Petrobras to use Nasa technology to monitor the Equatorial Margin

Petrobras has been accepted into the Early Adopters program of the NISAR (Nasa-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission, a joint project between the American space agency and the Indian Space Research Organization to develop and launch, in 2025, an unprecedented SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite image collection system for Earth observation. The images will be used by Petrobras in the Environmental Geochemical Observatory of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin (ObMEQ) project, which is due to start next year, to monitor the marine and coastal environment of the Equatorial Margin, in the Amapá-Pará-Maranhão stretch and update the mapping of this coastline. ObMEQ is one of the 13 sustainability and environmental projects of the Petrobras Research, Development and Innovation Center (Cenpes) for the Equatorial Margin, which are developed as a network by various institutions, with the involvement of universities and other groups in the region, as is usual in Petrobras' research partnerships.
 
“There are converging scientific interests between the NISAR and ObMEQ initiatives, which is why a formal cooperation was created between Cenpes and the space mission, with the aim of connecting members of the Brazilian team with NISAR specialists, who can advise on the observation plan for ObMEQ, and benefit from the exchange of field information on the coast of the Equatorial Margin and adjacent ocean regions,” explains Renata Baruzzi, director of engineering, technology and innovation at Petrobras.
 
“This collaboration will be very important for obtaining the scientific knowledge necessary for systematic environmental monitoring of the coastal mangrove zone along the Equatorial Margin. We are excited about the opportunity for Petrobras to obtain such important and unprecedented data on this ecosystem,” adds Baruzzi.
 
The space mission will be measuring patterns of change in the Earth's ecosystems, surfaces and ice masses, providing information on biomass, natural hazards, rising sea levels and groundwater. Special attention will also be paid to mangroves, an important coastal ecosystem in the context of climate change.
 
The technology used will allow periodic mapping of changes such as erosion and sediment deposition on the coast, ocean currents, wind speeds, the location of ships and even signs of oil in the waters.
 
The satellite is ideal for monitoring tropical regions because it operates in the microwave range, where the atmosphere is transparent, making it possible to collect data even when clouds are present. With its own energy source, the equipment works uninterruptedly, mapping data even when there is little light, such as at night or in the late afternoon.
 
ObMEQ will use remote sensing techniques with SAR images from different satellites and field work to collect samples in order to establish the environmental geochemical panorama for the coastal region. The data obtained from these materials will be made available in a system with a web interface containing the results of the geochemical analysis of the compounds found in the field.
 
Transparency

The project will provide the always up-to-date configuration of the MEQ coastline, available for use by the various areas of Petrobras, environmental agencies and society, according to their respective needs. An additional use of data from the NISAR mission concerns the detection of oil slicks on the sea surface, both natural
 
The ObMEQ project is the result of a partnership between the Petrobras Research Center and an ecosystem of universities and institutions in the North-Northeast, led by the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA). Cenpes' participation in the NISAR Mission's Early Adopters Program is a seal of scientific quality for the ObMEQ Project, evidence that Petrobras and its academic partners in Brazil are in tune with the most advanced developments in the international scientific community. The collaboration between Brazilian and NASA scientists will be an important contribution to acquiring the scientific knowledge needed for systematic environmental monitoring of the coastal mangrove zone along the Equatorial Margin.