Towards an Operational Use of Space Imagery for Oil Pollution Monitoring in the Mediterranean Basin: A Demonstration in the Adriatic Sea

The studies carried out by EC-JRC in the Mediterranean Sea for the years 1999-2004 are briefly introduced. The specific analysis on the Adriatic Sea for the same period demonstrates that this area has been characterized by a relevant number of illegal discharges from ships. After setting the historical background, the content, the partners and the aim of the project AESOP (AErial and Satellite surveillance of Operational Pollution in the Adriatic Sea) are presented. Finally, the results of the first phase of the AESOP project are presented. These results seems very encouraging having experienced, for the first time in the Adriatic, a real time detection of oil spills in satellite images and an immediate verification by aircraft or vessels of the Coast Guard. An exploratory activity has been also carried out in collaboration with the University of Ljubljana to use AIS (Automatic Information System) to identify the ships detected in the satellite images.

FERRARO DI SILVI E CASTIGLIONE Guido;  BERNARDINI Annalia;  MEYER-ROUX Serge;  MUELLENHOFF Oliver;  TARCHI Dario;  TOPOUZELIS Konstantinos;  DAVID Matej;  PERKOVIC Marko; 

Ferraro Di Silvi E Castiglione G, Bernardini A, Meyer-Roux S, Muellenhoff O, Tarchi D, Topouzelis K, David M, Perkovic M. Towards an Operational Use of Space Imagery for Oil Pollution Monitoring in the Mediterranean Basin: A Demonstration in the Adriatic Sea. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 54; 2007. p. 403-422. JRC33314

2007-04-10

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

JRC33314

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC33314,   

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2006.11.022,