ABSTRACT
In the past, the U. S. Coast Guard has relied on visual and photographic sightings for detection, monitoring and law enforcement associated with the oil pollution control mission. However effective enforcement of the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, pertaining to the discharge of oil and hazardous substances into the U. S. navigable waters and the contiguous zone, the effective execution of responsibilities assigned by the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, and the assessment of the impact on the marine environment of pollutants introduced by the transportation process requires a supporting surveillance system. To meet this need, the U. S. Coast Guard has contracted with the Aerojet Electrosystems Company, a Division of Aerojet-General Corporation, for the design, development and flight test evaluation of a prototype Airborne Oil Surveillance System. This system as conceived will utilize multispectral sensors to provide for the day / night all-weather airborne detection, mapping and documentation of oil spills at sea. The sensors used in this system will operate from the ultraviolet to the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. This paper will describe the development of this Airborne Surveillance System including the sensor mix and their relationship to the oil pollution surveillance mission. In addition the operational mission and system performance requirements used to define the system will be briefly considered. This prototype system will be ready for flight test evaluation by early 1974.
The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private ones of the writer and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Commandant or the Coast Guard at large.