Proceedings Article | 14 October 2019
KEYWORDS: Radar, Ocean optics, Synthetic aperture radar, L band, Sensors, Water, Short wave infrared radiation, Image segmentation
During five years, in the frame of the NAOMI (New Advanced Observation Method Integration) research project, Total and ONERA have worked on radar and optical imagery to detect, characterize and quantify slicks at sea. Laboratory and pool measurements, physical modelling and offshore experiments have been combined to fully understand the signal collected over slick-covered area. As the measured signal is analytically expressed according to the geophysical parameters of the imaged slick, it enables to fully monitor the ocean surface: is a slick present? What kind of slick is it (extremely thin or not)? Is it a known product (existing in the data base)? Can the thickness be probed by the used of optical or radar device? What is the slick volume? In the Health Security and Environment (HSE) context, an exhaustive measurement campaign can be done in order to create a data base with hydrocarbon or hydrocarbon emulsion signatures, extinction coefficients, skin depths, minimum thicknesses perceptible thanks to extinction and thickness values. Thus, it offers more processing options in the optic branch of the tool to monitor the slick. Depending on the available data, optical and/or radar imagery, the capability of slick detection, characterization and quantification will be presented. After a recall of the HSE specificity, the paper will give an overview of the main features of the input data that is to say SAR and optical images. Then, based on modelling results, the optimal observation conditions for radar and optical imagery will be introduced. Afterwards, capability of detection will be described and illustrated for both the radar and the optical case. In the optical domain, the process will distinguish at least two classes: thin and thick. In the HSE context, a database can be used to identify some detected products. The last step is quantification. A sophisticated method, relying on L band radar imagery, will be used to identify pixels covered by a film, meaning presence of oil at the surface, and the ones for which the oil may be as droplets in the volume. The traditional use of SAR data is also extended to the estimation of the oil concentration within an oil and seawater mixture. For optical data, the most direct quantification process relies on automatic Bonn code classification. The code links a class with a range of thickness and computes a minimum and a maximum volume of product in each class. If the product is in the data base a more suited classification and volume assessment can be done. If the thickness is too thin (spectral signature due to absorption is too weak) or too thick (only the upper part of the product layer contributes to the signal), a thickness estimated thanks to pool experiment is associated to each class enabling to compute a volume per class and a global volume. In the other cases, in a near future, modelling would enable to assess the thickness. Concerning hydrocarbon emulsions, modelling in the optical domain is in progress in order to predict skin depth and to derive water content.
