A stain that did not reach Sweden

2003/06/10 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Teknologia
• Ingurumena

Last May 31 the Chinese ship Fu Shan Hau sank into the Baltic and lost 100 tons of oil. This oil formed a stain of 39 square kilometers. The top photo was taken by the ERS-2 satellite of the European Space Agency on June 2 and the spot appears very close to the Swedish coast (right below). Fortunately, the stain did not reach the coast of Sweden, as six ships that boarded Sweden, Denmark and Germany managed to collect almost all of the oil at sea. However, the risk has not disappeared, since the container still contains 66.000 tons of fertilizers and 1,600 tons of oil.

Many had knowledge of ESA's ERS-2 satellite when the Prestige sank, which also made significant photographs. To make the photos, the satellite uses the data collected by the SAR radar. The radar is based on the relative roughness of the different surfaces and, given the great difference between water and oil, it is very useful to follow the spots.