04 September 2009

Apogee is monitoring large oil spill off Western Australia coast

A significant amount of oil from an oil and gas rig in the Timor Sea has been leaking since the 21th of August 2009.

Apogee has tasked multiple SAR satellites to obtain images over the disaster area since the 29th August. Radar satellites are the most efficient method to monitor large areas, and are well known to delineate the presence of oil on the ocean. This is due to the suppression of capillary waves resulting in a smoother surface where oil is present and a different appearance within the image.

On the 29th August 2009, a Cosmo-Skymed ScanSAR Wide data has been acquired and shows the extent of the oil spill.

Cosmo-skymed data intgrated into Apogee's Maritime Surveillance Software DEEPBLUE showing the location of the oil spill.

On the 30th August 2009 , a TerraSAR-X ScanSAR image was acquired which clearly shows the extent of the oil spill around the rig.

TerraSAR-X ScanSAR acquired over the oil spill on 30th August 2009.

Containment and recovery operation is underway and oil spill dispersants are being used over the area. The 3 colours on this ScanSAR image are the result of a classification process and show different oil concentration levels on the water.

Classification of oil concentration on the 30th August 2009.

ENVISAT image over the oil spill on the 8th Spetember 2009

 

Over calm water, the radar signal shows up black and differenciation between oil and water is therefor difficult as is the case in the ENVISAT data from the 8th and 11th September.

Having multiple observations resolves this issue.

For more information, contact us :nextimage_at_apogee.com.au