Characterizing marine hydrocarbons with in-situ mass spectrometry

Identification and tracking of hydrocarbons in the marine environment is challenging. State of the art systems typically rely on surface slicks to identify hydrocarbon contamination such as oil spills. Subsurface detection remains challenging. This paper describes the TETHYS in-situ mass spectrometer and results of real-world deployments. TETHYS is a small, self contained mass spectrometer capable of operation to 5000 meters depth. The TETHYS instrument can quantitatively identify a wide range of hydrocarbons at trace concentrations (minimum limits of detection typically 500 parts-per-trillion) in the subsurface environment. TETHYS has been successfully deployed on AUVs, ROVs, towfish, manned submersibles, and with divers for a variety of purposes, including deep ocean scientific exploration and mapping missions as well as commercial offshore oil and gas leak detection and cleanup.