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THE IMAGING OF OIL SLICKS BY SAR/ERS-1 
IMAGERY ON THE BRAZILIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 
Alexandre Pereira Cabral 
Tatiana Mora Kuplich 
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE 
DSM - Oceanografia 
Caixa Postal 515 
12201-970 - Säo José dos Campos - SP, Brazil 
ISPRS Commission VII / Working Group 7 
ABSTRACT 
Oil slicks spreading on the sea surface produces a damping of surface waves. The damping reduces the radar 
backscatter signal at moderate incidence angles. Following this basic principle, synthetic aperture radar 
images can be used to the detection and monitoring of oil slicks at the ocean. This work presents the 
characterization of oil slicks at the Brazilian continental shelf by means of SAR/ERS-1 imagery, between 
1992 and 1993. The patterns of oil slicks are described, included measurements of the slicks areas and an 
analysis of the changes on the radar backscatter values. Results from the application of image processing 
techniques to determine the oil slicks boundaries are presented. Considerations about the operational use of 
SAR imagery to detect and monitoring oils slicks in Brazil are discussed too. 
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