Light scattering in Baltic crude oil - seawater emulsion

The paper discusses the scattering of radiation by a Baltic crude oil –sea water emulsion. The scattering spectrum calculated using the Mie solution in the spectral range from 380 nm to 730 nm is compared with the measured spectrum of light scattered through a right angle. Spectra in the wavelength range from 210 nm to 730 nm were measured using a spectrofluorimeter for fresh and stored samples of the Baltic crude oil emulsion. Scattering increases with wavelength in the UV range and then decreases slightly with the wavelength of visible light. The result of the calculation is similar to the measured spectra. Both the calculated and measured spectra display numerous relative extremes throughout the spectral area. Light scattering in the emulsion decreases during storage as the oil concentration in the medium diminishes. The results also demonstrate that the single scattering model describes the phenomenon correctly.