Development of an underwater multispectral fluorescence based oil spill sensor system for the marine environment

This poster describes the development of an underwater optical fluorescence sensor system to detect the presence of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants in the marine environment. The system is designed for long term continuous underwater operation and will be used primarily to provide real time notification of the occurrence of a petroleum leak or spill at marine facilities. The sensor utilizes broadband UV excitation from a pulsed xenon lamp to generate fluorescence emission in contaminated sea water. It can detect floating product (surface sheen) from below the surface as well as detect dissolved phase PAHs in the water column. Multispectral emission information is used to distinguish between several possible petroleum classes and also to eliminate false positive interference from non-petroleum based fluorophores such as chlorophyll, cleaning detergents, and sea dye. Real time qualitative identification yields an important advantage in terms of rapidly resolving questions of spill origin or in determining an appropriate response. The design uses the optical energy of the UV excitation source to prevent biofouling on the surface of the optical window thereby greatly extending the usable field lifetime of the {open_quotes}deploy and forget{close_quotes} instrument.