Oil pollution statistics in Southeast Asian waters compiled from ERS SAR imagery

Abstract

A spatial distribution map of ocean oil pollution in the Southeast Asian waters has been compiled after analysing 2530 intermediate resolution ERA SAR quicklook images. The relative frequency of oil spills is characterised by a normalised oil spill index representing the average number of oil slicks detected in an ERS scene. Most oil spills are found along the major international shipping routes in this region as well as in those areas with intensive large-scale oil exploitation activities. This is probably the first time that thousands of satellite images have been used to derive spatial oil spill distribution statistics over a very large ocean area. The results will help in locating potentially vulnerable areas, and serve as a reference in future ocean oil spill monitoring campaigns.