TY - JOUR
T1 - Remote sensing assessment of oil lakes and oil-polluted surfaces at the Greater Burgan oil field, Kuwait
AU - Kwarteng, Andy Yaw
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - A heinous catastrophe imposed on Kuwait's desert environment during the 1990 to 1991 Arabian Gulf War was the formation of oil lakes and oil-contaminated surfaces. Presently, the affected areas consist of oil lakes, thick light and disintegrated tarmats, black soil and vegetation. In this study, Landsat TM, Spot, colour aerial photographs and IRS-1D digital image data acquired between 1989 and 1998 were used to monitor the spatial and temporal changes of the oil lakes and polluted surfaces at the Greater Burgan oil field. The use of multisensor datasets provided the opportunity to observe the polluted areas in different wavelengths, look angles and resolutions. The images were digitally enhanced to optimize the visual outlook and improve the information content. The data documented the gradual disappearance of smaller oil lakes and soot/black soil from the surface with time. Even though some of the contaminants were obscured by sand and vegetation and not readily observed on the surface or from satellite images, the harmful chemicals still remain in the soil. Some of the contaminated areas displayed a remarkable ability to support vegetation growth during the higher than average rainfall that occurred between 1992 to 1998. The total area of oil lakes calculated from an IRS-1D panchromatic image acquired on 16 February 1998, using supervised classification applied separately to different parts, was 24.13 km2.
AB - A heinous catastrophe imposed on Kuwait's desert environment during the 1990 to 1991 Arabian Gulf War was the formation of oil lakes and oil-contaminated surfaces. Presently, the affected areas consist of oil lakes, thick light and disintegrated tarmats, black soil and vegetation. In this study, Landsat TM, Spot, colour aerial photographs and IRS-1D digital image data acquired between 1989 and 1998 were used to monitor the spatial and temporal changes of the oil lakes and polluted surfaces at the Greater Burgan oil field. The use of multisensor datasets provided the opportunity to observe the polluted areas in different wavelengths, look angles and resolutions. The images were digitally enhanced to optimize the visual outlook and improve the information content. The data documented the gradual disappearance of smaller oil lakes and soot/black soil from the surface with time. Even though some of the contaminants were obscured by sand and vegetation and not readily observed on the surface or from satellite images, the harmful chemicals still remain in the soil. Some of the contaminated areas displayed a remarkable ability to support vegetation growth during the higher than average rainfall that occurred between 1992 to 1998. The total area of oil lakes calculated from an IRS-1D panchromatic image acquired on 16 February 1998, using supervised classification applied separately to different parts, was 24.13 km2.
KW - Arabian Gulf War
KW - Burgan oil field
KW - Digital image processing
KW - Environment monitoring
KW - Environmental assessment
KW - IRS
KW - Kuwait
KW - Landsat TM
KW - Oil contaminated surfaces
KW - Oil lakes
KW - Remote sensing
KW - SPOT
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=13044312719&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=13044312719&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/s0303-2434(99)85026-0
DO - 10.1016/s0303-2434(99)85026-0
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:13044312719
SN - 1569-8432
VL - 1999
SP - 36
EP - 47
JO - International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
JF - International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
IS - 1
ER -