Satellite Based Pollution Monitoring in Prince William Sound Final - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Satellite‐Based Pollution Monitoring in Prince William Sound

Final Presentation to Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council May 6, 2016

Outline

• Introduction
• Approach
• Results
• Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

• Project Objective

– Demonstrate capabilities of satellite‐based pollution monitoring in Prince William Sound – April 2015 to January 2016

• Project Tasks

– Compile ancillary information – Adjust detection processes to local conditions – Establish monitoring plan – Execute monitoring program

Introduction

• Satellite‐based oil slick monitoring

– Primarily based on satellite radar imagery – Radar imagery is largely weather independent – Detection of slicks as dark objects against a brighter background – Other phenomena cause signatures similar to oil slicks

• wind shadow, fronts, biogenic slicks, algal blooms, ship wakes, freshwater,

sea ice, etc.

Examples of Satellite‐Based Slick Detection

Oil slick

 Canadian Space Agency, 2002

Operational Satellite Radar Missions

Introduction

• Operational Satellite‐based oil slick detection

– Radar imagery is available in NRT – Approaches range from manual to semi‐automated extraction – Operator intervention is critical to differentiate between slicks and look‐alikes

• Shape
• Context
• Brightness
• Environmental conditions

Approach

• Area of interest

– PWS – Major shipping lane (1km buffer)

• Satellite data

– Sentinel‐1 – Freely available – (Pre‐)operational

Satellite Imagery (Sentinel‐1)

Ancillary Data

• Environmental parameters

from Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS)

– Surface wind speed – Presence of sea ice – Algae blooms – Shoreline residual oil

Analysis

• Dual focus

– Detection of potential slicks (dark targets) – Detection of large vessels (bright targets) in shipping lane – Both applications share common processing elements – Operational procedures in place at C‐CORE

Results Surveillance Products

Results

Examples of Slick Look‐Alikes and Vessels

Results

• No potential oil slicks were

detected during this investigation

– Limited number of images processed – Complexity of the AOI – Low probability of occurrence of voluntary or accidental oil spills

Results

• Lessons learned from major surveillance programs

Integrated Satellite Tracking of Pollution (ISTOP) (Canada) and CleanSeaNet (Europe)

– ISTOP processed more than 10,000 images since 2006 with 258 possible oil slicks identified (Environment Canada, 2015)

• Approximately 50 images processed on average to detect one potential slick

– ISTOP and CleanSeaNet process comparable number of satellite images on a yearly basis

• Number of detected potential slicks per image is much higher for CleanSeaNet,

reflecting higher maritime traffic density

Results

• Lessons learned from major surveillance programs ISTOP

(Canada) and CleanSeaNet (Europe)

– CleanSeaNet also shows a global reduction in the number of potential slicks detected per image from 1.38 in 2008 to 0.75 in 2009 (EMSA, 2011) – Decline in detections under ISTOP and CleanSeaNet suggests satellite monitoring programs are effective deterrents – Regular, public promotion of the surveillance program important to ensure regulatory compliance

Conclusion

• Sentinel‐1 imagery

– AOI was infrequently covered – Imagery was often not available within 2 h – Data is freely available

• Going forward

– Sentinel‐1 B launched in April – More complete coverage of western Arctic expected – Possibility to lobby ESA for increased coverage – Include optical imagery from Sentinel‐2

Conclusion

• Satellite‐based oil slick monitoring is fully operational and

applicable anywhere in the world within the limitations inherent in the technology

– To be effective, satellite‐based monitoring should be conducted in near real‐ time (~2h between satellite observation and report generation) – Streamlined, operational process is required that integrates with existing processes and procedures

Conclusion

• Basic framework for satellite‐based slick detection can be

expanded to include other elements of satellite surveillance

– Iceberg and ship detection as demonstrated – Sea ice – Water quality (optical imagery) – Optical/radar synergies

Recommendations

• Take advantage of freely available Sentinel‐1 imagery
• ver PWS to implement an ongoing, regular satellite

surveillance program

• Monitoring should be carried out at a meaningful

frequency (once fully operational, Sentinel‐1 imagery should be available over PWS at least twice per week)

Recommendations

• Implement a capacity for image analysis in near real‐

time, together with suitable response actions to potential slicks detected (e.g. identify pollution control authorities)

• In addition to potential oil slicks, the satellite monitoring

program should consider the detection of vessels and icebergs in the PWS area

Recommendations

• Over time, satellite‐based products should be re‐analyzed

to reveal spatial and temporal distributions of potential

• il slicks, vessels and icebergs
• The design of a satellite monitoring program should be

flexible to accommodate future additions (e.g. Sentinel‐2 imagery)