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- AgCenter scientist tests way to detect oil in soil
An LSU AgCenter soil scientist has been working on a project to help detect oil and other hydrocarbons in soil, and it could be used with the Gulf of Mexico disaster.
"We started this project two years ago," said David Weindorf, assistant professor in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences. Weindorf has been working with fellow soil scientists Cristine Morgan of Texas Agrilife Research and John Galbraith of Virginia Tech on the spectroradiometer. The device can be carried into the field to detect the presence of hydrocarbons in soil by measuring wavelengths of reflected infrared light. Soil contaminated with hydrocarbons reflects less light.
"It’s accurate down to very low levels of contamination," Weindorf said. It can be used in the field, but Weindorf said similar approaches might be possible via aircraft or a satellite to precisely map the oil’s spread.
The spectroradiometer could be useful for remediation experts to set priorities for what areas along the coast should be addressed first, Weindorf said. And it could be used to determine how much of the hydrocarbons have volatilized into the atmosphere over time.
Weindorf and his research team tested the device in Louisiana at small oil spills, including the site of a collision of two vessels near New Orleans on the Mississippi River. They had planned to continue the work this year to establish a database of readings for different forms of hydrocarbons, such as diesel, gasoline and crude oil, but funding has become a problem.
The first year of the research was done with $51,000 from the Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research and Development Program. "The second year we were expecting more, but statewide budget cuts have constrained research spending," Weindorf said.
Bruce Schultz
(This article was published in the spring 2010 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.)
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture