Verification experiments of sail control effects on tracking oil spill

It is important to forecast the location of oil spill to realize effective and adequate oil spill response operation when huge oil spill occurs. In order to enhance the accuracy of oil drifting simulation, it is needed to obtain the meteorological and oceanographic data around the oil slick. SOTAB-II is developed for autonomous tracking of oil slick drifting on sea surface. In addition, it transmits its location, the meteorological and oceanographic data around it to the land base in real time. In general, the drifting velocity vector of oil spill contains wind velocity vector and water current velocity vector. SOTAB-II is equipped with a sail whose size and direction are controllable. This paper reports the development of a new SOTAB-II and the results of field experiments using it.