There is a critical need to develop a practical remote sensing program to detect and map oil in and under ice to facilitate leak detection and improve spill response capabilities for oil and gas operations in Arctic regions. Over the past 20 years, considerable effort has been spent on the research and development of various methods. To date, none of these tech-nologies have resulted in an operational system. The only proven method of searching for and detecting the presence of oil from an accidental subsurface spill (e.g., slow leakage from an ice-covered marine pipeline) involves drilling holes at frequent intervals or in a closely spaced grid pattern to expose oil trapped in or under the ice. This process is extremely labor-intensive and is subject to considerable detection error. Ideally, systems could operate from surface and airborne platforms and determine whether oil is present and be able to map contamination boundaries over potentially large areas.
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Description of Research