In September, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) demonstrated a new use for its long-range autonomous underwater vehicles (LRAUVs), detecting and tracking oil spills.
MBARI engineers outfitted an LRAUV with fluorometers that can detect oil in water and they simulated an oil spill using non-toxic, biodegradable dye.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
Robots that can find oil spills under ice will be needed as ship traffic and oil exploration expands in the Arctic Ocean. The LRAUV used in these experiments will also allow the vehicle to navigate beneath sea ice by bouncing sound waves off the underside of the ice.
MBARI recently tested the LRAUV, which detected the plume, after which the robot continued by measuring the concentrations of dye within the plume and recording the areas of highest intensity. When the robot crossed the outer edge of the plume, it turned around and headed back toward the plume.
Brett Hobson, MBARI’s principal investigator on this project, informed:
Everything worked well during the field test. The plume tracking still needs a little adjustment, but we’re working on that.
This research was funded by the US Department of Homeland Security. The current study is based on a previous MBARI effort to track oil in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
