INCORPORATING REMOTE SENSING DATA INTO A GIS FOR EMERGENCY SPILL RESPONSE AND NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

Abstract

ABSTRACT In California, A GIS (Geographic Information System) is routinely employed by the Unified Command to manage, map, analyze and display convergent data during an oil spill emergency response. Collecting remote sensing data from satellite, aircraft and ground based platforms has become more common as technology advances and data acquisition expenses decrease. The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) first used aerial photographs acquired in stereo pairs in both natural color and color infra-red for the MV Stuyvesant response in 1999. The aim was to map aquaculture sites in Humboldt and Arcata Bays. OSPR used satellite radar (RADARSAT-1, ERS-2) for slick detection at the MV Stuyvesant and SS Jacob Luckenbach responses. A pilot project by OSPR in 2004/05 showed the feasibility of using the RADARSAT-1 satellite for both ship detection and suspected pollution (slick) location in near real-time. At the Suisun Marsh pipeline incident in 2004 the trustee agencies and the responsible party undertook several NRDA (natural resource damage assessment) data collection efforts and studies. One study used a multispectral digital camera that was flown over the spill site on two dates several weeks apart. Interpretations from these images helped to quantify acreage affected by the pipeline release. DFG'S air force routinely obtains aerial imagery for response purposes using a standard Nikon digital SLR (Single-Lens Reflex) camera. These aerial photographs are geo-referenced and used as “instant” accurate base maps.