A novel deep learning method for marine oil spill detection from satellite synthetic aperture radar imagery.

Oil spill discharges from operational maritime activities like ships, oil rigs and other structures, leaking pipelines, as well as natural hydrocarbon seepage pose serious threats to marine ecosystems and fisheries. Satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a unique microwave instrument for marine oil spill monitoring, as it is not dependent on weather or sunlight conditions. Existing SAR oil spill detection approaches are limited by algorithm complexity, imbalanced data sets, uncertainties in selecting optimal features, and relatively slow detection speed.

Harmful algae and climate change on the Canadian East Coast: Exploring occurrence predictions of Dinophysis acuminata, D. norvegica, and Pseudo-nitzschia seriata.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a threat to human health, local economies, and coastal ecosystems. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) were fitted using a 24-y database in order to predict future occurrences of three distinct species of HABs on the Canadian East Coast, the dinoflagellates Dinophysis acuminata and D. norvegica, and the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia seriata.

Variability in the backscattering efficiency of particles in the Bohai and Yellow Seas and related effects on optical properties.

The backscattering efficiency of particles is a crucial factor that relates light backscattering with biogeochemical properties. In this study, based on in situ measurements of the backscattering coefficient (b(λ)), particle biogeochemical variables and remote sensing reflectance (R(λ)) in two typical shallow and semi-enclosed seas, namely the Bohai Sea (BS) and Yellow Sea (YS) during the late spring, late summer and late autumn, we examined particulate pseudo-backscattering efficiency variability at 640 nm (P_Q(640)) and related optical effects. The results show that the P_Q(640) levels varied by nearly two orders for all of the samples examined.

Surfactant-associated bacteria in the near-surface layer of the ocean.

Certain marine bacteria found in the near-surface layer of the ocean are expected to play important roles in the production and decay of surface active materials; however, the details of these processes are still unclear. Here we provide evidence supporting connection between the presence of surfactant-associated bacteria in the near-surface layer of the ocean, slicks on the sea surface, and a distinctive feature in the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery of the sea surface. From DNA analyses of the in situ samples using pyrosequencing technology, we found the highest abundance of surfactant-associated bacterial taxa in the near-surface layer below the slick.

Detection of macroalgae blooms by complex SAR imagery.

Increased frequency and enhanced damage to the marine environment and to human society caused by green macroalgae blooms demand improved high-resolution early detection methods. Conventional satellite remote sensing methods via spectra radiometers do not work in cloud-covered areas, and therefore cannot meet these demands for operational applications. We present a methodology for green macroalgae bloom detection based on RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images.