MICROWAVE RADIOMETER SYSTEM FOR THE DETECTION OF OIL-SLICKS

A major problem of radiometric sensors in the detection of oil spins o n the sea is differentiating the oil spin from other objects on the wa ter surface such as rough areas, areas with warm and cold streams, oil -water emulsions, areas with seaweed, etc. A procedure to convert ante nna temperatures to brightness temperatures and then to the oh thickne ss is described. Generally, a calibration procedure at the start of ea ch experiment Is needed. In order to develop and test these procedures , a polarization method has been designed for remotely detecting an oi l slick. This required building three radiometers operating in the mil limeter-wave bands (W, K-a, K-n) as well as associated laboratory test equipment. Experimental results, obtained in the laboratory and in an outdoor test facility, conform well. with theoretical computations us ing an air-oil-water stratified layer model. This new method of microw ave radiometry by measuring its polarization contrasts at two orthogon al polarizations is a next step in the development of microwave sensor s for detecting oil spills. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.