Geochemical analysis of SAR backscattering (Sentinel-1) on global ocean oil spill cases

• Published in: European journal of remote sensing Vol. 56; no. 1
• Main Authors: Neves de Souza Júnior, José Milton, Ferreira de Mendonça, Luís Felipe, da Silva Costa, Heverton, Costi, Juliana, Vasconcelos, Rodrigo Nogueira, Telles da Cunha Lima, André, João Siqueira Sant’anna, Sidnei, Marques Lopes, José, José Porsani, Milton, Vivas Garica Miranda, de José, Alessandre Domingos Lentini, Carlos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cagiari Taylor & Francis Ltd 31.12.2023; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Backscatter; Backscattering; Capillary waves; Chemical composition; Damping ratio; Geochemistry; Gravity waves; Hydrocarbons; Low wind speeds; Marine pollution; Mineral oils; normalized radar cross section; Ocean surface; Oceans; Oil spills; Pollution sources; radar backscatter; SAR processing; Specular reflection; Surface tension; Synthetic aperture radar; Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR); Thickness; Viscosity; Weathering; Wind speed
• ISSN: 2279-7254; 2279-7254
• DOI: 10.1080/22797254.2023.2256959

The oil spill is one of the most impactful sources of marine pollution on the ocean surface, detected by the SAR sensors as dark areas, regions with low backscatter values. Due to the complex mixture of hydrophobic hydrocarbons, mineral oil spills change the water surface tension dampening the capillary gravity waves and provoking a specular reflection. In this work, we associated the geochemical oil characteristics, such as density, viscosity, API, and molecular composition with the backscatter values for each oil spill case. We identified the relationship between the oil weathering processes, with the changes in the backscattering values of ocean oil spills. The method designed zonal sections over the oil spills detected in the SAR images, to extract the backscatter values for each pixel along the section. The lowest backscatter average was observed by the heavy oil spill in the Corsica Island study (−29,99 dB). The highest level of weathering had the highest backscatter averages. Damping rates ranged between 4,12 and 7,07 dB and the backscatter values may be related to low oil layer thickness. Furthermore, low wind speeds may have reduced the contrast between water and oil spills, resulting in low damping ratios in all events.