An oil spill monitoring system based on SAR images

Abstract Oil pollution produced by natural or human causes is of great importance to both the environment and the economy, and it is a subject of increasing public concern. This paper presents a project for the development of a low cost demonstrator system for the detection of marine oil spills. The system is based in the analysis of satellite SAR images. SAR images are presently the only reliable remote sensing data suitable for the purpose. The main functionalities of the system include SAR raw data preprocessing, quick-look image generation and analysis, full resolution image generation and analysis and report compilation.