Objective Satellite detection of oil spills with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can now provide reasonably reliable information, but in complex coastal environment it is still a major challenge. A lack of understanding may lead to slicks going undetected, or to an unacceptable numbers of 'false positives'. In the past wind shadow, natural slicks, atmospheric and ocean fronts, and rain cells have all been falsely identified as oil. Difficulties are compounded when there is no a priori knowledge of the occurrence, location or timing of a spill, when volumes are small, or when the oil is mixed with water as it enters the sea - just the type of oil pollution that is most common. The aim is to develop techniques for the synergistic use of satellite data to monitor pollution from pipe-line seeps, waste-water discharges, marine traffic and spillages from routine operations as part of offshore or tanker activities. These techniques are to be put on the basis of operational monitoring system of oil pollution in coastal waters. This aim is broken down into five primary objectives, addressed by five research tasks: - Collection, screening, archiving and analysis of SAR and high resolution optical data, with co-located ancillary data from other sensors and independent sources. - Retrieval of geophysical parameters influencing the transport, evolution and appearance of oil pollution in SAR and optical data - e.g. current-, wind- and wavefields and bio-optical parameters. - Sampling and experimental studies of marine pollutant films and their physical characteristics, which influence their wave-damping capacity, with mathematical modelling of wave-damping and scattering of electromagnetic waves. - Investigation of factors affecting oil spill drift in different conditions, leading to improved techniques for reconstruction and forecasting of oil transport. - Development of SAR and optical algorithms for oil detection, and recommendations for their use with multisensor ancillary data and baseline information. Detailed knowledge of the study areas in Black and Caspian Seas, makes the consortium ideally suited to undertaking these tasks. Long experience from ocean remote sensing, field experiments and modelling, and a history of past collaboration, means the teams are likely to achieve their objectives through joint effort supported by efficient communication and project co-ordination. Contacts with operational agencies, oil companies and SME's will ensure that end user concerns are addressed and results disseminated widely, through conventional channels (papers, articles, conferences), education of students and environmental managers, and communication with operational and commercial end users. The chief innovative aspects lie in further development of algorithms for synergistic oil spill detection using SAR and optical sensors, but also in the development of a system for oil spill monitoring in the Caspian and Black Seas, where this does not currently exist. Keywords Earth Observation Technologies & Remote Sensing Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Oceanography Programme(s) IC-INTAS - International Association for the promotion of cooperation with scientists from the independent states of the former Soviet Union (INTAS), 1993- Topic(s) Data not available Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON EU contribution No data Address EUROPEAN WAY SOUTHAMPTON United Kingdom See on map Total cost No data Participants (7) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all INSTITUTE OF APPLIED PHYSICS Russia EU contribution No data Address ULYANOV STR., 46 NIZHNY NOVGOROD See on map Total cost No data INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY OF AZNAS Azerbaijan EU contribution No data Address H. JAVID PROSPEKT, 29 BAKU See on map Total cost No data MARINE HYDROPHYSICAL INSTITUTE Ukraine EU contribution No data Address KAPITANSKAYA, 2 SEVASTOPOL See on map Total cost No data SHIRSHOV INSTITUTE OF OCEANOLOGY Russia EU contribution No data Address NAKHIMOVSKY PROSPEKT, 36 MOSCOW See on map Total cost No data SPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IKI) Russia EU contribution No data Address PROFSOYUZNAYA, 84/32 MOSCOW See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA Portugal EU contribution No data Address RUA ERNESTO DE VASCONCELOS, CAMPO GRANDE LISBOA See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITÄT HAMBURG Germany EU contribution No data Address BUNDESSTRAßE, 53 HAMBURG See on map Total cost No data