Abstract
Substances released at sea by accident or illegal discharges are characterized by a broad range of chemical and physical properties. Moreover, the characteristics of coastal waters, e.g. in the German Bight, are highly variable. Due to this a submersible sensor network for the detection of hazardous substances on the seafloor combining several instruments based on different physical and chemical principles has been under development since 1996. In addition to conventional sensors for seawater analysis and seafloor monitoring such as CTD probes (conductivity, temperature, depth) and video cameras, the system includes several newly developed instruments for the detection of dissolved and sunken pollutants. One of these instruments is the submarine lidar, combining a range-gated imaging device and a fluorescence lidar. A q-switched Nd:YAG laser is used as the common light source. Applying the expanded frequency-doubled laser pulse the gated CCD camera is particularly useful for recording images of damaged containers with chemical cargo where harmful substances might be released into the water column. Tuned to UV emission, the same laser is used for remotely classifying fluorescent substances spreading on the seafloor. The intention of this paper is to present the submarine lidar in detail and to give an overview of its physics and potential applications.
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