Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:31:41.830Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Remote sensing of oil spills on frozen ground

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

W. G. Rees
W. G. Rees
Affiliation:
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Remote-sensing methods, using electromagnetic radiation detected by airborne and spaceborne instruments, have the potential to revolutionise the investigation of oil contamination in high latitudes. Spaceborne monitoring, in particular, offers many advantages, including: obtaining data from relatively inaccessible areas; day and night, all-weather observations; regular monitoring opportunities; spatial resolution of 20 m or better; and areal coverage of 30,000 square kilometres or more. Calibrated, spatially registered data can be readily integrated into geographic information systems for evaluation and prediction of spill behaviour. However, very little investigation of this potential has yet been undertaken. This paper reviews the possibilities for monitoring soil characteristics, including thermal regime, the presence of contamination, and long-term consequences of spills, for topography, hydrology, and vegetation cover.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 35 , Issue 192 , January 1999 , pp. 19 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, P., and Wilson, S.. 1995. NRSC uses ERS-1 SAR data to monitor Komi oil spill. Earth Observation Magazine (04 1995): 41–43.Google Scholar
England, A.W. 1990. Radiobrightness of diurnally heated, freezing soil. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 28 (4): 464–476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, G.J., Dowdeswell, J.A., and Rees, W.G.. 1994. The spatial and temporal effect of cloud cover on the acquisition of high quality Landsat imagery in the European Arctic sector. Remote Sensing of Environment 50 (1): 149–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrisey, L.A. 1983. The utility of remotely sensed data for permafrost studies. In: Proceedings of the fourth international permafrost conference. Washington, DC: National Academy Press: 872–876.Google Scholar
Morrisey, L.A. 1988. Predicting the occurrence of permafrost in the Alaskan discontinuous zone with satellite data. In: Senneset, K.Proceedings of the fifth international permafrost conference. Trondheim: Tapir Publishers: 213–217.Google Scholar
Peddle, D.R., and Franklin, S.E.. 1993. Classification of permafrost active layer depth from remotely sensed and topographic evidence. Remote Sensing of Environments 44 (1): 67–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rees, W.G. 1990. Physical principles of remote sensing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rees, W.G., and Williams, M., , M. 1997. Monitoring changes in land cover induced by atmospheric pollution in the Kola Peninsula, Russia, using Landsat-MSS data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 18 (8): 1703–1723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, S. 1992. 0.45 to 1.1 μm spectra of Prudhoe crude oil and of beach materials in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Hanover, NH: US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL Special Report 92–5).Google Scholar
Wegmüller, U. 1990. The effect of freezing and thawing on the microwave signatures of bare soil. Remote Sensing of Environment 33: 123–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, P.J., Rees, W.G., Riseborough, D.W., White, T.L, and Winnicky, K.. 1996. Research strategies for development of predictive and remedial measures for oil spills in permafrost regions. In: Techniques and technologies for hydrocarbon remediation in cold and Arctic climates: proceedings of a conference at the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario, 1995. Montreal: Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Cold Region Engineering Division: 82–95.Google Scholar
Williams, P.J., Rees, W.G., Riseborough, D.W., and White, T.L.. In press. Stategies for development of costeffective amelioration procedures for oil spills in cold regions. In: Grant, S.Proceedings of the workshop on models for cold regions contaminant hydrology: current uses and future needs. Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor Press.Google Scholar