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OPERATIONAL SATELLITE MONITORING OF OIL SPILL
POLLUTION IN THE SOUTHEASTERN BALTIC SEA: 1.5 YEARS
EXPERIENCE
Andrey Kostianoy1, Konstantin Litovchenko2, Olga Lavrova3, Marina Mityagina3, Tatyana Bocharova3,
Sergey Lebedev4, 5, Sergey Stanichny6, Dmitry Soloviev6, Aleksander Sirota7 and Olga Pichuzhkina8
1 P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 36 Nakhimovsky Pr., Moscow, 117997,
Russia, Tel: +7-495-124.88.10, Fax: +7-495-124.59.83, E-mail: kostianoy@mail.mipt.ru
2 Russian Research Institute for Space Instrument-Making, Moscow, Russia
3 Russian Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
4 Geophysical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
5 State Oceanographic Institute, Moscow, Russia
6 Marine Hydrophysical Institute, National Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine, Sevastopol, the Ukraine
7 Atlantic Research Institute for Fishery and Oceanography, Kaliningrad, Russia
8 LUKOIL-Kaliningradmorneft, Kaliningrad, Russia
ABSTRACT
In June 2003 LUKOIL-Kaliningradmorneft initiated a pilot project, aimed to the complex
monitoring of the southeastern Baltic Sea, in connection with a beginning of oil production at
continental shelf of Russia in March 2004. Operational monitoring was performed in June
2004 – November 2005 on the base of daily satellite remote sensing (AVHRR NOAA,
MODIS, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, ENVISAT ASAR and RADARSAT SAR imagery) of
sea surface temperature (SST), sea level, chlorophyll concentration, mesoscale dynamics,
wind and waves, and oil spills. As a result a complex information on oil pollution of the sea,
SST, distribution of suspended matter, chlorophyll concentration, sea currents and
meteorological parameters has been received. In total 274 oil spills were detected in 230
ASAR ENVISAT images (400x400 km, 75 m/pixel resolution) and 17 SAR RADARSAT
images (300x300 km, 25 m/pixel resolution) received during 18 months. The interactive
numerical model Seatrack Web SMHI (The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological
Institute) was used for a forecast of the drift of (1) all large oil spills detected by ASAR
ENVISAT in the southeastern Baltic Sea and (2) virtual (simulated) oil spills from the D-6
platform. The latter was done daily for operational correction of the action plan for accident
elimination at the D-6 and ecological risk assessment (oil pollution of the sea and the
Curonian Spit). Probability of the oil spill drift directed to the Curonian Spit equals to 67%,
but only in a half of these cases oil spills could reach the coast during 48 h after an accidental
release of 10 m3 of oil.
1. INTRODUCTION
Detection of oil pollution is among most important goals of monitoring of a coastal zone.
Public interest in the problem of oil pollution arises mainly during dramatic tanker
catastrophes such as “The Sea Empress” (Wales, 1996), “Erica” (France, 1999) and “Prestige”
(Spain, 2002). However, tanker catastrophes are only one among many causes of oil pollution.
Oil and oil product spillages at sea take place all the time, and it would be a delusion to
consider tanker accidents the main environmental danger. According to the International
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Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), over the period of 1974-2002, spillages
resulting from collisions, groundings, tanker holes and fires amounted to 52% of total
leakages during tanker loading/unloading and bunkering operations. Discharge of wastewater
containing oil products is another important source, by pollutant volume comparable to
offshore oil extraction and damaged underwater pipelines. The greatest, but hardest-to-
estimate oil inputs come from domestic and industrial discharges, direct or via rivers, and
from natural hydrocarbon seeps. The long-term effects of this chronic pollution are arguably
more harmful to the coastal environment than a single, large-scale accident.
Shipping activities in the Baltic Sea, including oil transport and oil handled in harbors, have a
number of negative impacts on the marine environment and coastal zone. Oil discharges from
ships represent a significant threat to marine ecosystems. Oil spills cause the contamination of
seawater, shores, and beaches, which may persist for several months and represent a threat to
marine resources. The total annual number of oil spills into the Baltic Sea is estimated to be
around 10,000 and the total amount of oil running into the sea can be as much as 10,000 tons
which is considerably more than the amount of oil pouring into the sea in accidents (Finnish
Environment Institute, 2004).
One of the main tasks in the ecological monitoring of the Baltic Sea is an operational satellite
and aerial detection of oil spillages, determination of their characteristics, establishment of the
pollution sources and forecast of probable trajectories of the oil spill transport. Oil pollution
monitoring in the Mediterranean, North and Baltic Sea is normally carried out by aircrafts or
ships. This is expensive and is constrained by the limited availability of these resources.
Aerial surveys over large areas of the seas to check for the presence of oil are limited to the
daylight hours in good weather conditions. Satellite imagery can help greatly identifying
probable spills over very large areas and then guiding aerial surveys for precise observation of
specific locations. The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument, which can collect data
independently of weather and light conditions, is an excellent tool to monitor and detect oil on
water surfaces. This instrument offers the most effective means of monitoring oil pollution:
oil slicks appear as dark patches on SAR images because of the damping effect of the oil on
the backscattered signals from the radar instrument. This type of instrument is currently on
board the European Space Agency's ENVISAT and ERS-2 satellites and the Canadian Space
Agency’s RADARSAT satellite.
The ENVISAT satellite was launched in March 2002 by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Operational systems, which include 10 instruments, have been developed to monitor oceans,
ice, land and atmosphere. ENVISAT has 35day repeat cycle, but due to wide swaths by some
of the instruments, the Earth is covered within a few days. ASAR (Advanced Synthetic-
Aperture Radar) instrument is used for mapping sea ice and oil slick monitoring,
measurements of ocean surface features (currents, fronts, eddies, internal waves), ship
detection, oil and gas exploration, etc. Users of remotely sensed data for oil spill applications
include the Coast Guard, national environmental protection agencies and departments, oil
companies, shipping, insurance and fishing industries, national departments of fisheries and
oceans, and other organizations.
2. SATELLITE MONITORING
Since 1993 there is no regular aerial surveillance of the oil spills in the Russian sector of the
southeastern Baltic Sea and in the Gulf of Finland. In June 2003 LUKOIL-
Kaliningradmorneft initiated a pilot project, aimed to the complex monitoring of the
southeastern Baltic Sea, in connection with a beginning of oil production at continental shelf
of Russia in March 2004 (Fig.1). Operational monitoring was performed in June 2004 –
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Figure 1: D-6 oil platform.
November 2005 on the base of daily satellite remote sensing (AVHRR NOAA, MODIS,
TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, ENVISAT ASAR and RADARSAT SAR imagery) of SST, sea
level, chlorophyll concentration, mesoscale dynamics, wind and waves, and oil spills
(Kostianoy, 2005; Kostianoy et al., 2004; 2005a,b,c; Lavrova et al., 2006). As a result a
complex information on oil pollution of the sea, SST (Fig.2), distribution of suspended
matter, chlorophyll concentration (Fig.3), sea currents and meteorological parameters has
been received. General goals of the satellite oil pollution monitoring in the Baltic Sea were:
(i) Detection of oil spills in the vicinity of D-6 oil platform as well as in the large area of
the southeastern Baltic Sea;
(ii) Identification of sources of pollution;
(iii) Forecast of oil spills drift;
(iv) Data systematization and archiving;
(v) Cooperation with authorities.
Operational monitoring of oil pollution in the sea was based on the processing and analysis of
ASAR ENVISAT (every pass over the southeastern Baltic Sea, 400x400 km, 75 m/pixel
resolution) and SAR RADARSAT (300x300 km, 25 m/pixel resolution) images received from
KSAT Station (Kongsberg Satellite Services, Tromsø, Norway) in operational regime (1-2
hours after the satellite’s overpass).
For interpretation of ASAR ENVISAT imagery and forecast of oil spills drift IR and VIS
AVHRR (NOAA) and MODIS (Terra and Aqua) images were received, processed and
analyzed, as well as the QuikSCAT scatterometer and the JASON-1 altimeter data. Satellite
receiving station at Marine Hydrophysical Institute (MHI) in Sevastopol was used for
operational 24 hours/day, 7 days/week receiving of AVHRR NOAA data for construction of
sea surface temperature, optical characteristics of sea water and currents maps. SST
variability (Fig. 2) and intensive algae bloom (high concentration of blue-green algae on the
sea surface in the summertime) (Fig. 3) allow to highlight meso- and small-scale water
dynamics in the Baltic Sea and to follow movements of currents, eddies, dipoles, jets,
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Figure 2: Sea surface temperature in the Baltic Sea on 1 September 2005 (NOAA-18).
Figure 3: Algae bloom in the Baltic Sea on 13 July 2005 (MODIS-Terra).
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filaments, river plumes and outflows from the Vistula and the Curonian bays. Sequence of
daily MODIS IR and VIS imagery allows to reconstruct a real field of surface currents
(direction and velocity) with 0.25-1 km resolution which is very important for a forecast of a
direction and velocity of potential pollution drift including oil spills. Combination of ASAR
ENVISAT images with high resolution VIS and IR MODIS images allows to understand the
observed form of the detected oil spills and to predict their transport by currents.
Sea wind speed fields were derived from scatterometer data from every path of the
QuikSCAT satellite over the Baltic Sea (twice a day). These data were combined with data
from coastal meteorological stations in Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark,
Germany, Poland, and numerical weather models. Satellite altimetry data from every track of
Jason-1 over the Baltic Sea were used for compilation of sea wave height charts, which
include the results of the FNMOC (Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center)
WW3 Model. Both data were used for the analysis of the ASAR ENVISAT imagery and
estimates of oil spill drift direction and velocity.
In total 274 oil spills were detected in 230 ASAR ENVISAT images and 17 SAR
RADARSAT images received during 18 months. Several examples from the oil spill gallery
are presented in Figs.4-6. A map of all oil spills detected by the analysis of the ASAR
ENVISAT imagery in the given area of the southeastern Baltic Sea from 12 June 2004 till 30
November 2005 is presented in Fig. 7. A real form and dimension of oil spills are shown.
Green square shows location of the D-6 oil platform. Oil spills clearly revealed the main ship
routes in the Baltic Sea directed to Ventspils, Liepaja, Klaipeda (routes from different
directions), Kaliningrad, and along Gotland Island. No spills originated from D-6 oil platform
were observed.
Figure 4: A release of oil from the ship moving northward (white dot) on 11 January 2005
(ASAR Envisat). Length of the spill is 31 km, surface – 9.6 km2.
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Figure 5: A release of oil from three ships on 25 August 2005 (ASAR Envisat). Length of the
spill in front of Klaipeda is 33.6 km, surface – 8.6 km2. Length of another long spill – 22 km.
Figure 6: An oil spill released from the ship moving along Gotland Island on 18 October
2005 (ASAR Envisat). Length of the spill chain is 50 km, total surface 33 km2.
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Figure 7: Map of all oil spills detected by the analysis of the ASAR ENVISAT and SAR
RADARSAT imagery in June 2004 – November 2005.
3. NUMERICAL MODELLING
The interactive numerical model Seatrack Web SMHI was used for a forecast of the drift of
(1) all large oil spills detected by ASAR ENVISAT in the southeastern Baltic Sea (Fig.8) and
(2) virtual (simulated) oil spills from the D-6 platform (Fig.9). The latter was done daily for
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operational correction of the action plan for accident elimination at the D-6 and ecological
risk assessment (oil pollution of the sea and the Curonian Spit). This version of a numerical
model on the Internet platform has been developed at the Swedish Meteorological and
Hydrological Institute in close co-operation with Danish authorities. The system is based on
an operational weather model HIRLAM (HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model, 22 km grid)
and circulation model HIROMB (HIgh Resolution Operational Model for the Baltic Sea, 24
layers), which calculates the current field at 3 n.m. grid. The model allows to forecast the oil
drift for two days ahead or to make a hind cast (backward calculation) for 10 days in the
whole Baltic Sea. When calculating the oil drift, wind and current forecasts are taken from the
operational models. An oil spreading calculation is added to the currents, as well as oil
evaporation, emulsification, sinking, stranding and dispersion. This powerful system today is
in operational use in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and
Russia (Ambjörn, 2004). Statistics, based on daily forecast of the oil spills drift from the D-6
oil platform in July-December 2004, shows potential probability (%) of the appearance of an
oil spill in any point of the area during 48 h after an accidental release of 10 m3 of oil
(Fig.10). Probability of the oil spill drift directed to the Curonian Spit (150Û-sector from D-6)
equals to 67%, but only in a half of these cases oil spills reached the coast.
Figure 8: Numerical modelling of the drift (28-30 May 2005) of an oil spill detected
northward of Ventspils on 28 May 2005.
4. CONCLUSIONS
In total 274 oil spills were detected in 230 ASAR ENVISAT images and 17 SAR
RADARSAT images received in the period between June 2004 and November 2005. Main
sources of oil pollution are ships. No spills caused by leakage from D-6 oil platform were
detected. For auxiliary needs about 1600 IR and VIS AVHRR (NOAA) and MODIS (Terra
and Aqua) images were processed and analyzed, as well as 240 maps of near-surface wind
derived from the QuikSCAT scatterometer and 73 maps of wave height derived from the
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23 October 2005 © Seatrack Web, SMHI 24 October 2005 © Seatrack Web, SMHI
25 October 2005 © Seatrack Web, SMHI 26 October 2005 © Seatrack Web, SMHI
27 October 2005 © Seatrack Web, SMHI 28 October 2005 © Seatrack Web, SMHI
29 October 2005 © Seatrack Web, SMHI 30 October 2005 © Seatrack Web, SMHI
Figure 9: An example of daily forecast of the virtual (simulated) oil spill drift from the D-6
platform for 23-30 October 2005.
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Figure 10: Probability of observation of potential oil pollution from D-6 platform during first
two days after an accidental release of 10 m3 of oil.
JASON1 altimeter were constructed. About 550 oil spills (real and virtual) drift forecasts
were done basing on the numerical model Seatrack Web (SMHI). ASAR ENVISAT and SAR
RADARSAT provide effective capabilities to monitor oil spills, in particular, in the Baltic
Sea. Combined with satellite remote sensing (AVHRR NOAA, MODIS-Terra and -Aqua,
TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1) of SST, sea level, chlorophyll concentration, mesoscale
dynamics, wind and waves, this observational system represents a powerful method for long-
term monitoring of ecological state of semi-enclosed seas especially vulnerable to oil
pollution.
5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was initiated and supported by LUKOIL-Kaliningradmorneft. We would like to
thank European Space Agency (ESA, http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html) and Kongsberg
Satellite Services (KSAT, Tromsø, Norway, www.ksat.no/) for the production and
distribution of ASAR ENVISAT data (Contract 04-10095-Ⱥ-ɋ); NOAA
(http://www.noaa.gov/) and Space Monitoring Information Support Laboratory in Russian
Space Research Institute (SMIS IKI RAN, http://smis.iki.rssi.ru/) for AVHRR data; NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center for the production and distribution of MODIS (Terra and Aqua)
data (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html); Physical Oceanography
Distributed Active Archive Center (PODAAC), JPL NASA (ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov) for the
production and distribution of QuikSCAT and JASON-1 data; and Swedish Meteorological
and Hydrological Institute (SMHI, www.smhi.se/) for the access to the Seatrack Web model.
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6. LITERATURE
1. Ambjörn, C. “Forecasts of the trajectory and fate of spills, using Internet as the calculation
platform.” In: USA-Baltic International Symposium “Advances in Marine Environmental
Research, Monitoring and Technologies”, Klaipeda, Lithuania, 15-17 June 2004.
2. Finnish Environment Institute, 2004 (http://www.ymparisto.fi/).
3. Kostianoy, A.G. “Satellite monitoring of oil pollution in the Black, Azov, Caspian and
Baltic seas.” Proceedings, “Black Sea and Caspian Ecology 2005” 3d International
Caspian and Black Sea Ecology Summit and Showcase, 24-25 November 2005, Istanbul,
Turkey, 2005: E27-E28.
4. Kostianoy, A.G., Lebedev, S.A., Litovchenko, K.Ts., Stanichny, S.V., and O.E.
Pichuzhkina. “Satellite remote sensing of oil spill pollution in the southeastern Baltic
Sea.“ Gayana. 2004 (V.68, N 2, Part 2):327-332.
5. Kostianoy, A.G., Lebedev, S.A., Litovchenko, K.Ts., Stanichny, S.V., and O.E.
Pichuzhkina. “Oil spill monitoring in the Southeastern Baltic Sea.” Environmental
Research, Engineering and Management. 2005 (3):73-79.
6. Kostianoy, A.G., Lebedev, S.A., Soloviev, D.M., and O.E. Pichuzhkina. Satellite
monitoring of the Southeastern Baltic Sea. Annual Report 2004. Lukoil-
Kaliningradmorneft, Kaliningrad, 2005.
7. Kostianoy, A.G., Litovchenko, K.Ts., Lebedev, S.A., Stanichny, S.V., Soloviev, D.M.,
and O.E. Pichuzhkina. “Operational satellite monitoring of oil spill pollution in the
southeastern Baltic Sea” Oceans 2005 – Europe, Volume 1, 20-23 June 2005:182-183.
DOI: 10.1109/OCEANSE.2005.1511706.
8. Lavrova, O., Bocharova, T., and A. Kostianoy. “Satellite radar imagery of the coastal
zone: slicks and oil spills.” EARSeL eProceedings, 2006 (2).
