Abstract

Integrity Applications Incorporated (IAI) collected visible polarimetric data of crude oil and vegetable oil on water to determine whether polarimetric imaging (PI) was capable of discriminating oil from water. Data was gathered at multiple sun angles to demonstrate PI sensitivity to collection geometry. IAI found that the degree of linear polarization (DOLP) was particularly useful for discriminating these liquids, because the S1 and S2 Stokes products are more effectively balanced in DOLP relative to unpolarized light in the scene. The strength of the polarimetric signatures was found to vary as a function of collection angle relative to the sun, with peak linear polarizations ranging from 40-70% for crude oil and from 20-50% for vegetable oil. The overall linear polarimetric signature of vegetable oil was approximately 20% lower than for crude oil, leading to the conclusion that the index of refraction for vegetable oil is lower than for crude oil (1.39-1.49) and higher than water (1.33). Based on the promising results presented here, IAI recommends further testing and development of PI for environmental remote sensing applications.

© 2015 Optical Society of America