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Seawater samples were collected using a technique that isolated the upper 0.15 mm of surface water.Much of their organic matter was surface-active, slick-forming material that was originally at the seawater-air interface. These surface-active molcculcs are of interest because of their influence on many properties of the sea surface. Determinations were made of the effect of monolayers of these materials on the surface tension, on the surface potential, on the damping of capillary waves, ancl on the surface viscosity.The measurements were made as functions of the area of surface occupied by the adsorbed molecules.

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Force/area and surface potential/area isotherms of nine samples of organic surface active materials collected from various positions in the WNrth Atlantic were studied on distilled water (acidified to pH 20), and synthetic sea water substrates. Each of the six samples collected under approximately the same conditions were similar in surface activity and surface potential. Three samples, collected under different sea conditions or in areas where contamination was likely to occur, varied from this aver- PROBLEM STATUSThis is an interim report, work on this problem is continuing.

No abstract