MONRUK

SPECIFIC TARGETED RESEARCH OR INNOVATION PROJECT
PROJECT FUNDED BY EU FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME 6
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
PRIORITY 4

Project summary

The overall objective is to develop and implement satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) monitoring of the marine environment in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (the RUK area) as a component of GMES. Satellite SAR images for the three study areas will be collected in order to develop and validate retrieval algorithms for ocean and sea ice parameters. The SAR data collection will be done by: (a) using existing ERS and ENVISAT SAR data retrieved from ESA archives; (b) new acquisition of ENVISAT ASAR data, including alternating polarization images, and (c) RADARSAT SAR images.
The initial set of SAR data will be analysed in combination with optical and JR satellite data, met-ocean data from models and in situ platforms. The main tools in the SAR analysis will be the Radar Imaging Model (RIM) and the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) model provided by NIERSC and the SARTool provided by BOOST Technologies. These tools will be further developed and validated in order to retrieve more quantifiable parameters from SAR. The performance of existing algorithms for retrieval of oil slicks, wind, waves, and sea ice parameters will be investigated as part of a benchmarking process.
SAR monitoring exercises will be conducted in the three study areas with support from other met-ocean and satellite data. The data analysis will result in geophysical information (wind, waves, currents, fronts, slicks, sea ice parameters). Identified users will receive and assess the information and provide feedback to the service providers. The monitoring exercise will test the functioning of the service chain starting with input data and resulting in products delivered to users. The lessons learned from this exercise will be used to develop fully operational systems for SAR monitoring in the context of GMES.

An important element of marine monitoring services is to provide efficient and user-friendly access to the products delivered by the service providers. For this purpose, MONRUK will develop and implement a web map server system based on a prototype developed in the DISMAR project. The prototype is a web-based, distributed, marine information management system following INSPIRE guidelines and is operated by CMRC ( http://dispro.ucc.ie/apps/dismar ). By using the same web map server system in several GMES projects, there will be a significant progress towards implementation of harmonised, pan-European, interoperable systems to provide data and information about the marine environment. Finally, MONRUK will establish a network with other related projects, organizations and agencies that are involved in developing operational oceanography services across Europe.

Results of SAR monitoring over the study areas are available through the MONRUK information facilities and also presented below.

You can also download fulltext reports and presentations at our download page.

Project objectives

The overall objective is to develop and implement satellite SAR monitoring of the marine environment in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan as a component of GMES.

The specific objectives are the following:

Scientific objectives:
•    Develop and test algorithms for retrieval of marine geophysical parameters from SAR images, including open ocean parameters as well as sea ice parameters.
•    Improve the forward modelling of sea surface radar scattering, including effects of current features, ocean fronts and slicks.
•    Apply retrieval algorithms and radar scattering models as methods in the analysis of SAR images for improved quantification of sea surface parameters with focus on oil spill and sea ice monitoring.

GMES objectives:
•    Facilitate and coordinate access to SAR and other satellite data as well as met-ocean data and in situ validation data needed for monitoring of the Northern Sea Route, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
•    Establish and test service chains for SAR monitoring in the study areas, including agreements with users who will receive information products and provide feedback to the service providers.
•    Develop and implement a user-friendly, harmonized, pan-European, interoperable system to access data and information about the marine environment based on web map server technology.
•    Build a network with other related projects, organizations and agencies to create momentum for developing operational oceanography services, focusing In the three study areas, with strong components of satellite observation.

List of Participants

*CO=Coordinator, CR=Contractor

**Normally insert "month 1 (start of project)" and "month n (end of project)"

Third Party

Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Russian Institute of Space Device Engineering" (FSUE RISDE), Russia, is a Third Party of partner no 4 NIERSC. FSUE RISDE will be a third party from month 1-24.

Executive Summary

ENVISAT ASAR images for the three study areas, Barents and Kara Seas, Black Sea and Caspian Sea, are collected in order to monitor and investigate the most important oceanographic phenomena with use of existing and newly developed retrieval algorithms. ASAR data were received from the ESA rolling archive, stored at NERSC and NIERSC servers, and then distributed among the project partners. In most of the cases the set of ASAR images is analysed in combination with accompanying metocean data, supplemented with IR and optical satellite data, and data from oceanic numerical models. The main tools implemented for the SAR analysis is SARTool provided by BOOST Technologies and the Radar Imaging Model (RIM) developed at NIERSC.

SAR monitoring of the Barents and Kara seas was mainly focused on study of sub-mesoscale ocean currents and fronts, internal waves and wind field. Motivation of such kind studies caused by important applied significance of each of the investigating phenomena: “instant” location of sub-mesoscal current features (zones of convergence and divergence) and fronts which are indicator of potential accumulation of fish is of crucial importance for fishery; mapping of spatial distribution of internal waves and their energy is important for navy needs; monitoring of wind field with emphasis to polar laws is needed for many industrial activity and navigation. As found meso-scale current features, fronts and internal waves can routinely be observed by SAR. These oceanic dynamical phenomena were classified, analyzed, mapped and interpreted with combine use of SARTool and RIM model. Supplementation of SAR data with output of operational ocean current model HYCOM, as well as IR and optical satellite images significantly facilitates interpretation of observed SAR signatures.

Activity on the Black and Caspian Seas study areas was focused on oil spills detection by SAR. SARTool was chosen as the main tool for processing and analysis of the SAR data. Collected SAR images were processed in order to established the quantitative level of pollution of the seas by oil spills, statistical parameters of observed oil spills events, to establish the origin and sources of oil spills. In total 258 oil spills events were revealed on 367 analyzed SAR images over the Black Sea,. The spatial distribution of the spills showed that most frequent occurrence of oil spills take place along the main tanker routes, near offshore oil platform positions, and in the large ports. As found the “new” map of oil spills distribution is very similar to that was obtained before within ESA-IAF project OSCSAR. As found, on the Caspian sea, the main contribution to oil spills pollutions results from not only industrial activity (from oil platform), but also results from natural sources, - hydrocarbon leakage from griffons (natural hydrocarbon containers under a sea-bottom).

Introduction

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite systems have demonstrated capability to cover large ocean areas with high resolution radar images for detection of sea surface pollution. SAR monitoring of the marine environment is evolving in many regions, providing data for near real time as well as statistical data on oil spill events. Services providing operational SAR monitoring of oil spills has been developed under national programmes and as part of the GMES-programme. Furthermore, the European Maritime Safety Agency’s CleanSeaNet system has implemented SAR monitoring for oil spill detection in all major European sea areas (http://cleanseanet.emsa.europa.eu/). In the last 10 – 15 years a number of research projects have contributed to the development of methods to analyze SAR images for oil spill detection (EMSA, 2006). SAR observation of oil spills is, however, limited by two severe constraints: Firstly, the temporal and spatial SAR image coverage of the coastal and ocean areas that needs to be monitored is far from sufficient with the present satellite systems. Secondly, the SAR signals of oil spills is ambiguous and very often difficult to distinguish from natural surface slicks. These two limitations make it necessary to use aircraft as well as ship surveillance to check that information from SAR images is correct.

This report presents results of the second analyzed data set for open ocean monitoring over the study areas. ENVISAT ASAR images for the three study areas, Barents and Kara Seas, Black Sea and Caspian Sea, are collected in order to monitor and investigate the most important oceanographic phenomena with use of existing and newly developed retrieval algorithms. ASAR data were received from the ESA rolling archive, stored at NERSC and NIERSC servers, and then distributed among the project partners. For example at NIERSC server about 6642 ASAR images are collected as N1 files. In most of the cases the set of ASAR images is analyzed in combination with accompanying metocean data, supplemented with IR and optical satellite data, and data from oceanic numerical models. The main tools implemented for the SAR analysis is SARTool provided by BOOST Technologies and the Radar Imaging Model (RIM) developed at NIERSC.

This reports includes not all the analyzed data set, but show some examples of the analyzed data and their results. We assume that in order to not overload the report it is enough to show some selected examples which should give an overall impression on the quality of the data and current status of the project results.

Radar scattering modeling

MONRUK develops an improved model of radar scattering from a sea surface covered by oil and biogenic films to be used in detection and classification of surface film in SAR images

Flow diagram of the radar scatter model for simulation of a given surface condition