Exploitation of multi-temporal SAR images devoted to oil spill analysis in the ICWM for MED project

The objective of the Integrated Coastal Water Monitoring for Mediterranean Sea project (ICWM for MED), is to demonstrate the benefits of an advanced approach based on the integration of Earth Observation services, Satellite Communication and Navigation solutions together with Terrestrial assets and crowdsourcing features, for the set-up of an improved coastal surveillance and water quality monitoring service in support to current practices on coastal areas for environmental monitoring and reporting. The pilot demonstration has been focused in an area of the central Tyrrhenian Sea, on the western coast of Italy, interesting part of the Naples Gulf and the Salerno Gulf, centred on Punta Campanella. This sea area includes a Protected National Park, which is part of the European network of areas of great environmental importance for the presence of particular habitats and creatures. Therefore, it adds several challenges related to the environmental protection and monitoring, but also opportunities linked to the eco-aware exploitation of its high tourist interest. This work describes the coastal surveillance activities, carried out in the project, aimed at the detection of illegal discharges and forecasting of the oil spills drift. A detailed description of the implemented processing chain is given, including details on the adopted technical solutions and some examples of application of the technique over the area of interest. Particular emphasis is given to the processing of SAR images and their high potential thanks to (i) the acquisition regularity of Sentinel-1 constellation and (ii) the short response and revisit time of COSMO-SkyMed constellation that make these two constellations particularly efficient in the management and monitoring of the maritime traffic.