Application of GIS for Mapping Oil-Contaminated Soil in Kuwait

Contamination of the environment in Kuwait occurred in 1990-1991 during the Iraqi invasion and due to explosion of more than 700 oil wells. Oil contamination caused serious damage to the environment. This study was conducted to estimate the extent and volume of contaminated soil by using remote sensing, GIS application and field survey.. A map of the area was developed by GIS showing four types of oil contaminations these are: liquid oil, oily soil, tarmat and soot plus a clean soil type, where no oil contamination was observed. Based on the three damage categories the volume of contaminated soil was estimated at about 24.4 million cubic meters. The bulk of the oilcontaminated soil occurs in the dry oil lake areas (70%) and the oil lake areas (24%), and oily soil is the dominant type of contaminated soil layer. The application of remote sensing and GIS technology provided a tool to estimate the extent of environmental damages due to large scale oil pollution.