OHMSETT 2019
BACKGROUND
This was our first visit to the Ohmsett Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility in New Jersey (read more about our second visit to Ohmsett here). The main goal of this experiment was to gain some experience with taking underwater measurements in a controlled, yet realistic, marine environment. To do so, we used a (heavily modified) commercially available ROV carrying three different fluorescence sensors specifically tuned to detect crude oil in seawater (ROV.FISH-3). We owe a huge thank-you to ExxonMobil for inviting us to their workshop and allowing us to run our ROV during their tests.
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Use the menu on the left or keep scrolling to learn more.
PHOTO GALLERY
Click on the images below to expand the photo reels.
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Many thanks to Tom Coolbaugh (then ExxonMobil; now Applied Research Associates (ARA)), who took these photos for us.
surface slicks
underwater plumes
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
dispersed oil
miscellany
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
Credit: T. Coolbaugh
VIDEO GALLERY
Footage from both above and underwater! Click on the videos below to play.
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Many thanks to Tom Coolbaugh (then ExxonMobil; now Applied Research Associates (ARA)), who took the 'above water' videos for us (underwater videos were taken by the ROV).
above water
Exploring an oil containment boom
Surfacing
underwater
Through a dispersed plume
Under a dispersed plume
PARTNERS
We owe a great many thanks to the following groups and individuals:
EXXONMOBIL
Tim Nedwed, Tom Coolbaugh, Doug Mitchell
DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
Aaron MacNeill, Mike Vining, Ian MacIntosh, Haibo Niu, Jim Eddington
DEPARTMENT OF OCEANS AND FISHERIES (DFO)
Ken Lee
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BEDFORD INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY (BIO)
Brian Robinson
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​US NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)
Lisa Dipinto
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US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)
Robyn Conmy
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OHMSETT/ARA
everyone at Ohmsett, but especially:
Mike Brennan, Alan Guarino, and Paul Panetta
REFERENCES
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Ohmsett Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ohmsett.bsee.gov/
Last revised: March 09, 2023​