Modeling the bidirectional reflectance distribution function of seawater with spilt oil

Study on the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of seawater with spilt oil will provide a theoretical basis for detection of oil film on sea surface and oil emulsion in sea water, which will be of great significance for protection of marine environment and marine ecological balance. In this paper a model of BRDF for oil-polluted seawater has been developed by applying Monte Carlo method and Mie scattering theory. The BRDFs of clean seawater, oil-covered seawater, and oil-emulsion seawater are investigated at wavelengths of 532 nm and 355 nm. Simulation results of different film thicknesses and oil emulsion concentrations are presented. Results show that the BRDF is rather sensitive to the degree of pollution in seawater. The presence of oil film or oil emulsion will cause a decrease of the BRDF. At the same angles of observation, the BRDF value of seawater decreases with the increase of oil film thickness and oil emulsion concentration. Oil spill detecting and monitoring can potentially be achieved using BRDF data from optical sensors.