Oil spills distribution in the Middle and Southern Adriatic Sea as a result of intensive ship traffic

Detekcija uljnih mrlja sintetičkim satelitskim radarom (SAR) provjerena je i najčešće korištena operativna tehnika, koja je pokazala kako je Sredozemno more često zagađeno uljem i sličnim proizvodima. Zahvaljujući nekolicini projekata Envisat i Radarsat-1 SAR slike su za razdoblje 2003-2011 bile dostupne za analizu. Analizirano je oko 300 SAR slika srednjeg i južnog Jadrana, kako bi se otkrile pojave naftnih mrlja i druge pojave koje imaju sličan signal na satelitskim snimcima. Otkrivena su mnoga izlijevanja nafte u Jadranu, čije su površine bile između 0,1 km2 i 108 km2. Većina izlijevanja je smještena uz glavne brodske rute, osobito u brodskom koridoru duž osi Jadranskog mora. To su vjerojatno ulja namjerno izlivena s brodova tijekom prijevoza ili ribolovnih operacija, a najčešći slučajevi izlijevanja su pranje brodskih spremnika ili nedozvoljena pražnjenja tankova.Oil slick detection by synthetic aperture radars (SAR) is a proven and commonly used operational technique, which showed that the seas of the Mediterranean are often polluted by oil and oily products. For the period 2003-2011, the Envisat and Radarsat-1 SAR images were available for analysis, thanks to the several projects. About 300 SAR images have been analysed over the Middle and Southern Adriatic Sea, in order to detect marine oil spills and other phenomena causing similar signatures. Analysing many oil spills detected in the Adriatic Sea, their sizes were determined between 0.1 km2 and 108 km2. Most of the spills were located along the main shipping routes, especially in the ship corridor along the Adriatic Sea axis. They were, most probably deliberate slicks released from ships during transportation or fishing operations, while suspected source of the largest spills is tank washing or illegal discharges