Scientists have used Earth observational data detected using satellites, AI technology and imaging more commonly applied in healthcare settings to reveal the direct impact of oil pollution on the Niger Delta in Africa.
The international research team led by University of Galway used Earth observation radar data to map oil pipeline networks covering a 9,000km² region in the Niger Delta, and to pinpoint where crude oil spills have caused the most acute damage to its delicate mangrove ecosystem. Their findings were published on Monday in the journal Remote Sensing.
The Niger Delta hosts the second largest petroleum reserves in Africa, with the Nigerian economy heavily dependent on the industry. But since extraction and processing of oil started in the 1950s, the level of pollution is estimated to be equivalent to more than 13 million barrels of crude oil, causing enormous damage to the environment and posing severe health threats to the people who live in the region.
It is one of the most ecologically diverse regions on Earth and home to almost 30 million people from more than 40 ethnic groups. The vast majority of them depend on farming and fishing for their livelihoods and food security, as well as their cultural identity and wellbeing.
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The mortality rate of mangrove forests over the period 2016-2024 – at 5,644 hectares a year – is “the equivalent of 17 Central Park Forest areas being lost per year or 28 GAA pitches every day”, according to lead author Jemima O’Farrell, an astrophysicist at the Ryan Institute and School of Natural Sciences.
The data analysis enabled the research team highlight specific locations in the vast pipeline network which are in need of immediate intervention and restoration. “It also allowed [us] to identify several new pipeline sites north of the coastal town of Bille showing evidence of significant oil spill damage that have yet to be formally reported,” Ms O’Farrell said.
The intersection of medical imaging, Earth observation and AI technology enabled them develop a new way of mapping and assessing pipeline networks, she added.
“Seeing our approach independently corroborate reported spill events, and even detect unreported ones, was incredibly gratifying. I hope this technology can help advocate for the affected communities and that more Earth observation-derived insights will be integrated with policy and environmental protection in the near future.”
The delta is a vast, complex, estuarine environment that hosts the largest mangrove forest on the African continent and is the world’s third-largest wetland. “These forests are of enormous ecological and biodiverse significance and actively sequester substantial quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide,” Ms O’Farrell said.
Monitoring the oil pipeline network and the vitality of the surrounding Delta across such a vast region was extremely difficult, with associated underreporting and after-the-fact assessments being the norm, she said. Focus pollution has been more on “total oil” loss, rather than linking the losses to ecosystem damage.
The team used a form of radar to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects using imagery recorded by the European Commission’s Sentinel-1 earth observation satellites. Data was recorded every week since 2016, and, critically, the technology guarantees almost perfect viewing conditions every pass, regardless of the near-constant cloud cover.
“The findings of our work will help affected local communities to better understand the magnitude of oil spills and have comprehensive insights into the oil-induced damage to the mangroves,” said co-author Dr Abosede Omowumi Babatunde of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
“This delicate ecosystem sustains their traditional farming and fishing activities. Our research will also empower them to independently hold the authorities and petroleum producers to account,” she said.
It could also help those communities to reflect on the adverse consequences of their own actions such as pipeline vandalism, and illegal and artisanal bunkering, in terms of their own health, the environment, its resources and sustainability, she said. “This knowledge will also help local NGOs to design relevant intervention programmes that can address the impacts and mitigate rising oil spill incidents.”
