Assessment of selected remote sensing methods in detecting and tracking marine pollution

This paper discusses the use of satellite tracking during an environmental disaster at sea, and it assesses the possibility of using remote sensing imagery captured by satellites using multispectral cameras and synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). This study is based on scientific literature and satellite tracking of the X-Press Pearl container ship disaster, which involved the EO-Browser platform. The purpose of this paper is to assess selected remote sensing methods for detecting and tracking marine pollution. The first part of the paper discusses satellite tracking of the X-Press Pearl disaster. The second part focuses on evaluation of the quality of remote sensing imagery from satellites and aircraft, when taking weather conditions into consideration. It should be noted that the research was conducted in real time when the incident occurred. News about the accident was also tracked in real time, allowing for a thorough analysis of the incident and, thus, an assessment of the different sensing systems. Although research on such disasters is crucial for the protection of the marine environment, scientific literature on this topic remains limited. This research area is very important for the protection of the marine environment, in the context of looking for solutions to these issues.