Ocean Imaging's current aerial thickness mapping system has been deployed during oil spills in California and during the response to the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. For this to occur in other U.S. geographic areas the technology needed to be tested and validated under other oceanographic and environmental conditions. The existing system was developed and operationally tested under temperate sea and atmospheric conditions with reasonable water clarity. Many geographic regions with oil and gas activities experience conditions outside of this realm. There was a need for system testing under extreme conditions such as the Arctic conditions experienced at high latitudes.
With the rapid advancement of digital camera imaging technology a new, much more compact, less expensive and simpler to operate hardware could be utilized in the future systems. There was a need for the testing of simplified, self-contained multispectral system configurations.
This project was a direct continuation of Project 544 and Project 594.
Tasks: The project was comprised of eight research/development and test/demonstration phases that also represented the project's major milestones. Some tests were dependent on specific seasons (i.e. wintertime experiments at Ohmsett and summer (ice free) testing on Alaska's North Slope). Determination & Initial Testing of Arctic Region-suitable Digital Dissemination System Wintertime Testing of Oil Thickness Mapping Sensor at Ohmsett Cold Environment Infrared (IR) Thickness Algorithm Development Development of Simplified Multispectral System. System Testing in Alaska System Testing in Highly Turbid Waters (Gulf of Mexico) Determination of Visible-near IR and Thermal IR Response Characteristics Using Imagery Acquired During the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Initial Oil Emulsion Characterization Algorithm Development
A deliverable of this project was publication of results in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Following internal reviews by NOAA and BSEE, and journal-managed peer-review, the paper has been published in the October, 2012 issue of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 78 (10), 1089-1102: Operational Utilization of Aerial Remote Sensing During Oil Spill Response: Lessons Learned During the Deepwater Horizon Spill.
The final report was received on November 2, 2012. BSEE has reviewed and accepted the final report.