Evaluation of infrared sensors for oil spill response operations. Final report, October 1994-June 1995

During November 1994, the USCO conducted a field evaluation of several commercially available portable infrared (IR) sensors for their ability to detect oil on water at night. The evaluation was conducted over the natural oil seeps off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA. The portable sensors were operated from the open door of a Coast Guard HH-60J helicopter. Sensors evaluated included the Agema Thermovision 1000 and Texas Instruments LOCUSP operating in the long wave IR (LWIR) and the Cincinnati Electronics IRC-160ST and IRRIS-256ST operating in the medium wave IR (MWIR). The installed FLIR 2000 LWIR system provided a baseline reference of current CG IR capabilities.