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. 2022 Apr 11;10(4):1-13.
doi: 10.3390/jmse10040526.

Autonomous Water Sampler for Oil Spill Response

Daniel Gomez-Ibanez  1 , Amy L Kukulya  1 , Abhimanyu Belani  1 , Robyn N Conmy  2 , Devi Sundaravadivelu  3 , Lisa DiPinto  4
Affiliations

Autonomous Water Sampler for Oil Spill Response

Daniel Gomez-Ibanez et al. J Mar Sci Eng. .

Abstract

A newly developed water sampling system enables autonomous detection and sampling of underwater oil plumes. The Midwater Oil Sampler collects multiple 1-L samples of seawater when preset criteria are met. The sampler has a hydrocarbon-free sample path and can be configured with several modules of six glass sample bottles. In August 2019, the sampler was deployed on an autonomous underwater vehicle and captured targeted water samples in natural oil seeps offshore Santa Barbara, CA, USA.

Keywords: autonomous survey; autonomous underwater vehicle; environmental impact assessment; oil spill; organic analysis; plume tracking; rapid response; water sampling.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the water sampler; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or the policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Mention of the trade names of commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
REMUS 600 AUV integrated with the Midwater Oil Sampler.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Exploded view of the junction box sub-assembly. Parts are, clockwise, control PCBA, junction box shell, six pumps, and uplink umbilical cable.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Exploded view of the Midwater Oil Sampler module. From top to bottom are the top foam block, sampler module, and sampler frame.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
One sampler module in its plywood service cradle.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Vehicle track during REMUS 600 Mission 7, 27 August 2019. The color of the track indicates the measured fluorescence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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