SMART: A Guided Tour - Part 3

A monitoring team lowers a fluorometer sampling hose into the water during an exercise near Mobile, Alabama in September 1998.

After the hose is lowered to the desired depth, continuous monitoring is conducted.

First, the team collects background data in an area not impacted by the oil spill.

Then, the team collects data under part of the slick not treated with dispersant, to ascertain natural dispersing of the oil.

Last, the team collects data under the dispersant-treated slick.

Increase in fluorometer readings in the treated area is an indication that the dispersants are effective, and dispersant use may be continued.

The boat moves across the area treated with dispersant, while monitoring continuously under the slick for dispersed oil.

Monitoring Equipment

Water is pumped from the submerged hose through the fluorometer.

Notice the water pump (foreground) and the two fluorometers in the background. Also notice the Global Positioning System (GPS) instrument to the left of the pump.

The GPS can pinpoint the location of the sampling boat, and is a critical instrument during sampling operations.

The system shown above provides continuous monitoring as the sampling vessel makes its way through the dispersant-treated water.