title: Origins and features of oil slicks in the Bohai Sea detected from satellite SAR images.
abstract: Oil slicks were detected using satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images in 2011. We investigated potential origins and regional and seasonal features of oil slick in the Bohai Sea. Distance between oil slicks and potential origins (ships, seaports, and oil exploitation platforms) and the angle at which oil slicks move relative to potential driving forces were evaluated. Most oil slicks were detected along main ship routes rather than around seaports and oil exploitation platforms. Few oil slicks were detected within 20km of seaports. Directions of oil slicks movement were much more strongly correlated with directions of ship routes than with directions of winds and currents. These findings support the premise that oil slicks in the Bohai Sea most likely originate from illegal disposal of oil-polluted wastes from ships. Seasonal variation of oil slicks followed an annual cycle, with a peak in August and a trough in December.
authors.affiliation: North China Sea Marine Forecasting Center of State Oceanic Administration, 266100 Qingdao, China; Shandong Provincial Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environment & Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 266100 Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: North China Sea Marine Forecasting Center of State Oceanic Administration, 266100 Qingdao, China; Shandong Provincial Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environment & Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 266100 Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Conghua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: North China Sea Marine Forecasting Center of State Oceanic Administration, 266100 Qingdao, China; Shandong Provincial Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environment & Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 266100 Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: North China Sea Marine Forecasting Center of State Oceanic Administration, 266100 Qingdao, China; Shandong Provincial Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environment & Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 266100 Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: North China Sea Marine Forecasting Center of State Oceanic Administration, 266100 Qingdao, China; Shandong Provincial Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environment & Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 266100 Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Guiyan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: North China Sea Marine Forecasting Center of State Oceanic Administration, 266100 Qingdao, China; Shandong Provincial Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environment & Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 266100 Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Lingjuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Danish Meteorological Institute, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: zw@dmi.dk.
authors.forename: Zhenwen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D011825:Radar; D063809:Satellite Imagery; D012621:Seasons; D012767:Ships; D014919:Wind
keywords: Bohai Sea; Ocean pollution; Oil slick; SAR images