The control of pollution by oil in the marine environment is based on the knowledge of the pathways and fate of this substance upon entering the sea. The fate and pathways of oil are largely governed by the physical processes ranging from molecular motion to ocean-wide currents, operating on time scales from seconds to millennia. Depending on the particular forces acting together at a given time, spilled oil will undergo any of a var1ety of transformations. Physical oceanographic processes are to a larger extent forced by climatic events, so that an analysis of factors determining the extent and degree of oil pollution should start with meteorological phenomena.