Automated characterization and quantification of hydrocarbon seeps based on frontal illuminated video observations

Abstract

Hydrocarbon releases, either natural or due to anthropogenic activities, are of major relevance for the marine environment. In this work we specify our approach to quantify these seeps by subsea imaging utilizing camera systems and frontal illumination setups on board remotely operated vehicles. This work showcases, based on a campaign in the region west of Svalbard, improved methodological guidelines for the seep quantification operation together with a novel automated post-mission evaluation. The comparison of automated quantification with manual information extraction illustrates the efficiency of this new method while processing comparable estimates of seep characteristics.