This is a Joint Industry Project (JIP) between MMS, Environment Canada, U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Transportation Development Centre, and the Canadian Petroleum Association to develop the new laser fluorosensor technology for the detection of oil on water, ice and on shorelines. The objectives of this project include: develop the technology of laser fluorosensing for oil spill application including oil on water, on shorelines, among debris, ice or weeds and oil on ice; develop prototype instruments; and test these instruments.
Ground testing of the Scanning Laser Environmental Airborne Fluorosensor (SLEAF) is ongoing, but is still hampered by many hardware and software problems. The SLEAF has been integrated into Environment Canada's DC-3 remote sensing aircraft and was scheduled to undergo a series of test flights to examine the reliability of the hardware during flight and its ability to withstand repeated take-off and landings. Due to repeated hardware and software problems the project has been put on hold indefinitely.