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Results are presented from research aimed at detecting natural seepage and oil seeps in the seas of Russia using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging. Real-time and archived data from such modern SAR-equipped satellites as Envisat, Radarsat-1/2, Sentinel-1A/1B, are indispensable material in searching, detecting, and studying natural oil seepage by observing oil slicks floating on the sea surface. They are used to detect oil seeps and natural petroleum hydrocarbon flows in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Barents Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. Using SAR imagery and the geoinformation (GIS) approach as well as bathymetric data and additional geological and geophysical information, oil seeps can be detected from space, their real position on the sea bottom determined, and additional information about the activity, frequency and volume of oil emissions obtained. As a result, regional oil and gas potential can be confirmed. This methodical approach can be used to search and detect similar phenomena in the seas worldwide, and the detection of new hydrocarbon sources using satellite images once again confirms its efficiency.

This paper is devoted to the detection and identification of icebergs in the Russian Arctic Seas from the use of high- and medium-resolution radar and optical images from EROS-B, Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2, SPOT-4 and SPOT-5 Earth observation satellites. In July–September of 2011–2013, the SCANEX Research and Development Center, the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Atomflot, and other partner organizations provided operational satellite monitoring of icebergs in the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. More than 130 highly detailed optical and radar images were received and processed. The Vilkitsky Strait—one of the narrowest and most dangerous places within the Northern Sea Route—was chosen as an experimental polygon. As a result, iceberg location in the strait during the 2011–2013 navigation periods was analyzed, as were the iceberg size, area, drift direction, and height.