Matrix effects on fluorometric monitoring and quantification of dispersed oil in the open ocean and coastal environment

For six months, scientific data were collected at 52 locations in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico aboard the NOAA Ship Ferrel, R-492. Sixty-two independent water samples were collected and analyzed to evaluate background fluorescence by a long-wavelength fluorometric system. The focus was to identify the potential for matrix effects related to monitoring of dispersed oil. The fluorometric technique was similar to that used in marine environments during oil-spill responses. A working hypothesis can be stated as follows: Variations in natural seawater composition will negatively affect analytical precision and accuracy when using fluorometry to quantify dispersed oil. in ambient marine waters. Quantifying the extent and environmental conditions that matrix effects present to analytical problems was a primary research objective.