Recent Advances in Oil-Spill Monitoring Using Drone-Based Radar Remote Sensing

Oil spills are regrettably common and have socioeconomic implications on communities and disastrous consequences on the marine ecosystem and maritime life. The European Space Agency (ESA) has stated that worldwide spillage exceeds 4.5 million tons of oil annually, where 45% of the amount is due to operative discharges from ships. To alleviate the severity of oil spills and promptly react to such incidents, it is crucial to have oil-spill monitoring systems, which enable an effective contingency plan to dictate the best actions for dealing with oil spills. A quick and efficient intervention requires the (1) detection of oil slicks, (2) thickness estimation, and (3) oil classification. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) highlighted in 2016 the need to use drones as complementary systems supporting satellite maritime surveillance. While multiple sensors could be used, active radars appear to be prominent for oil spill monitoring. In this chapter, we present recent advances in drone-based radar remote sensing as an effective oil spill monitoring system. It shows from the system-level perspective the capability of radar systems on drones, using high spectral resolution and parallel scanning, to perform the above-required functionalities (1, 2, and 3) and provide valuable information to contain the damage.