Integrated analysis of remote sensing and numerical oil drift simulations for improved oil spill preparedness capabilities

Integrated analysis of remote sensing and numerical oil drift simulations for improved oil spill preparedness capabilities

Camilla Brekke¹, Martine M. Espeseth¹, Knut-Frode Dagestad², Johannes Röhrs², Lars Robert Hole², and Andreas Reigber³

 

¹UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

²The Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway

³DLR, Microwaves and Radar Institute, Oberpfaffenhofen-Weßling, Germany

 

We present results from a successfully conducted free-floating oil spill field experiment followed by an integrated analysis of remotely sensed data and drift simulations. The experiment took place in the North Sea in the summer of 2019 during Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies’ annual oil-on-water exercise. Two types of oils were applied: a mineral oil emulsion and a soybean oil emulsion. The dataset collected contains a collection of close-in-time radar (aircraft and space-borne) and optical data (aircraft, aerostat, and drone) acquisitions of the slicks. We compare oil drift simulations, applying various configurations of wind, wave, and current information, with observed slick positions and shape. We describe trajectories and dynamics of the spills, slick extent, and their evolution, and the differences in detection capabilities in optical instruments versus multifrequency quad-polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery acquired by DLRs large-scale airborne SAR facility (F-SAR). When using the best available forcing from in situ data and forecast models, good agreement with the observed position and extent are found in this study. The appearance in the optical images and the SAR time series from F-SAR were found to be different between the soybean and mineral oil types. Differences in mineral oil detection capabilities are found between SAR and optical imagery of thinner sheen regions. From a drifting perspective, the biological oil emulsions could replace the viscous similar mineral oil emulsion in future oil spill preparedness campaigns. However, from a remote sensing and wildlife perspective, the two oils have different properties. Depending on the practical application, further investigation on how the soybean oil impact the seabirds must be conducted in order to recommend the soybean oil as a viable substitute for mineral oil.

 

This study is published as open access in Journalof Geophysical Research: Oceans[1], and we encourage the audience to read this article for detailed acquaintance with the work.

 

Reference:

[1]Brekke, C., Espeseth, M. M., Dagestad, K.-F., Röhrs, J., Hole, L. R., & Reigber,A. (2021). Integrated analysis of multisensor datasets and oil driftsimulations—a free-floating oil experiment in the open ocean. Journalof Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126, e2020JC016499. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016499