APPLICATION AREA GEOGRAPHIC ZONE (EXAMPLE) CLIMATIC ZONE Oceanography Gulf of Guinea All
ECONOMIC VALUE
Oil is the major export product of several West African
countries (e.g. Nigeria). Oil pollution of the Gulf of Guinea may
however destroy, in the long run, the second export sector,
namely the fishing industry. Knowledge of the major pollutors
(ships and platforms) might help to protect the areas of major
risk. The problem of over-fishing by ships of other nations is
known and is endangering the export capabilities of the region.
ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE
The environmental impact of oil spills in the Gulf of Guinea
is presently unknown. Changes in the biological activities within
the area are however possible. The direct danger of over-fishing
is less an environmental than an economic factor.
POLITICAL VALUE
Knowledge of oil spills in the region (oil exploitation by
international companies) might be of great interest to the
surrounding countries as the Gulf of Guinea is one of the richest
fishing areas in the world (reimbursement for damages). The
surveillance/control of trawlers of other nations is potentially
of great interest to avoid international over-exploitation. The
area is under investigation within the MAST Programme (JRC) using
NOAA/AVHRR data.
TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY
The detection of oil spills with ERS-SAR has been
demonstrated in various projects. A major problem for monitoring
is the low temporal resolution (specifically in tropical
regions).
RELIABLE PROCESSING METHODS
Visual and automatic processing and interpretation methods
have been developed only recently. The detection of oil spills
in rough sea conditions with wind speeds higher than 10m/s is
still a problem. The difficulty of distinguishing between oil
spills and certain natural phenomena might hamper the
interpretation.
REMARKS
The use of radar data for oil spill and ship detection can
generally be regarded as one of the major applications.
SP-1199