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Preliminary field tests with oil slicks using microprocessor controlled microwave radiometer system

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5168829
This paper discusses the two-channel microprocessor controlled microwave radiometer system developed at the Radio Laboratory of the Helsinki University of Technology for oil thickness measurements. The thickness estimations are based on the actual antenna brightness temperatures in real time seen by the two radiometers. For this reason great care has been taken to achieve stable radiometer system. The effects of weather conditions are eliminated by storing the brightness temperature values from a clean water surface into the memory to be used as reference values for thickness measurements. However, the weather and the sea state have great influence on the behaviour of the oil slick and for this reason quite low references, 5 GHz and 16.5 GHz, are selected for the radiometers. This means that the thickness estimations are possible up to 10 mm with an accuracy of 1 mm using the 5 GHz radiometer and up to 3 mm with an accuracy of 0.2 mm using the 16.5 GHz radiometer. Finally, some experimental results from field tests are explained.
Research Organization:
Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Espoo (Finland). Radio Lab.
OSTI ID:
5168829
Report Number(s):
AD-P-002013/1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English