Design, construction, test and evaluation of a frequency scanning radiometer tor measuring oil slick thickness. Final report, October 1992-April 1994

Technical Report · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994

OSTI ID:91467

Hover, G L; Murphy, J; Brown, E R; Hogan, G G; McMahon, O B

Single frequency microwave radiometry has been used to detect and estimate oil slick thicknesses. Because only a single sampling point is used, estimates of oil thickness can become ambiguous. MIT Lincoln Laboratory proposed the concept of using a frequency scanning radiometer to sample multiple points across a frequency band, thus resolving the problem of ambiguities in oil thickness estimation. A laboratory-prototype FSR capable of scanning over Ka-band (26 -40GHz) was designed, built, and tested. The FSR was used in laboratory proof-of-principle testing to (1) measure uniform thickness oil layers under various ambient weather conditions (day, night, clear, cloudy, drizzle, and snow) and different oil types, and (2) measure the phenomenology of non-uniform thickness oil layers and emulsions. Comparisons of measured data sets with theoretical predictions demonstrated that the expected response of oil is consistent regardless of oil type or ambient weather condition. Comparisons of uniform oil layer measurements and non-uniform measurements with theoretical predictions indicate that the radiometric brightness temperature (TB) of the oil above that of water is a function of the percentage of that thickness of oil within the antenna field-of-view. Water/oil emulsions were measured and have a higher TB than a uniform layer of pure oil at the same thickness. Recommendations for FSR modifications and improvements, as well as future collection work are included.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Lexington, MA (United States). Lincoln Lab.
• OSTI ID: 91467
• Report Number(s): AD-A--290040/5/XAB; CNN: Contract F19628-90-C-0002
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONSTRUCTION
DESIGN
EVALUATION
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NIGHT SKY
OIL SPILLS
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIOMETERS
THICKNESS