Remote Sensing

The objective was to significantly expand the practical operating window for oil detection with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to cover a wider range of sea ice and climate conditions. This project was a direct continuation of TAR projects 348, 517, 547, 569, and 588. Funding partners for this project were: Alaska Clean Seas, BSEE, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Upstream Research, Shell International E&P, and StatoilHydro.

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.

This research project will develop a portable, easy-to-operate, aerial sensor to detect and accurately map the thickness and distribution of an oil slick in coastal and offshore waters in real-time. Building on previous research the technical plan, consisting of five phases will lead to the deployment of an operational system estimated to be completed with 18 months. The five phases are: Addition and testing of infra-red camera to the detection system.
Refinement and implementation of the neural network and fuzzy ratio-based oil discrimination software.

Over the past three years, under continued MMS sponsorship, the development of oil and ice detection system has made significant progress through a series of successful projects (Project 517, Project 547, and Project 569).

Proposal focuses on the design and implementation of a field spill in Svalbard, Norway in March 2006, where several remote sensing systems will be tested in both surface and airborne modes. Experiment will be conducted over solid land fast sea ice representative of the type of ice found in many near shore Arctic regions of the world including the Alaskan North Slope.

This project represented follow up on work to develop technologies to detect oil located in or under ice. The following tasks will be accomplished:

1. Analysis of additional water and ice samples collected in November 2004 at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, NH.

Lead Investigator: Victor Jones, Exploration Technologies Inc. Houston (ETI)

Project objectives are as follows: Develop an oil slick thickness measurement algorithm, Testing of the developed methodology using Santa Barbara Channel oil seeps as targets and simultaneous in-situ boat measurements for validation, Refine the slick thickness algorithm, Conduct verification testing at Ohmsett and customization of the algorithm for different oil types, Develop a real-time analysis generating/information dissemination methodologies, and Conduct a real-time operational support demonstration flight.

This project positively detected oil trapped in and under ice with two completely independent technologies, both of which have potential for further development and large-scale field testing. In many respects (limited size of spills, lack of natural cracks and fractures in the ice), the design of this test program represents a worst-case scenario, compared with the expected characteristics of a real spill under sea ice.

Use Satellite Radar Imagery to Detect if there are leaking abandoned wells. It will be tested in Phase I and an Optional phase 2 will check the Gulf of Mexico Region. Final report delivered March 14, 2001.

At present, the only known method of searching and detecting the presence of oil leaking at low rates from a marine pipeline in the winter period involves drilling holes at frequent intervals along the pipe to expose any oil which could be trapped in or under the ice. This method is expensive, labor intensive, and exposes personnel to the vagaries of extreme weather. There is a strong motivation within government agencies and industry to identify and develop a reliable and safe means of remotely detecting oil in and under ice.