Oil Leak Detections with a Combined Telescopic Fluorescence Sensor and a Wide Band MultiBeam Sonar

Abstract

ABSTRACT 2017-042:A combined telescopic fluorescence instrument and a wide band multibeam sonar (WBMS) were developed as dual sensors for detecting underwater oil leaks and plumes. The fluorescence instrument is a forward-looking fluorescence polarization instrument with motorized telescopic focusing that can detect oil at a standoff distance. The instrument responds only to materials showing fluorescence polarization, and therefore is able to distinguish oil from other fluorescing species in water. The WBMS is as an acoustic sensor that provides 2D as well as 3D topology for mapping and water column imagery. The operational integration of the two sensors result in a more definitive identification and mapping of oil in the water column co-registered in time and space. The sonar records a 3-dimensional map of a leak, and then the fluorescence sensor is use to confirm that the leak that the sonar detected is oil. A sensing scheme to integrate the operation and overlap the field of view of the 2 instruments was developed as well as the software algorithm to automate the detection process. Evaluations of the integrated sensors were done in a test pool and in open water. Testing results shows that the combined sensors are very effective in detecting and identifying oil plume in the water column.