In combination with a wave action balance equation,a damping model for sea waves covered by oil films of a finite thickness is proposed. The damping model is not only related to the physical parameters of the oil film,but also related to environment parameters. Meanwhile,the parametric analyses have been also conducted to understand the sensitivity of the damping model to these parameters. And numerical simulations demonstrate that a kinematic viscosity,a surface/interfacial elasticity,a thickness,and a fractional filling factor cause more significant effects on a damping ratio than the other physical parameters of the oil film. From the simulation it is also found that the influences induced by a wind speed and a wind direction are also remarkable. On the other hand,for a thick emulsified oil film,the damping effect on the radar signal induced by the reduction of an effective dielectric constant should also be taken into account. The simulated results are compared with the damping ratio evaluated by the 15 ENVISAT ASAR images acquired during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill accident. In combination with a wave action balance equation, a damping model for sea waves covered by oil films of a finite thickness is proposed. The damping model is not only related to the physical parameters of the oil film but also related to the environment parameters. , the parametric analyzes have been been conducted to understand the sensitivity of the damping model to these parameters. And numerical simulations demonstrate that a kinematic viscosity, a surface / interfacial elasticity, a thickness, and a fractional filling factor cause more significant effects on a damping ratio the the physical parameters of the oil film. From the simulation it is also found that the influences induced by a wind speed and a wind direction are also remarkable. On the other hand, for a thick emulsified oil film, the damping effect on the radar signal induced by the reduction of an effective dielectric constant should also be taken into account. The simulated results are compared with the damping rat io evaluated by the 15 ENVISAT ASAR images acquired during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill accident.