Observations of the oil-polluted soil of Absheron Peninsula using Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2A imagery

Along with the growth of the massive oil production, the role of the
Peninsula has increased, and big ecological problems have arisen.
In this research, the investigation of the possibility of detecting
hydrocarbons in sandy soil through Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2 A
satellite and drone images and chemical analysis was conducted. The
main study was based on the satellite imagery of Landsat 8 OLI and
Sentinel 2A, employing NDVI calculations and analyses. In order to
calculate NDVI, ESRI ArcGIS 10.3 software has been used. The
multispectral images with 30m spatial resolution of Landsat 8 and 10
m resolution multispectral images of Sentinel 2 were used.
Additionally, drone observations lead to obtaining high-resolution
data about soil pollution in the study area. Also, field samples were
taken to the laboratory, and necessary chemical analysis was
performed for validation purposes.
This study showed that multispectral remote sensing can be used to
detect hydrocarbons in the soil in oil production areas. Hydrocarbonbearing substances' absorption into the soil results in a low value of
NDVI in the study area. The observations in the winter and summer
seasons show that the seasonal changes in weather conditions affect
both the amount of oil contamination in the soil and the detection
process of soil pollution by oil using remote sensing.