Comparing the Suitability of Sentinel 1 and 2 Imageries to Study the Wakashio Oil Spill at an Island in the Indian Ocean

Mauritius is a biodiversity hotspot with a high concentration of plants and animals unique to the region. The Mauritian marine environment is home to 1,700 species including around 800 types of fish, 17 kinds of marine mammals and two species of turtles. Coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves make Mauritian waters extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. An oil spill can be characterized as the coincidental arrival of fluid petrol hydrocarbon into the environmental factors or the climate because of human action. An oil spill is a type of contamination that has a devastating effect on the climate. The Undertaken study emphasizes on the recent oil spills on the Mauritius Southeast Coast on 25th July 2020. The Japanese claimed mass transporter MV Wakashio vessel, which conveyed almost 4000 tons of oil, ran on solid land on a coral reef on Mauritius southeast coast on 25th July 2020. More than 1000 metric huge loads of fuel have been spilled into the Indian sea contaminating the close by coral reefs, the encompassing sea shores and lagoons. This study investigates the Wakashio oil spill by using Sentinel 1 SAR data and Sentinel 2 optical to determine the spills progress, compare both the image suitability to the study and analyse its effects on the coastal ecosystem. The processing of VV polarization images from Sentinel 1s Synthetic Aperture Radar SAR C band obtained on 10 August 2020 revealed the presence and spread of oil spills as dark warped patches. The images of Sentinel 2 data were utilized to detect the oil spill using the threshold anomaly value approach. Sentinel 1 SAR data processing was performed using the Sentinel Application Platform SNAP of European Space Agency ESA and Sentinel 2 Optical data processing was performed using QGIS. Field visits were used to validate the satellite derived results. The Sentinel 2 data confirmed the Sentinel 1 SAR results by demonstrating the existence and spread of oil spills of varying thicknesses. This study revealed the capabilities of Sentinel sensors and the possibility of image processing methods for detecting, monitoring, and assessing the environmental effect of oil spills. Mohammed Faizan O | Godson G "Comparing the Suitability of Sentinel 1 and 2 Imageries to Study the Wakashio Oil Spill at an Island in the Indian Ocean" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-4 , June 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.compapers/ijtsrd42420.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.comengineering/other/42420/comparing-the-suitability-of-sentinel-1-and-2-imageries-to-study-the-wakashio-oil-spill-at-an-island-in-the-indian-ocean/mohammed-faizan-o