Patent ID: 8048372

Claim:
A device comprising: an in-situ bioluminescence sensor disposed on a surface of an object submerged underwater, wherein the sensor comprises a first set of one or more photodetector directed towards the wake of said object, a second set of one or more photodetectors directed towards the ambient light, one or more detectors for flowing through ambient water therethrough and for in-situ measuring of flowed-through water characteristics in an enclosed space of the sensor, a depth gauge, a measurement device to measure ambient water characteristics, a speed indicator for indicating speed of the object, a temperature measurement device, a pH measurement device, a salinity measurement device, a signal conditioning stage, a data acquisition system, a processor programmed to compare the intensity of the bioluminescence found in the wake of the object as detected by the first photodetectors to the ambient conditions as detected by the second photodetectors and to calculate the relative visibility of the object to an observer at the surface and report that information to the operator by way of an output in real-time including bioluminescence signature caused by the wake of the object in water, and a power source.