Remote Sensing and GIS for oil contamination of frozen terrain application

摘要

Extensive ground contamination from oil occurs in the rich oil-producing areas of northern Russia, where permafrost is often present. In northern America, growing concern has been expressed over oil contamination. Yet very little research has been undertaken into effective monitoring and remediation procedures in cold regions. While appropriate predictive and monitoring strategies for terrestrial oil spills can probably be devised for some areas, they are currently likely to be heavily dependent on in situ measurements, and not therefore readily transferrable to large, remote areas where access may be difficult or restricted. Remote sensing methods, especially when combined with an appropriate Geographic Information System (GIS), have substantial potential in this field. In this paper we describe the results of some preliminary investigations of remote sensing data and GIS specification for detecting and monitoring of high-latitude oil spills.