Space Industry and Business 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).







  • EU nations endorse standard system for mobile TV
  • Beyond Books: Virginia Tech Libraries In The Digital Age
  • Bee Strategy Helps Servers Run More Sweetly
  • Electricity Grid Could Become A Type Of Internet

  • Russia Tests Engine For Angara Carrier Rocket
  • United Launch Alliance Launches 2nd COSMO Satellite
  • ATK Receives Contract And Delivers 100th Orion Solid Rocket Motor
  • Arianespace warns US over Chinese space 'dumping'

  • California urges regulation on aircraft emissions
  • Announcement Of Opportunity For Sounding Rocket And Balloon Flights
  • China to order up to 150 Airbus jets during Sarkozy visit: report
  • Time Magazine Recognizes The X-48B

  • Northrop Grumman Develops World's Fastest Transistor To Support Military's Need For Higher Frequency And Bandwidth
  • Russia launches military satellite: agencies
  • Harris Tests New Falcon III Multiband Manpack Radio During US Army Patriot Missile Exercise
  • SKorea develops military communication system: officials

  • 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

  • Iridium Satellite Appoints Leader For NEXT Development
  • Boeing Names Darryl Davis To Lead Advanced Systems For Integrated Defense Systems
  • Northrop Grumman Names John Landon VP Of Missiles, Technology And Space Programs
  • Dr Mary Cleave Appointed To Board Of Directors Of Sigma 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

  • Boeing Selected To Help Develop New USAF GPS Ground System
  • Swedish Space Takes Major Role In Galileo Satellite Navigation Project
  • EU rallies Spain to clinch unanimous Galileo deal
  • EU nations 'close' to political agreement on satnav project

  • 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