Development of Oil Slick Thickness Sensors

This technical report presents the design, prototyping, and testing of two low cost floating oil thickness measurement instruments, that provide near real-time measurements for cleanup operations during oil spill incidents. The first sensor is designed for skimming operations, while the second is more suited for oil spill tracking, and oil volume estimation. The first sensor is designed to be installed on a skimmer, a boom or a floating buoy to help direct cleaning operation; the second sensor is designed to be mounted on a free-floating buoy. The presented experimental work and testing demonstrates the accuracy and repeatability of the proposed instruments under different environmental conditions.