Image

Sniffing Out Oil Spills

October 22, 2018

An autonomous underwater vehicle tracks a harmless, bright-green fluorescent dye during a demonstration to simulate a rapid response to a maritime oil spill. Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) attended the exercise in Monterey Bay, Calif., last month. The Long Range Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, or LRAUV, is designed to detect oil spills under ice. It can be launched into open water from shore, from sea ice, a ship, or a helicopter. On average, the LRAUV can operate for 15 days covering more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers). Engineers at WHOI and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute are developing the LRAUV with funding from DHS through ADAC, a DHS Center of Excellence. (Photo by Sean P. Whelan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)