The Application of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to Natural Resource Damage Assessment

Transcription

1 The Application of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to Natural Resource Damage Assessment George Graettinger NOAA s Ocean Service, Office of Response & Restoration Oil Observing Tools Training & Workshop Disaster Response Center, Mobile, AL October 21 st, 2015 Overview: NRDA and SAR OR&R and NRDA SAR and TCNNA Processing SAR Products Cumulative Composite Cumulative Days of Oiling Shoreline Days of Oiling Time of Oiling Summary/Conclusions 1

2 OR&R & NRDA Continuum of Response Framework for The Office of Response & Restoration Response (24 hours) Response Recovery or Restoration (Years/Decades) Assessment Restoration NRDA Requires Demonstration of Causality: Oil causing injury Source Pathway Exposure Injury 2

3 NRDA Requires Demonstration of Causality: Oil causing injury Source Pathway Exposure Injury NRDA Exposure from SAR Surface/Shoreline Oiling Extent SAR data have been used for surface oil extent mapping for many years Surface oiling extent supports injury determination for multiple natural resources (Larval life stages, mammals, sargassum, turtles, etc.) SAR oiling features can add value to traditional assessment techniques and modeling (Operational search area, Trajectory model initialization, SCAT, pre/post oiling screening) 3

4 NOAA NESDIS Experimental MPSR Anomaly Footprint NESDIS created footprints for almost everyday of the response: 186 individual images Representing 89 days SAR Oiling Extent Analysis SAR Anomaly Classification Methods NESDIS SAR analysis (analyst specific, manual) TCNNA algorithm (semi automated) TCNNA (texture classifying neural network algorithm) developed jointly between NESDIS and FSU Methodology published in

5 SAR TCNNA Oiling Footprint Semi automated process Detailed examination of environmental conditions Use data to map low wind features, false positives Help eliminate subjectivity of individual analyst Expedite delivery Oil not anomaly SAR TCNNA Products SAR TCNNA Sensor Products Daily Composites Cumulative Composite Cumulative Days of Oiling Shoreline Days of Oiling Time of Oiling 5

6 SAR TCNNA Products: Daily Composite/Cumulative Composite 89 Daily composite oiling footprints created from multiple images a day (186 total images) SAR TCNNA Products: Cumulative SAR TCNNA Footprint Cumulative composite oiling footprint created from all 89 days (total exposure area) 6

7 SAR TCNNA Products: Cumulative Days of Oiling Overall Oiling coverage and potential exposure across entire spill event (exposure persistence) SAR TCNNA Shoreline Analysis Products: Days of Shoreline Oiling SCAT assessment represents oiling condition for the survey date only Unanswered Question: When and how long did this condition persist 7

8 SAR TCNNA Shoreline Analysis Products: Days of Shoreline Oiling Shoreline analysis is built off of the SCAT shoreline SAR TCNNA Shoreline Analysis Products: Days of Shoreline Oiling SCAT shoreline is buffered 3 km 8

9 SAR TCNNA Shoreline Analysis Products: Days of Shoreline Oiling Shoreline buffer intersected by daily footprints SAR TCNNA Shoreline Analysis Products: Days of Shoreline Oiling Shoreline buffer intersections tallied for days of oiling 9

10 SAR TCNNA Shoreline Analysis Products: Days of Shoreline Oiling Days of Shoreline Oiling helps define initial near shore exposure dates; characterizes duration and persistence for exposed shorelines SAR TCNNA SAR Analysis Products: Time of Oiling Open water sampling helps characterize chemical concentrations Unanswered Question: do samples represent pre or post incident oiling? 10

11 SAR TCNNA SAR Analysis Products: Time of Oiling Select shoreline grids for every TCNNA Daily Composite Calculate grid initial oiling date for every day of intersection SAR TCNNA SAR Analysis Products: Time of Oiling Time of Oiling shoreline grid allows for rapid filtering of data for pre/post oiling condition 11

12 SAR use in NRDA SAR data add value as an effective screening tool Data provide tools for focusing and filtering on a particular resource Allows us to prioritize assessment efforts to habitats and species assemblages at the greatest risk of exposure SAR and NRDA Open water and shoreline conditions are informed by SAR analysis SAR data allow us to look at overall extent and duration of potential exposure Satellite analysis supplements in situ observations and sampling SAR data are a useful as an indication of exposure, but not injury 12

13 SAR and Damage Assessment SAR Data Summary: SAR data provide a useful exposure surface area for a variety of Trust resources SAR data can provide temporal context to SCAT assessment and environmental sampling SAR data add value to traditional response and assessment investigations Current and emerging application of SAR data will provide significant support to the NRDA process in future incidents Thank you! george.graettinger@noaa.gov Questions? 13