BAY OF GIBRALTAR, 6TH DECEMBER 2009
📷 BY WORLDVIEW-2, 50CM RESOLUTION

Maritime

MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESS

 

Very high resolution optical satellites offer a unique view of our oceans, seas, and coasts. They also provide a cost-effective and simple method of monitoring wide areas over maritime zones globally. They are an indispensible tool for managing the actions and events that impact on maritime safety, security, and sustainability.

Monitoring

Very high resolution satellite data is a core component of marine monitoring services, and provides a cost-effective method for monitoring large and remote areas. It is sufficiently detailed to enable:

  • Identification of individual vessels
  • Detection of illegal fishing
  • Detection of pollution such as oil spills
  • Validation of AIS data
  • Detection of coastal erosion
  • Identification of algal blooms
Gulf of Taranto, Italy | 28 March 2018
Gulf of Taranto, Italy | 28 March 2018
“Particularly in emergency situations, satellite data can prove to be very valuable information”

Soniá Antunes, European Maritime Safety Agency

A coastal scene depicted in natural colour (RGB), and utilising the Coastal band, which is particularly useful for bathymetric applications

Bathymetry

Monitoring change in coastal regions is critical to marine navigation and development, and an important parameter is water depth. Reflectance values from 8-band multispectral imagery is a non-invasive and extremely cost-effective tool for bathymetry in water depths up to 15 m. Bathymetric data supports:

  • Updating navigational maps
  • Marine habitat and benthic ecosystems monitoring
  • Assessment of at-risk properties or infrastructure
  • Classification of marine habitats
  • Oceanographic research (especially in remote areas)

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