APPLICATIONS OF REMOTE SENSING TO ENVIRONMENTALMONITORIN AND DETECTION THE POLLUTIONCASE STUDY : DETECTION OF OIL SPILLS ALONG A PART OFTHE EASTERN COAST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

摘要

The main objective of Remote Sensing techniques is to identify and classify types ofpollution, sensitive land and water surface for later sensitivity analysis and assessmentof the need for protection. Remote Sensing is providing very useful for a board ofenvironmental applications. All the wavelength regions, from UV through microwavehave practical applications. The synoptic regional coverage, availability of data frominaccessible areas and repeated coverage are advantage of aircraft and satellite imagery.This helps to put an oil spill contingency plan, in order to project environmentallysensitive areas and monitoring of accidental spills to aid cleanup operations. The aspectsof oil spill monitoring are : detection of oil spills, estimation of thickness and volume ofspills, and identification of the type of crude or refined oil in a spill.This paper deals with the applications of Remotely sensed aircraft and satellite data todetect pollutants of oil films along a part of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea.The spectral reflectance of oil films has been compared with the reflectance of seawater. UV, blue and photographic IR wavelengths were used to obtain informationabout the relative thickness and extent of the oil slick. The UV image shows thecomplete spreading of the oil to within a few micrometers thickness. As a result, UVimagery is the most sensitive remote sensing method for monitoring oil on water andcan detect films as thin as 0.15 micrometer.