Passive ultraviolet (UV) imaging is a potential way to detect thin oil film on water surface due to the high reflectivity of oil film under UV bands. This study conducted an outfield imaging experiment on oil film under the UV bands at 300 nm, 310 nm, and 330 nm. The obtained images were visually compared and quantitatively analyzed using imaging quality index (IQI). The experimental results indicated that the UV images obtained under 300 nm are not able to distinguish between oil film and clean water; those obtained under 310 nm achieve high contrast between oil film and clean water, but low average gray value; those obtained under 330 nm have high IQI and thus may be the optimal wavelength for UV imaging of oil film on water surface. This study provides a guidance to the choices of bands for the oil film detection using passive UV imaging method.
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