Solar Energy News  
Envisat Captures South Korea's Crude Oil Leak

The presence of oil on the sea surface damps down smaller wind generated waves.
by Staff Writers
Paris, France (ESA) Dec 12, 2007
Crude oil from the wrecked 146 000-ton tanker, Hebei Spirit, is seen polluting the sea off South Korea in this Envisat image. More than 10 000 tons of oil from the tanker is reported to have leaked into the sea since colliding with another vessel on Friday 7 December. The South Korean government has declared the coastal regions, located southwest of Seoul, where oil is washing onto their beaches disaster areas.

This image was acquired today at 01:40 UTC by the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) aboard ESA's Envisat, while operating in its wide-swath mode covering an area approximately 400 km by 400 km.

The presence of oil on the sea surface damps down smaller wind generated waves. It is these waves that reflect the radar signal back in the direction of the source. When they are damped, the reflected power measured by the radar is reduced, causing oil slicks to be seen as dark areas on an otherwise brighter sea.

ASAR, like other space-based radar systems, essentially provide its own source of illumination and operates at longer wavelengths than optical sensors. This enables it to observe the Earth's surface at night and through thick cloud cover.

Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Interstate Power And Light's Generation Proposal To Lower System-Wide Emissions In 2013
Des Moines IO (SPX) Dec 11, 2007
Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) has announced that its proposed generation expansion plan will lower the company's system-wide emissions levels in 2013, the scheduled operation date of the proposed SGS Unit 4. IPL's generation plan includes construction of up to 200 megawatts of wind generation and a 350 megawatt ownership share of the proposed Sutherland Generating Station Unit 4 (SGS Unit 4).







  • France to supply nuclear reactors to Libya: presidency
  • Bulgaria hails EU green light for nuclear plant
  • IAEA chief to visit uranium enriching plant in Brazil
  • Investors covet Canadian nuclear energy market

  • New Study Increases Concerns About Climate Model Reliability
  • New Tibetan Ice Cores Missing A-Bomb Blast Markers Suggests Himalayan Ice Fields Haven't Grown In Last 50 Years
  • Arctic Impact Crater Lake Reveals Interglacial Cycles In Sediments
  • Climate change could lead to conflict, instability: UN report

  • Researchers Build New Model Of Bio-Exploration In Central Asia
  • Building Disease-Beating Wheat
  • Analysis: Can agriculture save Africa
  • Food Source Threatened By Carbon Dioxide

  • Threatened Birds May Be Rarer Than Geographic Range Maps Suggest
  • Massive Dinosaur Discovered In Antarctica Sheds Light On Life, Distribution Of Sauropodomorphs
  • World's Most Endangered Gorilla Fights Back
  • New, Rare And Threatened Species Discovered In Ghana

  • Russian Carrier Rocket Proton Puts Military Satellite Into Orbit
  • Aerojet Develops Innovative Reaction Control Engine Technology
  • ESA Conducts Vega Main Engine Test In Kourou
  • New Thermal Protection Technologies For Reusable Launch Vehicles To Be Validated

  • Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2
  • Outside View: Nuclear future in space
  • Nuclear Power In Space

  • Outside View: Russia's new sats -- Part 2
  • Use Space Technology And IT For Rural Development
  • China, Brazil give Africa free satellite land images
  • Ministerial Summit On Global Earth Observation System Of Systems

  • Russia And France Developing New Satellite Platform
  • Light Is Shed On New Fibre's Potential To Change Technology
  • Major Physics Breakthrough In Understanding Supersolidity
  • MIT Creates New Oil-Repelling Material

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement