Monitoring Oil Spills
Many forms of oil, both from biological and from petroleum sources, smooth out the ocean surface, causing the area to appear dark in radar images.
Monitoring Oil Spills
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This is a SIR-C/X-SAR radar image of an offshore drilling field about 150 km (93 miles) west of Bombay,
India, in the Arabian Sea. The dark streaks are extensive oil slicks surrounding many of the
drilling platforms, which appear as bright white spots. The larger dark patches are dispersed slicks
that were likely discharged earlier than the longer streaks, when the winds were probably
from a different direction. Many forms of oil, both from biological and from petroleum sources, smooth out the ocean surface, causing the area to appear dark in radar images.
LightSAR's Additional Contribution:With its continuous imaging of every potential location of oil spillage, LightSAR will give environmentalists and oil platform and shipping operators the data they need to monitor spills and mount containment efforts. It will provide long-term, high-resolution data on dispersal of oil slicks, as well as information about natural sources of oil slicks.Technical DetailsIndustry-related LinksReferences |
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