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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Analysis of airborne multi-spectral imagery of an oil spill field trial

Conference ·
OSTI ID:478373
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science, Ontario (Canada)
  2. Intermap Technologies, Ontario (Canada); and others
A field trial was conducted at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa in May 1993 by the Emergencies Science Division of Environment Canada to test the effectiveness of remote sensing systems to detect oil spills. Shallow test pools covered with various thicknesses and types of oil were overflown by a number of sensors. Imagery from one of the sensors used, the Multi-element Electro-optical Imaging Scanner (MEIS), has recently been transcribed from high density digital tape and analyzed. The MEIS sensor was flown on a Falcon 20 jet and collected data at 7 different wavelengths from 518 nm to 873 nm. Preliminary results show that one of the slicks, Hydraulic Fluid, can be readily identified by its distinctive color in the visible region. The oil slicks, at least under these very controlled conditions, presented unique spectral signatures which could be identified using normal image processing classification techniques.
OSTI ID:
478373
Report Number(s):
CONF-961119--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English