Detection of oil spills on SAR images, identification of polluters and forecast of the slicks trajectory

Abstract

SAR images from the Estonian coastal area were analyzed to identify oil spills. Slicks were detected on five images in February and March 2008. The analysis showed that the slicks occurred on the ship track. Seatrack Web model (SMHI) that includes ship automatic identification (AIS) data provides a possibility to identify the polluters. In two cases the hindcast model together with AIS information system enabled to detect the possible polluters.