Summary

We have undertaken a decadal study (1998-2008) of the tar balls found on beaches around the South-West peninsula of the UK. Beaches on the north and south coasts of Cornwall and Devon have been surveyed a number of times, often during both the summer (July-September) and the winter (December-February). Although the amount of tar may be classed as “negligible ” (<1.0 g m-1) it can originate from sources that are geographically remote from the UK. This is demonstrated by tar balls showing a biological marker signature similar to that of oil from the Prestige, which sank off Spain (42°15´N, 12°08´W) in November 2002