953 
FLUORESCENT DIAGNOSTICS OF OIL POLLUTIONS: 
OIL IN FILM AND OIL DISPERSED IN WATER BODY 
S.Patsayeva, V.Yuzhakov, V.Fadeev 
Phys. Dept of Moscow State University 
119899 Moscow (Russia) 
ABSTRACT: 
In this work the fluorescence excitation, emission as well as synchronous spectra for different 
types of oil pollutions in thin films (1...100 mkm) and in water body have been investigated. The 
distinctive fluorescence features for oil in film, oil in water and DOM in water have been figured 
out. On the basis of obtained spectroscopic results the technique of separation of fluorescence 
signal of oil dispersed in water body using two excitation wavelengths has been suggested. Also it 
has been shown that synchronous fluorescent spectra can be used for identification of oil type 
directly in water sample. 
KEY WORDS: Oil pollution, Dissolved organic matter, Fluorescence, Synchronous spectra 
1 - INTRODUCTION 
The most wide-spread organic pollutions in ocean water are represented by crude and refined 
mineral oils. Actual problem of environmental control demands the elaboration of express and 
highly sensitive techniques for oil pollutions (OP) monitoring. Diagnostics of OP consists of: (1) 
detection of OP - discrimination between various organic pollutions including dissolved organic 
matter (DOM, Gelbstofl) naturally occured in water; (2) identification of OP type; (3) quantitative 
measurement. 
The fluorescent spectroscopy with laser excitation has shown some promising results in 
remote detection of oil pollutions due to its sensitivity. And recently, several investigators have 
developed laser radar systems for the remote sensing of oil spills. However, there are still few 
problems in OP remote sensing using fluorescent techniques to be solved: interference of 
fluorescence signal from oil pollutions in water body, oil in film on water surface, and dissolved 
organic matter naturally occured in water. 
In this work the fluorescence excitation, emission as well as synchronous spectra for different 
types of OP in thin films (1... 100 mkm) and in water body have been investigated. The distinctive 
fluorescence features for oil in film, oil in water and DOM in water have been figured out. On the 
basis of obtained spectroscopic results the technique of separation of fluorescence signal of oil 
dispersed in water body using two excitation wavelengths has been suggested. Also it has been 
shown that synchronous fluorescence spectra can be used for identification of oil type directly in 
water sample. 
Different oil products (gasoline, Diesel fuel, kerosene, machine oil, some crude oils) in thin 
films and their water samples have been studied. Fluorescence spectra have been detected by 
spectrofluorometer "Jobin Yvon 3CS" with Xe-lamp as an excitation source. Experimental data 
handling included normalization of excitation spectra by source intensity spectrum and spectral 
sensitivity of installation. The wavelengths of excitation used in this work corresponded with laser