Patent ID: 8436609

Claim:
A method for detecting a liquid under a surface, comprising: a) locating a volume of substances under the surface, wherein at least a portion of the volume of substances is within a static magnetic field; b) transmitting at least one radio-frequency excitation pulse from a remote location above the volume of substances to generate a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal from the volume of substances; c) detecting, from the remote location, the NMR signal from the volume of substances; d) processing the detected NMR signal to determine whether the volume of substances includes the liquid, and e) moving the remote location to another area of interest in an ice-prone region and repeating steps b) through d) for the another volume of substances, wherein processing the detected nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal comprises interpreting data selected from the group consisting of the intensity of the NMR signal, the relaxation time of the NMR signal, and any combination thereof, and the area of interest is selected from the group consisting of an offshore arctic or sub-arctic area for detection of an oil spill for the purpose of oil spill remediation, an offshore or onshore arctic or sub-arctic area for detection of an oil seep for the purpose of hydrocarbon exploration, and an onshore arctic or sub-arctic area for detection of oil leaks from man-made structures for the purposes of remediation and repair of the structures.