OTC 2023: Satellite technology makes advances for ice management
The OTC program this year has had a noticeable sub-theme of technology advances for Arctic oil and gas operations. That’s not such a surprise, when one considers that Norway’s biggest oil and gas companies are reviving exploration plans in Arctic waters. This action is spurred by the Norwegian government, which is eager to see new discoveries in the Barents Sea to reinforce the country’s future as a key energy supplier to Europe.
Accordingly, one of the more interesting technical sessions at OTC was entitled, “Icebreaking technology and changing Arctic ice,” held on Wednesday morning (May 3) at the NRG Center in Houston. One of that session’s stand-out presentations was “Advances in satellite technology for ice management,” delivered by the lead author, Dr. Pradeep Bobby, Director of Earth Observation, at C-CORE in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Dr. Bobby said that the need to monitor ice conditions has motivated the launch of several earth observation (EO) satellites, and ice mapping applications are among the greatest users of satellite data. However, oil and gas operations in ice-prone (both sea ice and iceberg) environments have largely been using EO data for upstream, strategic reports on ice conditions. He added that there are many recent and upcoming advances in EO technology that are already enabling satellites to be used for other critical operations, and there can be value in using satellites extensively for ice management.
CURRENT USES FOR SATELLITES
“Ice observation is the first and most important step in ice management,” explained Dr. Bobby. So, satellites are increasingly important for this need. He said that the current uses of satellites include national-scale sea ice mapping; long-range surveillance for seasonal forecasting; strategic planning; historical analysis (decades of data are available); tracking of large features (as in large icebergs that head toward Labrador); mobilization or demobilization; and site selection (as in seismic), among others.
EMERGING CAPABILITIES/CHANGES FOR SATELLITES
At present, Dr. Bobby said that there are a number of emerging capabilities and/or changes for use of satellites in ice management. These include the following:
Number of satellites: Dr. Bobby said that the amount of satellite data available today is unprecedented and will only grow in the coming years. In the early years, satellites were only launched by national space agencies in singles and delivered limited data. Today, while space agencies are launching small groups of satellites, commercial satellite vendors are producing dozens and planning hundreds of satellites.
Data policy: Although there has been extensive growth in the commercial satellite sector, there is growing pressure on space agencies to ensure data collected by publicly funded systems are available at no cost.
High resolution: The lead author said that the “richness” of data is definitely increasing. Traditionally, he explained, there has been a trade-off between image resolution and image coverage. The publicly available satellite data over the ocean has, for the most part, been captured at low resolution, to make large-coverage areas possible. The growing list of commercial data is now focusing on high resolution, which makes it possible to assess iceberg size, as well as detailed analysis of ice floe sizes and deformation features.
Near-time real delivery: Dr. Bobby said that satellite data must be delivered rapidly to be relevant for ice management. He noted that near-real time (NRT) delivery has been available from data providers for many years, but the latencies are finally dropping, as processing technologies and ground station networks improve. He said that in some parts of Europe, automated maritime surveillance is presently offered within 20 min. of image acquisition.
Automation and machine learning: Not surprisingly, the volume of satellite data available for ice management is driving a need for automation and machine learning. Each satellite image is tens or hundreds of millions of pixels and can occupy hundreds of megabytes or even terabytes of storage. He said that automated processes ensure that high data volumes may be analyzed with minimal intervention.
Temporal diversity: The lead author said that alternate satellite orbits allow for updates throughout the day. Satellite optical and SAR data were often collected at specific times of the day. He explained that SAR data collected outside the dawn/dusk cycle will be useful for minimizing reliance on forecasting and will be useful for tracking the behavior of ice features of interest.
Frequency diversity: Sea ice is a complex material, said Dr. Bobby, and its physical and electrical characteristics change throughout its lifecycle. SAR data used for ice charting often operates at C-band, which he said provides a reasonable compromise of large coverage and medium-to-high resolution. However, there is a growing number of commercial, higher-frequency X-band satellites that can resolve ice features with high detail.
Dynamic tasking: Last, but not least, the lead author said that satellite data in the past was okay for mapping and baseline surveillance, as these data were preplanned by space agencies or had to be ordered several days in advance. Now, there are new satellite data providers, which allow for images to be planned within hours of image acquisition, making satellite data helpful in tracking features of interest.
CONCLUSIONS
In summation, Dr. Bobby emphasized that satellite technology for ice management is advancing rapidly. Improvements in the cost, volume, diversity, quality, processing and readiness of satellites are making their data ever more suitable to support ice management surveillance. Satellites are more well-suited than ever to support exploration and development of frontier Arctic and other remote regions, as well as to expand ice management surveillance for existing operations.
