Oil Spill Detection on RADAR Images by using Mathematical Morphology

The increasing availability of satellite images (SAR, Optical, Hyperspectral) if opportunely exploited could result very useful to provide information suitable to support decision makers in managing disasters or emergencies. The problem of processing huge amount of images looking for object of size, location and spectral characteristics unknown cannot be deal with by using manual processing approaches. The CRPSM (Centre di Ricerca Progetto San Marco) have been analysing the problem of automatizing as much as possible satellite images processing chain as a consequence of is involvement in the GMOSS and GMOSAIC Projects funded by European Commission in the mainframe of the FP6 & FP7 (Framework Program 6 & 7). Therefore, this paper aims at showing the results obtained by applying algorithms able to automatically detect oil spills on RADAR images (like ERS, ENVISAT, etc), developed starting from algorithms already successfully applied to optical images. The objective of detecting in an automatic way potentials oil spill on RADAR images has been achieved by using innovative and alternative techniques based on Mathematical Morphology. Copyright ©2010 by the International Astronautical Federation. All rights reserved.