Method and apparatus for monitoring and measuring oil spills
First Claim
1. A method of determining the presence of an oil spill comprising;
- remotely monitoring a water surface at a first location for the presence of oil to produce first location monitoring data;
remotely monitoring a water surface at a second location for the presence of oil to produce second location monitoring data;
transmitting the first location monitoring data to a receiver at the second location; and
transmitting information related to the first and second location monitoring data to a control station.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an oil spill identification system and oil spill identification sensors to be used in connection with this system. The system is used primarily on fixed offshore structures, but may also be used on fixed onshore constructions. The sensor comprises a combination of a radar and at least a microwave radiometer. The data collected are transmitted to a control station. Preferably, the transmittal takes place at pixel level between the sensors and the control station. The control station processes the data received at pixel level and transmits data to an end-user, preferably through the internet. The invention also relates to a method for utilizing the system and a use of the system.
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Citations
91 Claims
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1. A method of determining the presence of an oil spill comprising;
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remotely monitoring a water surface at a first location for the presence of oil to produce first location monitoring data; remotely monitoring a water surface at a second location for the presence of oil to produce second location monitoring data; transmitting the first location monitoring data to a receiver at the second location; and transmitting information related to the first and second location monitoring data to a control station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of detecting an oil spill at an offshore location, comprising:
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receiving first detection data from a microwave radiometer (MWR) unit mounted on a fixed offshore platform; receiving second detection data from at least an additional sensor mounted on the fixed offshore platform; combining the first and second detection data to form fused detection data; and determining whether oil is present on the water surface at the offshore location based on the fused detection data. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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- 33. A method as recited in claimed 28, wherein the at least an additional sensor includes a radar unit having a radar antenna, and further comprising rotating the radar antenna around a radar axis parallel to the vertical axis.
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39. A system for determining the presence of an oil spill, comprising:
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a first monitor unit at a first, fixed offshore location for remotely monitoring a water surface at the first location, the first remote monitor unit producing first location monitoring data; a second monitor unit at a second, fixed offshore location for remotely monitoring a water surface at the second location, the second monitor unit producing second location monitoring data; a first transmitter at the first location coupled to receive the first location monitoring data and to transmit the first location monitoring data to the second location; a receiver at the second location to receive the first location monitoring data; and a second transmitter at the second location coupled to transmit information derived from the first and second location monitoring data to a control station. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. An oil spill detector for detecting oil spills from a ship-borne platform, comprising:
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an oil spill sensor unit mountable to the ship-borne platform, the oil spill sensor unit comprising a microwave radiometer (MWR) sensor, at least one additional remote oil sensor; and a data analyzer coupled to receive input from the MWR sensor and the at least one additional remote oil sensor, the data analyzer being adapted to produce an output signal indicative of an oil spill in response to the input received from the MWR sensor and the at least one additional remote oil sensor; wherein the oil spill sensor unit compensates for motion of the ship so as to increase accuracy of the output signal. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 80)
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68. A ship-borne method of detecting an oil spill, comprising
monitoring a surface of the water from the ship using a microwave radiometer (MWR) sensor, monitoring the surface of the water from the ship using at least one additional remote oil sensor; -
compensating for motion of the ship in at least one of taking and analyzing data from at least the MWR sensor; and determining, in response to detection data from at least one of the MWR sensor and the at least one additional remote oil sensor whether oil is present on the water surface. - View Dependent Claims (69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
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81. A system for monitoring for an oil spill over an extensive surface region of a body of water, comprising:
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a plurality of monitoring units disposed at respective near-surface locations distributed throughout the region, each of the monitoring units comprising; a local oil spill detector comprising a respective first sensor for remotely sensing an oil-related parameter; a control unit coupled to the local oil spill detector for generating respective location data therefrom; and a short distance wireless transmitter coupled to the control unit for transmitting the respective location data; and a main unit disposed in the region and comprising; a wireless receiver for receiving the location data from one or more of the wireless transmitters of the monitoring units; a control unit coupled to the wireless receiver for generating consolidated data from the received location data; and a long distance wireless transmitter coupled to the control unit for transmitting the consolidated data to a receiver outside of the region. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91)
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Specification