DEOSOM (Detection and Evaluation of Oil Spills by Optical Methods) is a R&D project launched within the framework of the AMPERA (Accidental Marine Pollution ERA-NET) program.

Due to the increasing traffic of cargo ships in European navigable rivers, channels and coastal waters, the risk of water pollution by accidental or criminal oil spillage is increasingly high. The same situation occurs in the more than 1100 ports in the EU.

Protection against oil spillage includes three levels of surveillance: the first level is satellite-borne (range about 50 to 200 km); the second level consists of airborne inspection by visual analysis and IR/UV sensors (range about 100 to 500 m); the third level of surveillance is waterborne.

In the present project, we intend to develop a low cost, efficient system for the third level of surveillance, which may be installed on watercraft and used for intensive surveillance of harbours, rivers, channels, and coastal waters.
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Ship transport of crude has been growing dramatically every year, inevitably increasing the number of accidents and the amount of oil flowed out from ships. Accidental or criminal oil spills also originate from the numerous cargo ships that travel in the riverine and coastal waters of Europe at any moment. Oil spills became one of the most important forms of water pollution and its detection and evaluation has attracted increasing attention in the last two decades. A number of active and passive optical methods were developed for maritime and airborne detection, evaluation and mapping of oil spills.

Despite these efforts, however, many issues remain unsolved. During the last 25 years, the attention of scientists and engineers concentrated mainly on the development of detection methods and equipment for the first and second levels of surveillance. As a result, almost no techniques suitable for the 3rd level of surveillance (one of the most important, due to its flexibility and lower cost) are available in this moment. In particular, the need for lightweight, low-cost detectors that can be widely used for watercraft borne as well as UAV-based airborne coastal inspection remains unmet.

The DEOSOM project aims at developing an innovative water inspection method based on laser remote sensing, namely, on laser-induced fluorescence  light detection and ranging  (LIF LIDAR). Laser remote sensing is an efficient, proven tool capable of providing quantitative, spatially-resolved, real-time data for chemical pollution, eutrophication, biomass, and hydrographical processes over large water surface areas with high spatial resolution; and is often the only solution for many environmental marine applications. Various types of LIDAR systems utilize laser induced fluorescence and light backscattering to analyse bodies of water remotely. LIDAR systems are installed as a payload on airborne, shipboard or stationary platforms for operational purposes and scientific research.

The project will result in the development of a low cost portable and modular Laser Fluorosensor for automatic oil spill detection. This instrument will be fully tested, optimised and benchmarked against existing technologies and will be combined with a low-cost geo-referencing system in order to create an inexpensive sensor for automatic detection and characterisation of oil spills.
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Specific objectives of the project are:

• Characterising the spectral signatures of crude oils and other hydrocarbons from various sources using laser induced fluorescence and passive imaging spectroscopy.
  
• Developing a low cost Laser Fluorosensor with multichannel detector for early detection of oil spills in riverine and coastal waters and measurement of the hydrocarbon film thickness.
  
• Developing pattern recognition and artificial intelligence techniques for automatic oil identification and monitoring using this instrument.
  
• Developing a dedicated low-cost direct geo-referencing system adequate to oil spillage mapping. This will foster the applicability of the oil spill detection system by allowing the organisation of acquired data for direct use in a GIS environment.
  
• Testing and optimising of the inspection system in laboratory and field tests carried out in Tagus river estuary and Atlantic Ocean coastal waters.
  
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The general topics of the 1^st transnational AMPERA call are:

• Risk assessment studies.
• Clean-up and response techniques and related environmental considerations, restoration methodologies.
• Instruments and technologies for detection and forecasting AMP (accidental marine pollution).

The objectives of the DEOSOM project fit exactly the 3rd topic of this AMPERA call. Furthermore, AMPERA aims at:

• Setting priorities in trans-disciplinary AMP research.
• Improving co-ordination of national/regional research programmes on AMP.
• Design strategies to overcome barriers that hinder trans-national co-operation aimed at opening up of national/regional programmes.
• Dissemination of knowledge at different levels.

The DEOSOM project will promote trans-disciplinary and trans-national AMP research as well as the dissemination of AMP detection results, which are specific objectives of the AMPERA network.
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The consortium includes several public and private institutions and companies with large experience in remote surveillance by active and passive methods, each with extensive knowledge and experience in complementary areas crucial to the project success:

• INOV, Portugal (lidar and LIF/LIDAR, telecommunications, image analysis, and video data fusion),
• Laser Diagnostic Instruments AS, Estonia (oil spill detection by LIF lidar technology),
• CIIMAR, Portugal (georeferencing) and
• The University of Vigo, Spain (remote-surveillance data fusion).
  
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Project Leader:
  Professor Rui Vilar
  DEMAT, Instituto Superior Técnico,
  Av. Rovisco Pais 1,
  1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal

E-mail:
  deosom@inov.pt

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