CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS
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Oil spill cover


Measurement Definition*: Fraction of an ocean area polluted by hydrocarbons released from ships, accidental or deliberate. Impacting on ocean-atmosphere exchanges. Requested in both open ocean and coastal zone - Physical unit: [ % ] - Accuracy unit: [ % ].
InstrumentStatus/
Accuracy
Instrument DescriptionMeasurement TechnologyTimeline
CSG SAR
COSMO-SkyMed di Seconda Generazione SAR
Operational
All-weather images of ocean, land and ice for monitoring of land surface processes, ice, environmental monitoring, risk management, environmental resources, maritime management, Earth topographic mapping.Imaging radar (SAR)
PALSAR-2
Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-2
Operational
Disaster monitoring, land monitoring, agricultural monitoring, natural resource exploration, global forest monitoring, potential use and interferometry.Imaging radar (SAR)
Paz SAR-X
X Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Operational
High resolution X-band radar for security, land use, urban management, environmental monitoring, risk management. Different acquisition modes: Spotlight (5 x 5-10 km SSD =<1 m), Scansar (100 x 100 km, SSD <=15 m); Stripmode (strips of 30 x 30 km with SSD 3 m).Imaging radar (SAR)
SAR (RADARSAT-2)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C band
Operational
All-weather images of ocean, ice and land surfaces. Used for monitoring of coastal zones, polar ice, sea ice, sea state, geological features, vegetation and land surface processes.Imaging radar (SAR)
SAR (RCM)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C band
Operational
All-weather, C-band data to support ecosystem monitoring, maritime surveillance and disaster management.Imaging radar (SAR)
SAR-L
L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Operational
Land, ocean, emergencies, soil moisture, interferometry, others.Imaging radar (SAR)
S-band SAR
S-band SAR
Operational
SAR imagery for a range of applications including agriculture, maritime and forestryImaging radar (SAR)
PALSAR-3
Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-3
Being developed
Disaster monitoring, land monitoring, agricultural monitoring, natural resource exploration, global forest monitoring, potential use and interferometry.Imaging radar (SAR)
Advanced SAR
Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar X band
Proposed
High resolution microwave radar images for ice watch.Imaging radar (SAR)
* Description adapted from WMO.