Synthetic Aperture Radar ( Sar ) As An Effective Tool For Oil Spill

The goal of our research is to seek possible solutions to reduce the risks of offshore oil spills. To attain this goal, we gathered information from over twenty sources, including “Deepwater Horizon oil” from Wikipedia research and an article from the LA Times.

The oil spills results of shipping accidents play a significant role in increasing the pollution. For example, in the 3rd of April 2010 4 tonnes of oil was spilled into the water.

In fact, of the tens of millions of gallons of oil that enter North American oceans each year due to human activities, only 8 percent comes from tanker or oil pipeline spills, according to the 2003 book Oil in the Sea III (Transportation Research Board and National Research Council) by the U.S. National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, which is still considered the authority on oil-spill data (Geographic).” Oil ends up in oceans very frequently, and is extremely bad for both marine wildlife and the environment as a

To begin, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill was a man-made environmental disaster that occurred in 1989. On March 24, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 barrels of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound in Alaska (Piatt, Lensick, Butler, Kendziorek & Nysewander, 1990). Eventually, this oil spread across 30,000 km² of water, damaging ecosystems and marine life along the way (Piatt, 1990). Evidently, this oil spill is considered to be one of the most destructive man-made environmental disasters in history (Dimdam, 2013).

An estimated amount of 206 gallons were let loose in the water.This oil spill has made the records of being one of the largest oil spills that has ever occurred. It happened when an oil well approximately a mile below the surface.blew out. In addition, this caused an explosion on the BP Horizon rig that killed 11 people. Experts made many attempts to stop the oil flow but it took time to reach success. However, every minute passing by is a very crucial one. Within as little as one day 2.5 million gallons were released into the water. The well was capped on July15, 2010. Meaning that the oil leaked for a grand total of 85 days. Resulting in 572 miles of the Gulf Shore being covered in oil. Not to mention the hundreds of animals found and taken into care due to the oil spill. Of course long term effects won’t be able to be further approached until time passes and experts are able to have obtained enough data throughout the years. However, experts have concluded that the damage from this oil spill will not be completely over with until years to come. Still today clumps of oil are being found coming from the shore. The oil is not the only thing to worry about however. Chemicals still remain in the environment and therefore can still affect the nature and can result in a chemical reaction which may be harmful. If parts of the oil are not able to reach oxygen it can just be a big toxic reservoir damaging the environment waiting to cause trouble.The only way to remove things like this is mechanically which only further destroys the habitat. Al in all it is a lose lose

During the Deepwater Horizon event, 18 Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) teams consisting of Federal, State, Local and BP Plc. Representatives conducted field surveys to determine the location, scale and character of oiled shoreline (Michel et al., 2013). This data was essential to creating site-specific Shoreline Treatment Recommendations (STRs) which were based on criterion involving oil properties, season, habitat type and use. SCAT surveys were carried out by teams documenting oil character, thickness, percent distribution, width and length of the oiled band(s), tidal zone where the oil band(s) were observed, the average and maximum size of oil deposits, and recommended cleanup tactics (Michel et al., 2013). As opposed to

Enforcing regulations against dumping would be almost impossible if it had to be done on the high seas and not conducted at the ports where the cargo is loaded(1, 112). A variety of water pollutants occur, ranging from petroleum wastes to pesticides to excess sediments(9). Waters also receive wastes directly from offshore activities, such as ocean-based dumping. Our technology is capable of tracing the sources of oil slicks, as well as, airborne and satellite radar systems(10).The

Gill, Duane A., J. Steven Picou, and Liesel A. Ritchie. "The Exxon Valdez and BP oil spills: a

Primary pollutants detected consisted mostly of hydrocarbons that were emitted into the atmosphere from evaporated or burned oil on the water surface, and nitrogen oxides, emitted by both the flaring of the natural gas and from the clean-up processes close near the spill site. Once in the atmosphere, these compounds photochemically reacted to produce secondary pollutants such as Ozone and peroxacetyl nitrates (PANs) (Middlebrook et al., 2011). Other pollutants were also detected, such as secondary organic aerosols (SOA), a product of intermediate volatile organic compounds, and soot particles, black carbon and carbon monoxide from in situ burning of oil or from the cleanup processes (Gouw et al., 2011).

N. A. Brunsell , P. P. B. Pontes & R. A. C. Lamparelli (2009) Remotely Sensed

Oil spills are notorious environmental hazards. Spills are costly to clean up, and they impact hundreds of

Oil spills happen all of the time, and are almost always inevitable. However, an oil spill happening in the Arctic is something that has never come to pass, yet. There are new variables that must be considered. The ice that floats on top of the waters in the Arctic are an obstacle all of their own. If an oil spill were to occur in this part of the world, the oil could easily be trapped under the ice. These frozen pieces are not stationary, they are always moving. Keeping this in mind, as the ice moves, with oil underneath, the oil moves. This causes irreparable damage to more than just one solitary location. It travels creating chaos for multiple marine ecosystems. This in turn creates a problem for animals, both on land and at

The oil and refined products are a mixture of various hydrocarbons and other compounds whose physical and chemical properties vary; during an oil spill, the composite determines the behavior and impact on the environmental elements such as physical, biological, ecosystem, and the economical impact. During this Case Study I will continue to discuss the characteristics of each affected ecosystem including organisms commonly found in the Deepwater Horizon Spill affected area, potential threats based on their relative location to the spill, and the economic impact of damages in these communities.

The term ‘oil spill’ already eludes to the fact that they are issues for the environment, but there are specific problems that can arise from spills specifically in arctic regions. Research on oil spills

The oil spills from an off-shore oil rig or tanker can do tremendous damage to the esosystem in the area of the spill and expand over vast regions to affect coastlines and indigenous wildlife hundreds of miles away. Cleaning oil spills, especially in a marine environment is important and it is a challenging task. The methods currently used to clean oil in water can be divided into following categories: using booms and skimmer; using oil solidifier and dispersants; adding biological agents to speed up the oil breakdown; or in-situ burning of oil spills. However, only the skimmers were designed to recover the spill oil.1