The Taylor Energy Oil Spill: Time-series of PolSAR Data to Support Continuous and Effective Observation

doi:10.11947/j.JGGS.2021.0103

Abstract

Abstract:

In this study, a large time series of TerraSAR-X Stripmap co-polarized (HH-VV) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery collected over the Taylor Energy oil platform site in the Gulf of Mexico is exploited to investigate this 13 year-long unconventional oil spill. The σ_CPD approach is used to estimate the polluted area along time. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is undertaken to point out the dependence of σ_CPD to imaging (noise floor, incidence angle) and environment (sea state) parameters. Experimental results demonstrate that σ_CPD can be effectively used to monitor the Taylor Energy oil spill, estimating the polluted area. For the TSX SAR data avail-ability most dense period (year 2013), a daily spill of about 2.2km² is observed in average, even though high variability (about 2.0km²) is experienced due to the un-conventional characteristics of the spill.

Key words: SAR; polarimetry; CPD; Taylor Energy; oil spill

Andrea BUONO,Carina Regina De MACEDO,Ferdinando NUNZIATA,Domenico VELOTTO,Xiaofeng LI. The Taylor Energy Oil Spill: Time-series of PolSAR Data to Support Continuous and Effective Observation[J]. Journal of Geodesy and Geoinformation Science, 2021, 4(1): 24-29.

Figures/Tables 6

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ROI	Feature	AOI/(°)
ROI	Feature	26	34	43
Sea surface	Mean	13	41	75
	Std	±3	±9	±11
	Δ/(%)	23	22	15
Oil slick	Mean	59	86	96
	Std	±14	±12	±11
	Δ/(%)	24	14	11

ROI	Feature	Wind Regime
ROI	Feature	Low	Moderate
Sea surface	Mean/(°)	43	43
	Std/(°)	±8	±8
	Δ/(%)	19	19
Oil slick	Mean/(°)	80	82
	Std/(°)	±12	±13
	Δ/(%)	15	16