What is in news : Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has removed over 20,000 kg of TARBALLS from Juhu and Versova beaches in Mumbai recently

What are tarballs :

• Dark-coloured, sticky balls of oil that form when crude oil floats on the ocean surface
• Formed by weathering of crude oil in marine environments
• Transported from the open sea to the shores by sea currents and waves
• Some are as big as a basketball while others are smaller globules
• Usually coin-sized and are found strewn on the beaches. However, over the years, they have become as big as basketballs and can weigh as much as 6-7 kgs
• Usually found in beaches during Monsoon

How are tarballs formed:  The NIO study states that “wind and waves tear the oil slick into smaller patches that are scattered over a much wider area. Various physical, chemical and biological processes (weathering) change the appearance of the oil”.