Oil spills in the Barents Sea based on satellite monitoring using SAR: spatial distribution and main sources

ABSTRACT

The results of the satellite monitoring of oil spills in the Barents Sea are analysed and discussed. For the first time, in 2015–2016, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images occurred regularly using the European Space Agency Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B satellites. To effectively analyse the SAR images and their detected dark patches, a geoinformation approach, specifically, a web-based GeoMixer application, was used. This involves the creation of a dedicated geoportal with a large volume of oceanographic, physical–geographical, and industrial information about the water basin, including the offshore oil and gas infrastructures and coastal vulnerability. Using this approach, as well as data from automatic ship identification systems, it is shown that the main sources of oil pollution (spills from 0.5 to 90 km²) are cargo shipping and fishing fleets. Summary maps of the detected and identified oil spills are presented and discussed.

Acknowledgements

The SAR images of the Sentinel-1A/1B satellites were provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), which owns their exclusive rights. This research was carried out in the frameworks of the Russian-Norwegian projects 14-05-93084/NORRUSS 233896 and was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, for which we are very grateful.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research: [Grant Number 14-05-93084].