EAGER: Fiber Sensors Networks for Crude Oil Migration Monitoring In Ocean

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract 1054652 (EAGER) Peng Chen University of Pittsburg The Deepwater Horizon oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico has become the most damaging environmental catastrophe in the US history. The failures for scientists and engineers to promptly stop the rupture and to swiftly evaluate the environmental damage highlight a number of daunting technical challenges related to deepwater resource exploration, pollution monitoring, and ecological conservation. In this EAGAR project, a distributed sensing network based on fiber optical sensing technology is investigated and designed for in-situ measurement of subsurface oil distribution and migration. Fiber grating sensors will be fabricated in short sections of high-attenuation fibers. Each fiber sensor will be coated with oil-affinitive porous nano-materials. Once it encounters oil droplets, the porous materials will absorb oil droplet, which leads to the increase of refractive index change and absorption in porous layers. Using wavelength division multiplexing, a large number of fiber sensors can be monitored by a single interrogation instrument. The proposed research will provide powerful and low-cost sensing tools to monitor three-dimensional oil pollution distribution and migration under ocean currents. The effectiveness of the clean-up efforts and long-term impact of oil spills to ocean ecology can be rapidly evaluated, rectified, and improved. This project will also impact the sustainability education at the University of Pittsburgh by providing unique teaching opportunities to students in terms of technological skills, professional ethnics, and environmental responsibilities.