SAR satellite imagery from Saturday 15 August 2020 at 3.28pm reveals the extent of the ongoing oil ... [+]
In exclusive analysis for Forbes, satellite analytics company Ursa Space Systems, using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite analysis from Iceye, was able to size the extent of the spill in the formerly crystal clear lagoons of Mauritius.
This shows significant amounts of oil continuing to ooze from the stricken Wakashio after it had split in two at 10.14am on Saturday 15 August, a moment also captured by satellites overhead.
The following day (Sunday 16 August), local Mauritian NGO Eco Sud, warned of the risk of a second oil spill as 7000 gallons of the lighter, diesel fuel still remained on board as the two sections of the wreck started to drift apart.
This analysis from SAR imagery taken on Saturday 15 August at 3.28pm, reveal a long stretch of pollution alongside the UNESCO Ramsar protected Mangrove Forests of Pointe d’Esny, and toxic heavy fuel oil continuing to go around the protected nature reserve of Ile aux Aigrettes, and into the densely populated Waterfront of the Historic Port of Mahebourg.
Satellite imagery from 16 August 2020 of the Wakashio in two separate parts, having split earlier in ... [+]
Despite efforts to put oil protection booms around the Wakashio, as seen in images taken by Maxar on 15 August at 10.14am below, these appear to have had little effect in reducing the flow of heavy oil into the pristine lagoon and toward the densely populated town of Mahebourg.
10.14am on Saturday 15 August 2020: the precise moment the Wakashioa splits in two is captured by ... [+]
Traces of the spill can also be seen having drifted several miles North into the protected coves and bays of Mauritius where many luxury five star hotels are, given the strong winds and currents that exist in that part of the island, coming up from Antarctica.
SAR data is able to take the reflective surface of an oil spill and send a signal back into space that only a SAR satellite is able to pick up.
Overhead photo on August 16, 2020, shows the reflective sheen of the oil at an angle gushing into ... [+]
This means that whilst conventional imagery - and to the naked eye - the coral reef lagoons may not appear to have a darker residue, the SAR imagery reveals an altogether different story.
Satellite imagery analysis reveals that the Wakashio split in two at 10.14am on Saturday 15 August 2020. By 3.28pm the same day, the two parts of the vessel can clearly be seen apart.
Iceye, the Finish satellite company providing this imagery, was founded in 2014 to help countries better manage their ocean territories by identifying pollution spills, illegal fishing, as well as other unauthorized activities on the seas that can only be identified using SAR.
US-based Ursa Space Systems, has advanced machine learning and data fusion technologies that can be applied to a range of geo-spatial applications, in this case, clear provenance of pollution detection.
