Open AccessAPPLICATION OF A GIS BASED APPROACH TO ASSESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE MV WAKASHIO OIL SPILL IN THE SOUTHEAST OF MAURITIUS
Author(s) -
Reshma Sunkur,
Chandradeo Bokhoree
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of engineering applied science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2455-2143
DOI - 10.33564/ijeast.2021.v06i04.002
Subject(s) - oil spill , mangrove , coral reef , environmental science , geography , satellite imagery , environmental resource management , environmental monitoring , terrain , remote sensing , oceanography , cartography , environmental protection , fishery , geology , environmental engineering , biology
Marine oil spills are regarded as one of the mostthreatening environmental disasters that can have seriousenvironmental and socio-economic impacts. For islandslike Mauritius, such oil spills can have severerepercussions as island communities depend almostentirely on their coastal and marine resources. The MVWakashio grounded on the coral reef on the south eastcoast of Mauritius on July 25th 2020, spilling 1000 tons ofoil into its clear waters on August 06th 2020. It was thefirst time the island was faced with such a disaster and inthis respect, this study aimed to use a GIS based approachto assess the environmental impacts of the Wakashio oilspill and demonstrate its usefulness in monitoring marineoil spills. SAR imagery was acquired from the CopernicusPlatform and ArcGIS was used to process the images. Anoil spill map was created using a SAR image dated August10th 2020. GPS coordinates of the affected sites wererecorded and overlaid on a terrain/road network map ofMauritius generated from layers of vector data obtainedthrough the DIVA-GIS portal. The oil spill was mapped onthe satellite image using ArcGIS and a vector map of theaffected regions was created. From these maps, the shortand long term impacts on the environments (marinewaters, mangroves, coasts, biodiversity) were examined.This study concludes that GIS is an effective, inexpensivetool that coastal nations around the world, includingMauritius, can use to support management and decisionmaking regarding oil spill preparedness and monitoring aswell as disaster management