Satellite mapping of oil spills in the Black Sea D. Tarchi, A. Bernardini, G. Ferraro, S. Meyer-Roux, and K. Topouzelis European Commission - Joint Research Centre Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen Sensors Radar Technologies and Cybersecurity Unit Ispra (VA), Italy JRC Information Day 11 May 2006, Bucarest

6/28/2015 – Slide # 2 Oil pollution causes damage to the marine environment. Ship accidents are a well known source of marine pollution. Marine Oil Pollution Facts Deliberate oil spills from vessel represent a significant source of marine oil pollution.

6/28/2015 – Slide # 3 The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78) introduces the idea of Special Areas, which are considered to be so vulnerable to pollution that discharges within them have been completely prohibited, with minor and well ‑ defined exceptions. The International legal frame

6/28/2015 – Slide # 4 1.Support response operations in case of maritime accidents; 2.Detecting and deterring illegal discharges from sea-based source; 3.Measuring the state of European seas – means, variations, trends, to inform policymaking and assess the success or otherwise of action taken. Why Monitoring sea-based oil pollution?

6/28/2015 – Slide # 5 5 Available tools (I) Radar sensors

6/28/2015 – Slide # 6 In optimal conditions oil spills appear dark in a SAR image but other phenomena can produce dark features in a radar image (look-alike features): natural films; grease ice; areas of low wind speed; rain cells; current shear zones; Available tools (II)

6/28/2015 – Slide # 7 Potentials and limitations of the satellites Homogeneous and global coverage (including remote areas). Coverage precisely known. Large amount of data (including archive data from 1992). Reliability (false positive and false negative cases). Unable to identify the source of pollution. Low number of observations.

6/28/2015 – Slide # 8 1.Support response operations in case of maritime accidents; Good for monitoring remote and large areas. 2.Detecting and deterring illegal discharges from sea-based source; Unable to perform all the required tasks but very good to complement aerial surveillance (early-warning role) 3.Measuring the state of European seas – means, variations, trends, to inform policymaking and assess the success or otherwise of action taken. Very good Suitability of the satellite

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6/28/2015 – Slide # 10 Methodological approach Requirements for reliable and robust long term analysis:  Large amount of data/observations.  Knowledge of temporal and spatial sampling.  Procedure to transform oil slick dot maps in oil slick density maps.  Appropriate tools for data management (database and GIS).

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6/28/2015 – Slide # 12 ~ 3150 frames (ERS2 and ENVISAT) analyzed possible oil slicks detected. Synoptic point-like map

6/28/2015 – Slide # 13 Oil spills density map

6/28/2015 – Slide # 14 Trend Analysis

6/28/2015 – Slide # 15 Trend analysis – an example Zone de Protection Ecologique declared by France in 2004

6/28/2015 – Slide # 16 Within ZPEOutside ZPE Possible oil spills Satellite coverage

6/28/2015 – Slide # 17 Conclusions Space-borne SAR sensors has proven their ability to provide long-term monitoring. A specific methodology has been implemented and successfully applied. The application to the Black Sea basin allowed to identify hot spots. The multi-annual analysis reveals that the problem remains stable at basin scale as well as in different sub- areas. The developed method for trend analysis is flexible and suitable for detailed analysis on specific areas.