THE USE OF SATELLITES TO DETECT OIL-SLICKS AT SEA

Oil pollution from ships (and offshore installations) poses a threat t o the marine environment in two ways: the loss of crude oil due to acc idents which can range in size from a few tens of tonnes to some hundr eds of thousands of tonnes; and the deliberate illegal discharge of oi l, which can vary from a few litres to a few tonnes. The effects of ma jor spills have been well studied and the acute effects of the oil on the environment are fairly well understood, Illegal discharges pose a chronic threat and should be considered along with the other (greater) source of oil pollution which is land based, entering the marine envi ronment via rivers. This paper will concentrate on illegal discharges from ships and offshore installations and how we in the UK consider sa tellites might be of value in detecting and deterring illegal discharg es. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.