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Assessing Hydrocarbon presence in the waters of Port au Port bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, for AUV oil spill delineation tests
Citation
Hwang, J and Bose, N and Robinson, B and Nguyen, H, Assessing Hydrocarbon presence in the waters of Port au Port bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, for AUV oil spill delineation tests, The Journal of Ocean Technology, 15, (3) pp. 102-112. ISSN 1718-3200 (2020) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2020 Journal of Ocean Technology
Abstract
The waters adjacent to the Port au Port Peninsula, in Port au Port Bay, Newfoundland and
Labrador, are known to be subject to release of hydrocarbons from natural oil seeps and old
abandoned oil wells. An investigation was done to determine whether there were sufficient oil
compounds present for planned autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) test missions to develop
adaptive sampling algorithms to delineate oil spills. Fluorometers were used in-situ to measure
oil concentrations. Oil-and-water samples were taken at selected waypoints for chemical analysis
in the laboratory to validate the sensor measurements and to provide a ground truth. Only one
of the fluorometers was found to have a minimum detection level that was capable of sensing
the hydrocarbons in the water column. The water sample results indicated hydrocarbon levels
up to almost 30 ppm in the east side of the bay, just to the west of Shoal Point, but no detectable
levels on the west side of the bay. It was concluded that it would be possible to operate an AUV
on a planned fixed mission with a pre-programmed search path and record the levels of signal
detected from fluorometers or other sensors. However, it would be difficult to implement an
adaptive mission in this case because of the low levels of sensor signals resulting from the low
concentrations of hydrocarbon present.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), adaptive sampling, oil spill delineation, gas chromatography – flame ionization detector, gas chromatography – mass spectrometry, total petroleum hydrocarbon |
| Research Division: | Engineering |
| Research Group: | Maritime engineering |
| Research Field: | Special vehicles |
| Objective Division: | Defence |
| Objective Group: | Defence |
| Objective Field: | Intelligence, surveillance and space |
| UTAS Author: | Hwang, J (Miss Jimin Hwang) |
| UTAS Author: | Bose, N (Professor Neil Bose) |
| UTAS Author: | Nguyen, H (Dr Hung Nguyen) |
| ID Code: | 141999 |
| Year Published: | 2020 |
| Deposited By: | NC Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics |
| Deposited On: | 2020-12-08 |
| Last Modified: | 2021-06-18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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