UAS Characterization of Oil in Ice Volume 1: Laboratory Results
Abstract
The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration executed an experiment on remote sensing of fresh (non-emulsified) and emulsified oil in ice at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. Multispectral sensors mounted on an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) identified different levels of oil thickness and differentiated between emulsified and non-emulsified oil under simulated Arctic conditions. Non-linear thermal imagery was able to segment and classify areas of ice cover. A multispectral sensor differentiated emulsions between 10 m and 50 m. Apparent temperature measurements could be converted to oil thickness over the range of 50 m to 5,000 m using a logarithmic function. The minimum detection limit of the thermal sensor for the oil was between 50 m and 100 m. Acoustic sensors on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) were shown to perform well with measuring thicker oil slicks (greater than 1,000 m). The experiments provide a foundation for further research to implement a processing routine that can be applied to field operations to detect ice cover and oil thicknesses under different environmental conditions and ice densities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1165443
Entities
People
- Alexander Balsley
- Lisa Dipinto
- Nancy Kinner
- Oscar Garcia-pineda
- Paul Panetta