Observing Oil Releases from Platforms Using Synthetic Aperture Radar

Abstract

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is used for operational surveillance of ocean areas and oil spill detection. Oil spills are frequently detected around oil platforms due to the releases of so-called produced water (PW), which is water containing low concentrations of oil that can form surface slicks similar to other oil spills. PW releases are legal within given limits. Understanding the signatures of produced water and how they are related to, e.g., the relative oil volume and/or concentration can be helpful for the operational services. For example, distinguishing a “normal” release of produced water from an “abnormal” release (elevated amounts) in a SAR image is currently an unsolved problem. Very little research on these topics have been done before. The objectiveofthisstudy is to investigate the characteristics of produced water SAR signatures and how they depend on, e.g., the properties of the release (oil volume, concentration), environmental conditions and sensor properties.