Abstract

VASQUEZ-DOLANDE, Eduardo; MORALES, Ethel  and  ACHKAR, Marcel. Evaluation of the use of remote sensors for the identification of oil seeps in offshore areas of Uruguay. Bol. geol. [online]. 2021, vol.43, n.2, pp.185-202.  Epub Mar 15, 2022. ISSN 0120-0283.  https://doi.org/10.18273/revbol.v43n2-2021010.

The use of Remote Sensors to capture data from the land and sea surface is a very active research area. One of the possible applications is the detection of hydrocarbons in bodies of water, either for environmental purposes or for the prospecting of possible oil fields. In this sense, from the geological point of view, three sedimentary basins are located on the Uruguayan continental margin: Punta del Este, Pelotas and Oriental del Plata, in which evidence of hydro-carbon accumulations has been identified. This paper proposes the use of remote sensing for the identification of oil spots or oil seeps in marine areas. The different remote sensing techniques for the detection of oil seeps are evaluated. Through a review of the state of the art, it is established that active Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors present better performance in detecting crude oil than passive ones. Subsequently, a simple and replicable methodology is defined that includes the pre-processing and processing of SAR images together with the implementation of a crude oil detection algorithm that has been widely tested and easy to implement, as is Brekke and Solberg’s 2005. After validating the methodology in pilot areas of the Santa Barbara Canal and the Río de la Plata, it is applied in the study area, of 20,101 km2, in the Uruguayan offshore, obtaining 2 detections totaling 18.7 ha, although with low level of confidence because the available polarizations (HH-HV) are not optimal for detection. From the results obtained, it is concluded that the methodology used is viable to detect oil seeps in large areas of water bodies with relatively low costs.

Keywords : Remote Sensing; Hydrocarbons; Oil seeps; SAR radar; Uruguayan offshore..

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