Oil Spill Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks and Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery

Oil spills impose significant environmental challenges, leading to critical consequences for marine ecosystems and sea habitant’s health. Early delineatin and efficient surveillance are absolutely important to prevent more contamination and support quick hazards reduction. This study focus...

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Main Authors: E. Kalogirou, K. Christofi, D. Makri, M. A. Iqbal, V. La Pegna, M. Tzouvaras, C. Mettas, D. Hadjimitsis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2025-07-01
Series:The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
Online Access:https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-G-2025/757/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-757-2025.pdf
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author E. Kalogirou
E. Kalogirou
K. Christofi
K. Christofi
D. Makri
D. Makri
M. A. Iqbal
V. La Pegna
M. Tzouvaras
M. Tzouvaras
C. Mettas
C. Mettas
D. Hadjimitsis
D. Hadjimitsis
author_facet E. Kalogirou
E. Kalogirou
K. Christofi
K. Christofi
D. Makri
D. Makri
M. A. Iqbal
V. La Pegna
M. Tzouvaras
M. Tzouvaras
C. Mettas
C. Mettas
D. Hadjimitsis
D. Hadjimitsis
author_sort E. Kalogirou
collection DOAJ
description Oil spills impose significant environmental challenges, leading to critical consequences for marine ecosystems and sea habitant’s health. Early delineatin and efficient surveillance are absolutely important to prevent more contamination and support quick hazards reduction. This study focuses on detecting oil spills using satellite imagery and deep learning models, specifically Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). The dataset used to train the CNN comprised 695 images extracted from Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data over the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, 486 images (70%) were allocated for training, 139 images (20%) for validation, and 70 images (10%) for testing. Preprocessing involved a thresholding technique to enhance feature extraction and improve classification precision. The CNN model achieved a high test accuracy of 98.57%, with perfect precision (1.0000), recall of 96.43%, and F1 score of 0.9818, demonstrating strong performance and reliability. These high accuracy levels underscore the model’s efficiency in identifying oil spills and its soundness in handling unseen data. The significance of this work is in using satellite-based deep learning models for scalable and automated oil spill detection, therefore providing a reliable and effective substitute for more traditional monitoring systems. The model may be applied over large oceanic areas by using satellite images, thereby supporting marine ecosystem preservation and enhancing environmental risk management connected with oil pollution.
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series The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
spelling doaj-art-33c98dae88d64b0f8ed22cce9079d75c2025-08-20T03:09:19ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences1682-17502194-90342025-07-01XLVIII-G-202575776410.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-757-2025Oil Spill Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks and Sentinel-1 SAR ImageryE. Kalogirou0E. Kalogirou1K. Christofi2K. Christofi3D. Makri4D. Makri5M. A. Iqbal6V. La Pegna7M. Tzouvaras8M. Tzouvaras9C. Mettas10C. Mettas11D. Hadjimitsis12D. Hadjimitsis13ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Limassol 3012, CyprusDepartment of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol 3036, CyprusERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Limassol 3012, CyprusDepartment of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol 3036, CyprusERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Limassol 3012, CyprusDepartment of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol 3036, CyprusERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Limassol 3012, CyprusUniversità degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, 00133 Roma RM, ItalyERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Limassol 3012, CyprusDepartment of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol 3036, CyprusERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Limassol 3012, CyprusDepartment of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol 3036, CyprusERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, Limassol 3012, CyprusDepartment of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol 3036, CyprusOil spills impose significant environmental challenges, leading to critical consequences for marine ecosystems and sea habitant’s health. Early delineatin and efficient surveillance are absolutely important to prevent more contamination and support quick hazards reduction. This study focuses on detecting oil spills using satellite imagery and deep learning models, specifically Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). The dataset used to train the CNN comprised 695 images extracted from Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data over the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, 486 images (70%) were allocated for training, 139 images (20%) for validation, and 70 images (10%) for testing. Preprocessing involved a thresholding technique to enhance feature extraction and improve classification precision. The CNN model achieved a high test accuracy of 98.57%, with perfect precision (1.0000), recall of 96.43%, and F1 score of 0.9818, demonstrating strong performance and reliability. These high accuracy levels underscore the model’s efficiency in identifying oil spills and its soundness in handling unseen data. The significance of this work is in using satellite-based deep learning models for scalable and automated oil spill detection, therefore providing a reliable and effective substitute for more traditional monitoring systems. The model may be applied over large oceanic areas by using satellite images, thereby supporting marine ecosystem preservation and enhancing environmental risk management connected with oil pollution.https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-G-2025/757/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-757-2025.pdf
spellingShingle E. Kalogirou
E. Kalogirou
K. Christofi
K. Christofi
D. Makri
D. Makri
M. A. Iqbal
V. La Pegna
M. Tzouvaras
M. Tzouvaras
C. Mettas
C. Mettas
D. Hadjimitsis
D. Hadjimitsis
Oil Spill Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks and Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery
The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
title Oil Spill Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks and Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery
title_full Oil Spill Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks and Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery
title_fullStr Oil Spill Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks and Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery
title_full_unstemmed Oil Spill Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks and Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery
title_short Oil Spill Detection using Convolutional Neural Networks and Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery
title_sort oil spill detection using convolutional neural networks and sentinel 1 sar imagery
url https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-G-2025/757/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-757-2025.pdf
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