POSTER Session 1

Modeling the radiance and irradiance in a seawater column for oil‑in‑water emulsion detection

In recent decades the wide range of human activities that take place in coastal areas causes the multiple potential sources of pollution. The possibility of tracking oil pollution in the sea has been an issue that has been analyzed for a long time, and the use of light interactions with the sea “enriched” with various forms of oil is the subject of many studies. We decided that an interesting object of research is an oil-in-water system exposed to sunlight. We used the Monte Carlo simulations to model the solar light transfer in seawater in case of the appearance of oil substances. The analyzes were carried out for eight wavelengths ranging from 412 to 676 nm using dispersed oil with a concentration of 10 ppm. The absorption and the scattering coefficients of the seawater were defined as typical for the southern Baltic Sea. Moreover the oil emulsion model was based on the optical properties of crude oil extracted in this area. The virtual photon receivers were directed downwards and upwards so that they registered photons moving from the water column perpendicularly upwards and downwards. Based on the modeling of the downwelling and upwelling radiance and irradiance received by a virtual underwater sensor, the most favorable spectral index to detect an oil emulsion in the water column in all cases turned out to be 555/412. We expect the results of our research will expand knowledge that would be useful in designing an optical sensor for monitoring oil substances penetrating the seawater column.

Barbara Lednicka, Gdynia Maritime University, Poland, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2718-8598

Zbigniew Otremba, Gdynia Maritime University, Poland, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7943-110X

Jacek Piskozub, Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3386-6604

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