Oil Spill Monitoring Based on Its Spectral Characteristics

Oil spills are frequent ocean pollution events and threaten the safety of the marine ecosystem. In order to implement a countermeasure in case of oil spills, it is necessary to monitor oil spills using remote sensing techniques. Spectral measurements were undertaken for five oil types in 2007. Based on oil spectral characteristics, this study demonstrates how moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) can monitor oil spills in the Jeyeh storage tank-leaking event in Lebanon. With finer spectral resolutions and more spectral bands, MODIS provides the capability for the identification of oil spills.