MRI RAPID: Development of a Submerged Oil Detector using Ultraviolet (UV) Fluorescence

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This MRI-RAPID project is in response to events subsequent to an explosion on the British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. A Submerged Oil Detector using UV Fluorescence (SODUF) deployable at variable depths up to 6000 ft will be assembled, tested, and deployed in the Gulf in a timely manner consistent with RAPID funding requirements. The project has six phases: 1) modify a UV fluorescence hydrocarbon detector for rapid deployment on ships of opportunity operating in the Gulf of Mexico; 2) integrate the UV detector into a geo-referenced drifter; 3) retrofit an undulating tow-body for deepwater profiling in the Gulf; 4) integrate UV hydrocarbon detector into deepwater undulating tow-body; 5) modify UV hydrocarbon detector for deployment on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV); 6) integrate UV detector into AUV. Phases 1, 2, 4, and 6 will involve field scale testing of the newly assembled sensor/sensor platform in the Gulf Oil spill to determine the efficacy of the instrument in locatingsubmerged oil. The goal is a solution to detection and tracking of submerged oil plumes using the RAPID MRI mechanism to enable the assembly and field testing of SODUF. Phases 3 and 5 will involve mostly bench testing at our Shoreline Environmental Research Facility (SERF) located in Corpus Christi, Texas.