skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Reducing risk in deep-water exploration with ALF, the Airborne Laser Fluorosensor

Conference ·
OSTI ID:542834

The vast majority of the world`s onshore oilfields leak small amounts of petroleum as surface seeps. Seeps mark the ends of migration pathways and in unexplored basins, they provide vital clues in the hunt for the oilfields of the future. ALF, the Airborne Laser Fluorosensor, is an airborne geochemical tool capable of detecting very low concentrations of seeped petroleum at the ocean surface, equivalent to micro-seepage levels detected by conventional surface geochemical tools (gravity coring, etc). The system has detected oil and condensate films as thin as 0.01{mu}m (microns), an order of magnitude less than observed by the human eye or by passive satellite or airborne sensors as below 0.1{mu}m, oil films are invisible. ALF also identifies the phase of the seeping petroleum i.e., light oil/condensate, normal or heavy oil.

OSTI ID:
542834
Report Number(s):
CONF-951013-; TRN: 97:004463-0022
Resource Relation:
Conference: SEG `95: 65. annual meeting and international exposition of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), Houston, TX (United States), 8-13 Oct 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of SEG/Houston `95 - technical program; PB: 1623 p.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Space-age tool for direct detection of ocean-surface hydrocarbons
Journal Article · Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1995 · AAPG Bulletin · OSTI ID:542834

Airborne laser fluorosensors: Valuable tools for response to marine and terrestrial oil spills
Conference · Tue Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 1996 · OSTI ID:542834

Sensor sheds light on offshore
Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · AAPG Explorer; (United States) · OSTI ID:542834