scholarly journals ESTIMATION OF THE THICKNESS AND EMULSION RATE OF OIL SPILLED AT SEA USING HYPERSPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING IMAGERY IN THE SWIR DOMAIN

Author(s):  
G. Sicot ◽  
M. Lennon ◽  
V. Miegebielle ◽  
D. Dubucq

The thickness and the emulsion rate of an oil spill are two key parameters allowing to design a tailored response to an oil discharge. If estimated on per pixel basis at a high spatial resolution, the estimation of the oil thickness allows the volume of pollutant to be estimated, and that volume is needed in order to evaluate the magnitude of the pollution, and to determine the most adapted recovering means to use. The estimation of the spatial distribution of the thicknesses also allows the guidance of the recovering means at sea. The emulsion rate can guide the strategy to adopt in order to deal with an offshore oil spill: efficiency of dispersants is for example not identical on a pure oil or on an emulsion. Moreover, the thickness and emulsion rate allow the amount of the oil that has been discharged to be estimated. It appears that the shape of the reflectance spectrum of oil in the SWIR range (1000–2500nm) varies according to the emulsion rate and to the layer thickness. That shape still varies when the oil layer reaches a few millimetres, which is not the case in the visible range (400–700nm), where the spectral variation saturates around 200 μm (the upper limit of the Bonn agreement oil appearance code). In that context, hyperspectral imagery in the SWIR range shows a high potential to describe and characterize oil spills. Previous methods which intend to estimate those two parameters are based on the use of a spectral library. In that paper, we will present a method based on the inversion of a simple radiative transfer model in the oil layer. We will show that the proposed method is robust against another parameter that affects the reflectance spectrum: the size of water droplets in the emulsion. The method shows relevant results using measurements made in laboratory, equivalent to the ones obtained using methods based on the use of a spectral library. The method has the advantage to release the need of a spectral library, and to provide maps of thickness and emulsion rate values per pixel. The maps obtained are not composed of regions of thickness ranges, such as the ones obtained using discretized levels of measurements in the spectral library, or maps made from visual observations following the Bonn agreement oil appearance code.

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1077-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Beirle ◽  
M. Salzmann ◽  
M. G. Lawrence ◽  
T. Wagner

Abstract. In this study, we analyse the sensitivity of nadir viewing satellite observations in the visible range to freshly produced lightning NOx. This is a particular challenge due to the complex and highly variable conditions of meteorology, (photo-) chemistry, and radiative transfer in and around cumulonimbus clouds. For the first time, such a study is performed accounting for photo-chemistry, dynamics, and radiative transfer in a consistent way: A one week episode in the TOGA COARE/CEPEX region (Pacific) in December 1992 is simulated with a 3-D cloud resolving chemistry model. The simulated hydrometeor mixing ratios are fed into a Monte Carlo radiative transfer model to calculate box-Air Mass Factors (box-AMFs) for NO2. From these box-AMFs, together with model NOx profiles, slant columns of NO2 (SNO2), i.e. synthetic satellite measurements, are calculated and set in relation to the actual model NOx vertical column (VNOx), yielding the "sensitivity" SNO2/VNOx. From this study, we find a mean sensitivity of 0.46. NOx below the cloud bottom is mostly present as NO2, but shielded from the satellites' view, whereas NOx at the cloud top or above is shifted to NO due to high photolysis and low temperature, and hence not detectable from space. However, a significant fraction of the lightning produced NOx in the middle part of the cloud is present as NO2 and has a good visibility from space. Due to the resulting total sensitivity being quite high, nadir viewing satellites provide a valuable additional platform to quantify NOx production by lightning; strong lightning events over "clean" regions should be clearly detectable in satellite observations. Since the observed enhancement of NO2 column densities over mesoscale convective systems are lower than expected for current estimates of NOx production per flash, satellite measurements can in particular constrain the upper bound of lightning NOx production estimates.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 18111-18153
Author(s):  
S. Beirle ◽  
M. Salzmann ◽  
M. G. Lawrence ◽  
T. Wagner

Abstract. In this study, we analyse the sensitivity of nadir viewing satellite observations in the visible range to freshly produced lightning NOx, i.e. for meteorological and (photo-) chemical conditions found in and around cumulonimbus clouds. For the first time, such a study is performed accounting for photo-chemistry, dynamics, and radiative transfer in a consistent way: A one week episode in the TOGA COARE/CEPEX region (Pacific) in December 1992 is simulated with a 3-D cloud resolving chemistry model. The simulated hydrometeor mixing ratios are fed into a Monte Carlo radiative transfer model to calculate box-Air Mass Factors (box-AMFs) for NO2. From these box-AMFs, together with model NOx profiles, slant columns of NO2 (SNO2), i.e. synthetic satellite measurements, are calculated and set in relation to the actual model NOx vertical column (VNOx), yielding the "sensitivity" SNO2/VNOx. From this study, we find a mean sensitivity of 0.46. NOx below the cloud bottom is mostly present as NO2, but shielded from the satellites' view, whereas NOx at the cloud top or above is shifted to NO due to high photolysis and low temperature, and hence not detectable from space. But a significant fraction of the lightning produced NOx in the middle part of the cloud is present as NO2 and has a good visibility from space. Due to the resulting total sensitivity being quite high, nadir viewing satellites provide a valuable additional platform to quantify NOx production by lightning; strong lightning events over "clean" regions should be clearly detectable in satellite observations. Since the observed enhancement of NO2 column densities over mesoscale convective systems are lower than expected for current estimates of NOx production per flash, satellite measurements can in particular constrain the upper bound of lightning NOx production estimates.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 17401-17427
Author(s):  
J. J. Michalsky ◽  
P. W. Kiedron

Abstract. The first successful deployment of the fully-operational ultraviolet rotating shadow-band spectroradiometer occurred during the May 2003 U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's Aerosol Intensive Observation Period. The aerosol properties in the visible range were characterized using redundant measurements with several instruments to determine the column aerosol optical depth, the single scattering albedo, and the asymmetry parameter needed as input for radiative transfer calculations of the downwelling direct normal and diffuse horizontal solar irradiance in clear-sky conditions. The Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible (TUV) radiative transfer model developed by Madronich and his colleagues at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research was used for the calculations of the spectral irradiance between 300–360 nm. Since there are few ultraviolet measurements of aerosol properties, most of the input aerosol data for the radiative transfer model are based on the assumption that UV input parameters can be extrapolated from the visible portion of the spectrum. Disagreements between available extraterrestrial spectra, which are discussed briefly, suggested that instead of comparing irradiances that measured and modeled spectral transmittances between 300–360 nm should be compared for the seven cases studied. These cases included low to moderate aerosol loads and low to high solar-zenith angles. A procedure for retrieving single scattering albedo in the ultraviolet based on the comparisons of direct and diffuse transmittance is outlined.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 1185-1203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Zhou ◽  
D. Brunner ◽  
R. J. D. Spurr ◽  
K. F. Boersma ◽  
M. Sneep ◽  
...  

Abstract. Surface reflectance is a key parameter in satellite trace gas retrievals in the UV/visible range and in particular for the retrieval of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical tropospheric columns (VTCs). Current operational retrievals rely on coarse-resolution reflectance data and do not account for the generally anisotropic properties of surface reflectance. Here we present a NO2 VTC retrieval that uses MODIS bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) data at high temporal (8 days) and spatial (1 km × 1 km) resolution in combination with the LIDORT radiative transfer model to account for the dependence of surface reflectance on viewing and illumination geometry. The method was applied to two years of NO2 observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over Europe. Due to its wide swath, OMI is particularly sensitive to BRDF effects. Using representative BRDF parameters for various land surfaces, we found that in July (low solar zenith angles) and November (high solar zenith angles) and for typical viewing geometries of OMI, differences between MODIS black-sky albedos and surface bi-directional reflectances are of the order of 0–10% and 0–40%, respectively, depending on the position of the OMI pixel within the swath. In the retrieval, black-sky albedo was treated as a Lambertian (isotropic) reflectance, while for BRDF effects we used the kernel-based approach in the MODIS BRDF product. Air Mass Factors were computed using the LIDORT radiative transfer model based on these surface reflectance conditions. Differences in NO2 VTCs based on the Lambertian and BRDF approaches were found to be of the order of 0–3% in July and 0–20% in November with the extreme values found at large viewing angles. The much larger differences in November are mainly due to stronger BRDF effects at higher solar zenith angles. To a smaller extent, they are also caused by the typically more pronounced maximum of the NO2 a priori profiles in the boundary layer during the cold season, which make the retrieval more sensitive to radiation changes near the surface. However, BRDF impacts vary considerably across Europe due to differences in land surface type and increasing solar zenith angles at higher latitude. Finally, we compare BRDF-based NO2 VTCs with those retrieved using the GOME/TOMS Lambertian equivalent reflectance (LER) data set. The relative differences are mostly below 15% in July but in November the NO2 VTCs from TOMS/GOME are lower by 20–60%. Our results indicate that the specific choice of albedo data set is even more important than accounting for surface BRDF effects, and this again demonstrates the strong requirement for more accurate surface reflectance data sets.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1971-2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Zhou ◽  
D. Brunner ◽  
R. J. D. Spurr ◽  
K. F. Boersma ◽  
M. Sneep ◽  
...  

Abstract. Surface reflectance is a key parameter in satellite trace gas retrievals in the UV/visible range and in particular for the retrieval of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical tropospheric columns (VTCs). Current operational retrievals rely on coarse-resolution reflectance data and do not account for the generally anisotropic properties of surface reflectance. Here we present a NO2 VTC retrieval that uses MODIS bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) data at high temporal (8 days) and spatial (1 km×1 km) resolution in combination with the LIDORT radiative transfer model to account for the dependence of surface reflectance on viewing and illumination geometry. The method was applied to two years of NO2 observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over Europe. Due to its wide swath, OMI is particularly sensitive to BRDF effects. Using representative BRDF parameters for various land surfaces, we found that in July (low solar zenith angles) and November (high solar zenith angles) and for typical viewing geometries of OMI, differences between MODIS black-sky albedos and surface bi-directional reflectances are of the order of 0–10% and 0–40%, respectively, depending on the position of the OMI pixel within the swath. In the retrieval, black-sky albedo was treated as a Lambertian (isotropic) reflectance, while for BRDF effects we used the kernel-based approach in the MODIS BRDF product. Air Mass Factors were computed using the LIDORT radiative transfer model based on these surface reflectance conditions. Differences in NO2 VTCs based on the Lambertian and BRDF approaches were found to be of the order of 0–3% in July and 0–20% in November with the extreme values found at large viewing angles. The much larger differences in November are partly due to higher solar zenith angles and partly to the choice of a priori NO2 profiles – the latter typically have more pronounced maxima in the boundary layer during the cold season. However, BRDF impacts vary considerably across Europe due to changes in land surface type and increasing solar zenith angles at higher latitude. Finally, we compare BRDF-based NO2 VTCs with those retrieved using the GOME/TOMS Lambertian equivalent reflectance (LER) data set. Our results indicate that the specific choice of albedo data set is even more important than accounting for surface BRDF effects, and this again demonstrates the strong requirement for more accurate surface reflectance data sets.


Author(s):  
Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis ◽  
Stelios Kazadzis ◽  
Kostas Eleftheratos ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Ilias Fountoulakis

The Absorbing/scattering nature of aerosols affects the total radiative forcing and this absorption to total extinction ratio is quantified by single scattering albedo (SSA). Effect of SSA in the Ultraviolet (UV) irradiance is less studied and limited measurements are available. SSA retrieved at Athens, Greece during 2009-2014 from Ultraviolet Multifilter Radiometer (UVMFR) at 332 and 368 nm, were used to calculate incoming UV irradiance, alongside with ones from AERONET at visible wavelengths, from OMI satellite at 342.5 nm and from AEROCOM climatological database at 300 nm. UVA and UVB irradiances were estimated using a Radiative Transfer Model and we found that relative differences could be as high as 20%, while average relative differences varied from 2% to 8.7 % for the whole experimental period. Both UVA and UVB drop by a rate of ~12% for 0.05 aerosol absorption optical depth compared to ones estimated using SSA at visible range. Brewer irradiance measurements at 324nm were used to validate simulated irradiances and a better agreement was found when UVMFR SSAs were used with an average difference of 0.86%, while when using visible or climatological input, relative differences were estimated +4.91 and +4.15% accordingly.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1813-1821 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Michalsky ◽  
P. W. Kiedron

Abstract. The first successful deployment of the fully-operational ultraviolet rotating shadow-band spectroradiometer occurred during the May 2003 US Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's Aerosol Intensive Observation Period. The aerosol properties in the visible range were characterized using redundant measurements with several instruments to determine the column aerosol optical depth, the single scattering albedo, and the asymmetry parameter needed as input for radiative transfer calculations of the downwelling direct normal and diffuse horizontal solar irradiance in clear-sky conditions. The Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible (TUV) radiative transfer model developed by Madronich and his colleagues at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research was used for the calculations of the spectral irradiance between 300–360 nm. Since there are few ultraviolet measurements of aerosol properties, most of the input aerosol data for the radiative transfer model are based on the assumption that UV input parameters can be extrapolated from the visible portion of the spectrum. Disagreements among available extraterrestrial spectra, which are discussed briefly, suggested that instead of comparing irradiances, measured and modeled spectral transmittances between 300–360 nm should be compared for the seven cases studied. Transmittance was calculated by taking the ratios of the measured irradiances to the Langley-derived, top-of-the-atmosphere irradiances. The cases studied included low to moderate aerosol loads and low to high solar-zenith angles. A procedure for retrieving single scattering albedo in the ultraviolet based on the comparisons of direct and diffuse transmittance is outlined.


Author(s):  
J. J. A. Althawadi ◽  
M. Hashim

Abstract. Sentinel-2 satellite Multispectral Image (MSI) is one of the recent advancement of satellite optical imaging for detecting and tracking oil spills. MSI equipped with enhanced radiometric and spatial resolutions, apart from relatively high temporal resolution of every 5 days revisit capability. Both systematic errors of the geometric and radiometric of level 1 and 2 data were successfully treated before any data download for users’ levels applications. As such, leaving the random errors, crucially to be minimized to enable oil spill detection and tracking due to non-discernible absolute signatures of spills against the scene background and the look-alikes. The magnitude of these random errors’ minimization and the efficacy of the MSI absolute signatures within visible bands for oil spills is very crucial. However, it is rarely reported; in fact, it is a new issue to be addressed accordingly. The calibrating tool was created with oil spill spots revealed by the official authorities. Whereas, the spill pixels are identified in the corresponding pre-processed Sentinel MSI image using region growing segmentation algorithm. These spill pixels grown were analyzed against the RGB bands, logistically regressed against the oil spill via a spectral library of the crude oil type. Originated from Arabian Gulf region with an average film thickness of 0.5 to 4 mm; reporting a calibrating function in a form gain and bias corrections for RGB bands, respectively. The results indicated that calibrated MSI spill pixels have higher correlation (r2 > 0.85, p < 0.001). As the signature variations were used to formulate calibration matrices for spills identified from satellite images which can be used for processing of spill monitoring system.


Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis ◽  
Stelios Kazadzis ◽  
Kostas Eleftheratos ◽  
Vassilis Amiridis ◽  
Ilias Fountoulakis

The absorbing and scattering nature of aerosols affects the total radiative forcing and is quantified by single scattering albedo (SSA), which is defined as the absorption to total extinction ratio. There are limited measurements of SSA in the ultraviolet (UV) irradiance spectrum, hence, the influence of SSA on incoming UV irradiance has not been explored in great depth. In the present study, UV irradiance was calculated and compared using different SSA datasets retrieved at Athens, Greece during 2009–2014; including SSA time series from Ultraviolet Multi-Filter Radiometer (UVMFR) at 332 and 368 nm, SSA from AERONET at 440 nm, from OMI satellite at 342.5 nm and AeroCom climatological database at 300 nm. Irradiances were estimated using a radiative transfer model (RTM). Comparisons of these results revealed that relative differences of UVA and UVB could be as high as 20%, whilst average relative differences varied from 2% to 8.7% for the entire experimental period. Both UVA and UVB drop by a rate of ~12% for 0.05 aerosol absorption optical depth in comparison to ones estimated with the use of SSA at visible range. Brewer irradiance measurements at 324 nm were used to validate modeled monochromatic irradiances and a better agreement was found when UVMFR SSAs were used with an average difference of 0.86%. However, when using visible or climatological input, relative differences were estimated +4.91% and +4.15% accordingly.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-184
Author(s):  
Amarif Abimanyu ◽  
Widodo S. Pranowo ◽  
Ibnu Faizal ◽  
Najma K. A. Afandi ◽  
Noir P. Purba

Oil spill phenomena in the ocean possess a very serious threat to ocean health. On the ocean surface, oil slicks immediately start to spread and mostly end up in the ecosystem. Furthermore, it could threaten the organisms living in the ocean or impact nearby coastal area. The aim of this research was to investigate the trajectories of oil spill based on a real accident in the Java Sea. Tracking oil spills using satellite images is an efficient method that provides valuable information about trajectories, locations and the spread intensity. The objective of this study was to periodically track the trajectory of the oil spill from the Karawang incident using Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. Pre-processing of the images consisted of radiometric and geometric corrections. After the corrections, SAR images were mapped and plotted accordingly. To understand the oil spill trajectories in relation to the oceanic processes, the ocean current pattern map and surface wind roses were also analysed. The processed images from July to October 2019 show a trajectory dominated by the oil spill layers movement towards the west to northwest from the original location along with a decrease in the detected oil spill area over time. The identified trajectories of the oil spill followed the ocean current pattern and surface winds. Thus, these two parameters were considered to be the main factors responsible for the oil spill drift.


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