Time-resolved laser fluorosensors: a laboratory study of their potential in the remote characterization of oil.

The fluorescence decay profiles have been determined for a number of light, crude, and heavy oils under ideal laboratory conditions to assess their utility in the remote characterization and identification of oil spills using remote laser fluorosensors. The fluorescence decay of light and crude oils can best be described by double exponential kinetics with the former having longer. decay constants. The heavy oils are described by only a single exponential decay function with a lifetime less than 1 nsec.