Temporal distribution of tar-balls stranded on the beaches of Terengganu

Abstract

Tar-ball distribution on the beach is frequently used as a pollution indicator for the extent of oil spills. The South China Sea off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is an active site for offshore oil production; therefore Terengganu is vulnerable to tar-balls pollution. Three sampling stations were established for this study; Pengkalan Maras (Station 1), Kampung Pagar Besi (Station 2) and Kampung Panjang (Station 3). The tarballs stranded on the beach were collected from August 2004 to January 2005. The parameters studied were the intensity, size distribution and tar-sand proportion of tarballs.