RADAR SATELLITES - A NEW TOOL FOR POLLUTION MONITORING IN COASTAL WATERS

Radar satellites ave currently being used on a routine basis for near real-time pollution monitoring in Norwegian waters. This article descr ibes the phased introduction of this service, from infrastructure deve lopment, basic science, and field experiments, to near real-time demon strations and knowledge transfer from research laboratories to operati onal entities. The service is initially based on the European Space Ag ency's ERS satellites. Future radar satellites such as RADARSAT-1 and ENVISAT-1 will offer increased coverage. Al low wind speed (3-4 m/s) e ven very thin pollutants can be detected, but there is a risk of false alarms from slicks of natural origin. Emulsion oil has been observed with ERS-1 at 10 m/s wind speed.