A SIMPLE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEM FOR THE DETECTION OF OIL

ABSTRACT The surveillance and tracking of oil is an essential component of any oil spill response. There are many techniques available that are applicable under a wide variety of environmental conditions. Many of these techniques, such as Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) or line-scan based infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) sensing systems, require the use of a dedicated aircraft and a skilled operator to operate effectively and to interpret the output of the sensor packages. As a result of new and improved technologies, simpler imaging systems have been developed and this paper will describe the use of an image-producing IR camera, together with a charge-coupled device UV sensor, to provide a simple interpreted image of thick and thin components of an oil spill under a wide variety of conditions. The system is designed so that aircraft of opportunity and unskilled operators can operate it and provide the essential information required for oil spill response.