Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2010, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 168-185
Operational satellite monitoring of the Black,
Baltic and Caspian Seas in 2009-2010
O.Yu. Lavrova
, S.S. Karimova
, M.I. Mityagina
, T.Yu. Bocharova
Space Research Institute of RAS (IKI RAS)
The results of daily satellite monitoring of the Black, Baltic and Caspian Seas being conducted by the Space Radar
Laboratory of IKI RAS since beginning of 2009 are presented. Monitoring is based on analysis of medium (75 m)
and high (12.5 m) spatial resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images obtained from Envisat and ERS-2 satellites
within the framework of several scientific ESA projects. The paper contains a short description of the data obtained
and some examples of the most interesting manifestations in SAR images of dynamical, hydrometeorological
and anthropogenic processes and phenomena. Generalized results of satellite observations in the key monitoring
areas are provided. Among them there are monitoring of sea surface oil pollution; investigation of small-scale vortical
structures; study of internal waves in the non-tidal seas; observations of ice conditions and sea ice dynamics.
Keywords: satellite monitoring, radar probing of the sea surface, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caspian Sea, oil pollution, small-scale eddies, internal waves, ice conditions
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