Detection of Oil in Seawater Based on the Fluorometric Index during the Winter Season in the Baltic Sea—The Case of the Gulf of Gdansk

Abstract

This study is a continuation of analyses of the fluorometric index (FI), based on the fluorescence of substances of oil origin, as an indicator of oil in a seawater column. The effectiveness of the FI in the cold season (late autumn, winter and early spring) for the coastal water in the southern Baltic Sea was assessed. FI was tested for seawater polluted with a mixture of crude oils, lubricating oils and fuels. Laboratory analyses of oil–water systems for low (reaching the limit of detection) oil content in seawater were performed. The influences of the natural components of seawater that disrupt oil detection are discussed. The ability to detect oil in a seawater column regardless of the season was confirmed.

Keywords

• oil in seawater
• oil detection
• oil fluorescence
• excitation-emission spectra of oil
• fluorometric index
• oil sensor