Light Penetrating the Seawater Column as the Indicator of Oil Suspension—Monte Carlo Modelling for the Case of the Southern Baltic Sea

Abstract

The strong need to control investments related to oil extraction and the growing demand for offshore deep-water exploration are the reasons for looking for tools to make up a global underwater monitoring system. Therefore, the current study analyses the possibility of revealing the existence of oil-in-water emulsions in the water column, based on the modelling of the downwelling radiance detected by a virtual underwater sensor. Based on the Monte Carlo simulation for the large numbers of solar photons in the water, the analyses were carried out for eight wavelengths ranging from 412 to 676 nm using dispersed oil with a concentration of 10 ppm. The optical properties of the seawater were defined as typical for the southern Baltic Sea, while the oil emulsion model was based on the optical properties of crude oil extracted in this area. Based on the above-mentioned assumptions and modelling, a spectral index was obtained, with the most favourable combination of 555/412 nm, whose value is indicative of the presence of an oil emulsion in the water.