Development of an all-weather, airborne instrument capable of measuring oil thickness over an oil-slick area in real time.
Analysis of the results from Ohmsett testing of the Ka-band radiometer has been completed. Laboratory testing of the W-band instrument is also complete. No Ohmsett testing of the W-band system was contemplated. There have been continuing problems with the stability of electronic components in this state of the art system. Therefore, the development of a prototype of a dual band microwave radiometer based oil slick thickness sensor for installation in a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter has been indefinitely deferred. Instead, the draft final report outline has been revised to be a summary of the work accomplished, lessons learned from the research and the possible future directions for sensor development.
This is a cooperative research effort with the U.S. Coast Guard.