Satellite monitoring of oil pollution spreading along the Syrian coast caused by the accident in Baniyas on August 23, 2021

Abstract

The paper presents the results of satellite monitoring of the eastern Mediterranean Sea where several tons of oil spilled due to a power plant accident in Baniyas (Syria) on August 23, 2021. Over the next three days the oil slick spread north along the Syrian coast to the province of Latakia. By August 29, oil pollution was detected in the open sea at a distance of 22 km from the eastern coast of Northern Cyprus. The article considers the spreading dynamics of the oil slick over the study area under the influence of wind and alongshore currents and also presents estimates of oil pollution area variability over time. The maximum area of the oil slick was 1500 km2, as derived from a radar image of August 30. Oil pollution monitoring was carried out using an integrated approach based on optical data of PlanetScope (Dove), Sentinel2 (MSI) and Landsat8 (OLITIRS) satellites and Sentinel1 (CSAR) radar data. In total, 29 satellite images were analyzed from August 24 to September 9, 2021. Preparation, analysis and processing of the satellite data were performed in the See the Sea information system for satellite monitoring of seas and oceans developed at the Space Research Institute RAS.