Observation of Crude Oil Spill Off the West Coast of Korea using TerraSAR-X, ENVISAT ASAR and ALOS PALSAR

On December 7 th , 2007, more than 10,000 tons of crude oil from a tanker leaked into the Yellow Sea off the west coast of Korean Peninsula. Several SAR images including TerraSAR-X, ENVISAT ASAR, RADARSAT-1, ERS-2 SAR and ALOS PALSAR were acquired over the contaminated area from oil spill. Observed dark patches in SAR images, due to the presence of oil slicks, were extracted using adaptive thresholding methods, and then classified based on field information. The damping ratio, which is a ratio between slick-free and slick-covered sea surface, was analyzed by the SAR radar frequencies and wind condition. With the acquired SAR images in temporal resolutions, the movement of oil slicks was monitored and traced.