Register      Login
Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Satellite based oil spill emergency response and recovery support

Børre Pedersen A * , Hugo Isaksen A and Martine M. Espeseth A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Kongsberg Satellite Service (KSAT), Tromsø, Troms, Norway.




Børre Pedersen has more than 25 years of experience in the satellite services domain. He currently holds the position of Sales Director for Earth Observation at KSAT – Kongsberg Satellite Services, where he drives business growth, and nurtures key partnerships. Børre’s journey at KSAT began in 1998 at the Svalbard Ground Station where he lived and worked for 5 years. Over the years, his skills in B2B development, contract negotiation, and large-scale sales have enabled him to establish a strong foothold for KSAT in Europe, Asia, and the US markets.



Hugo Isaksen is a Senior Project Manager, with over 18 years of experience in various positions at KSAT, he is now the lead of the product development of oil spill detection using synthetic aperture radar and optical data. He has a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and a strong background in earth observation services, systems engineering, and satellite data processing.



Martine Espeseth received MSc and PhD degrees in remote sensing of satellite images with a focus on marine oil pollution and sea ice from the Department of Physics and Technology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Dr Espeseth is currently a project manager at KSAT in Tromsø within the Earth Observation group working with the oil detection service.

* Correspondence to: borre@ksat.no

Australian Energy Producers Journal 64 S504-S507 https://doi.org/10.1071/EP23184
Accepted: 17 February 2024  Published: 16 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of Australian Energy Producers

Abstract

Oil spills at sea pose a complex and challenging problem. Detecting, reporting, and potentially acting on the spill are difficult tasks, especially if the information is only obtained from the perspective of a vessel. Near-real time and relevant information is crucial for effective management of an oil spill event. This paper demonstrates how satellite-based images, combined with methods for thickness extraction and oil drift trajectory, can provide end-users with actionable and timely information for emergency response and recovery support. The results show the high value of quick delivery and the importance of using multiple sensors and data sources during an emergency, which enhance situational awareness and decision making. We highlight the value of satellite imagery for oil detection and show how it can be used to document the polluter, identify relative oil thickness, model oil drift, and compare different sensors.

Keywords: drift models, emergency, oil spill, optical, recovery, SAR, satellite, space, thickness.

Biographies

EP23184_B1.gif

Børre Pedersen has more than 25 years of experience in the satellite services domain. He currently holds the position of Sales Director for Earth Observation at KSAT – Kongsberg Satellite Services, where he drives business growth, and nurtures key partnerships. Børre’s journey at KSAT began in 1998 at the Svalbard Ground Station where he lived and worked for 5 years. Over the years, his skills in B2B development, contract negotiation, and large-scale sales have enabled him to establish a strong foothold for KSAT in Europe, Asia, and the US markets.

EP23184_B2.gif

Hugo Isaksen is a Senior Project Manager, with over 18 years of experience in various positions at KSAT, he is now the lead of the product development of oil spill detection using synthetic aperture radar and optical data. He has a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and a strong background in earth observation services, systems engineering, and satellite data processing.

EP23184_B3.gif

Martine Espeseth received MSc and PhD degrees in remote sensing of satellite images with a focus on marine oil pollution and sea ice from the Department of Physics and Technology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Dr Espeseth is currently a project manager at KSAT in Tromsø within the Earth Observation group working with the oil detection service.

References

Bonn Agreement Secretariat (2016a) ‘Bonn Agreement Aerial Operations Handbook'. Tech. Info. Paper. (London, UK) Available at https://www.bonnagreement.org/site/assets/files/1081/aerial_operations_handbook.pdf [accessed January 2024]

Bonn Agreement Secretariat (2016b) ‘The Bonn Agreement Oil Appearance Code’ Part 3, Annex A, Volume Estimation. (London, UK) Available at https://www.bonnagreement.org/site/assets/files/1081/special_on_volume_calculation_20160607.docx

Brekke C, Espeseth MM, Dagestad K-F, Röhrs J, Hole LR, Reigber A (2021) Integrated analysis of multisensor datasets and oil drift simulations—a free-floating oil experiment in the open ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 126, e2020JC016499.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Dagestad K-F, Röhrs J, Breivik Ø, Ådlandsvik B (2018) OpenDrift v1.0: a generic framework for trajectory modelling. Geoscientific Model Development 11, 1405-1420.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fingas M, Brown C (2014) Review of oil spill remote sensing. Marine Pollution Bulletin 83(1), 9-23.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Jones CE (2023) An automated algorithm for calculating the ocean contrast in support of oil spill response. Marine Pollution Bulletin 191, 114952.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Kolokoussis P, Karathanassi V (2018) Oil Spill Detection and Mapping Using Sentinel 2 Imagery. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 6(1), 4.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Röhrs J, Dagestad K-F, Asbjørnsen H, Nordam T, Skancke J, Jones CE, Brekke C (2018) The effect of vertical mixing on the horizontal drift of oil spills. Ocean Science 14, 1581-1601.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Wismann V, Gade M, Alpers W, Huhnerfuss H (1998) Radar signatures of marine mineral oil spills measured by an airborne multifrequency radar. International Journal of Remote Sensing 19(18), 3607-3623.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |