Hybrid polarimetric synthetic aperture radar measurements to monitor sea oil spills: the case study of the Mauritius island accidental oil spill

Marine oil spills are one of the major threats affecting the ocean ecosystem. In this study, C-band hybrid polarimetric synthetic aperture radar measurements, collected by the Canadian Radarsat Constellation Mission, are used to observe oil spills at sea. For the purpose of this study, the accidental oil spill occurred in 2020 off the coast of the Mauritius island is considered as a case study. A set of hybrid polarimetric features are extracted from the wave polarimetry second-order descriptors to analyse their capabilities of identifying the oil spill and discriminate oil-free from oil-covered sea surface.