Smart system to detect and track pollution in marine environments

Marine pollution is a worldwide problem that affects the water environment, the economy and even the human health. Depending on the type of pollutant, it is required different techniques to remove it. In order to avoid higher impact and damage in the affected area, the most important action is to perform a quick detection and determine where the pollution stain or spill is. Due to its fast dispersion, the case of oil spills is especially critic because they are almost impossible to clean if the decontamination tasks do not start immediately. For this reason, in this paper we propose a system based on a smart algorithm which is able to detect, track and locate pollution stains, such as oil spills. The system is composed by wireless nodes that are able to move towards the end of the stain seeking its edge. Nodes use IEEE 802.15.4 and the Global Position System (GPS), to communicate the final position of the stain. Finally, we tested the operation of our system, using the routing protocols Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Destination-Sequenced Distance Vector (DSDV). Our results show that it presents better performance when using reactive protocols.