Marine pollution in European coastal waters monitored by the ERS-2 SAR: a comprehensive statistical analysis

The oil pollution of the southern Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the northwestern Mediterranean Sea has been studied within a two-year period from December 1996 until November 1998. In total, the authors have analyzed more than 700 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, which have been acquired over the three test areas by the Second European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-2). The authors present the results of their statistical analyses. Moreover, the authors introduce advanced image processing techniques for the classification of the observed radar signatures, namely the calculation of the fractal dimension, and discuss the possibility of identifying different types of oceanic phenomena.