Offshore infrastructure

A groundbreaking study that combines Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data and Artificial Intelligence has thrown new light on the number of vessels at sea. The study also looked at offshore infrastructure around the world such as wind turbines and oil platforms. During the 2017–2021 study period, oil structures increased by 16% and wind turbines more than doubled. By 2021, turbines outnumbered oil platforms. China’s offshore wind energy had the most striking growth, increasing ninefold during the study period.

The map of offshore development shows oil infrastructure in major oil-producing areas, wind farms and other humanmade structures (such as piers, power lines and aquaculture). Circles are proportional to the number of structures per square-degree grid cell at the end of 2021.

Read full story: Sentinel-1 and AI reveal 75% of fishing vessels not tracked