviroment.com p.1).
             The third stage in the self-cleansing process is demubsifrcation. Oil embubsification in the marine environment depends first of all, on oil composition and the turbulent regime of the water mass. The most stable emulsions such as water-in-soil contain for
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