-
oa Monitoring of Hydrocarbon Pollution in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov using Remote Sensing Methods
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 18th International Conference Monitoring of Geological Processes and Ecological Condition of the Environment, Apr 2025, Volume 2025, p.1 - 5
Abstract
Sentinel-1 images of the Black and Azov Seas from 2024 to 2025 were analyzed for hydrocarbon pollution. An accident that caused a fuel oil spill in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait occurred on December 15, 2024, when two Russian tankers, “Volgoneft-212” and “Volgoneft-239,” were damaged, resulting in approximately 4,000 tons of fuel oil entering the Black Sea. However, the exact amount of hydrocarbon spilled is unknown. The authors used a methodology for determining the affected area, the length of the polluted coastline, and the minimum and maximum widths of the hydrocarbon contamination zones in the Black and Azov Seas and their coastal areas. To process Sentinel-1 satellite images, the authors used the publicly available Copernicus browser service. A total of 24 Sentinel-1 images from December 18, 2024, to February 18, 2025, were analyzed.