Managing oil spills in aquatic environments: detection techniques and sustainable remediation strategies

Oil spills remain one of the most severe sources of aquatic pollution, causing long-term ecological, economic, and social impacts on marine and freshwater environments. This review provides a comprehensive assessment of global oil spill research by integrating historical case studies, bibliometric analysis, oil spill behavior, detection technologies, and remediation strategies into a unified framework. A bibliometric analysis is presented to identify publication trends, major research themes, and emerging directions in oil spill research. Subsequently, the review examines major historical and recent oil spill incidents and discusses influence of physicochemical properties and weathering of spilled oil on its transport, fate, and environmental impacts. Effectiveness of physical, chemical, in situ burning and biological remediation approaches are also compared, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations. The review also evaluates recent advances in active and passive remote sensing technologies for oil spill detection and monitoring, including their applicability to surface and submerged oil. Based on the literature, bioremediation emerges as the most environmentally sustainable and cost-effective remediation approach, while remote sensing combined with machine learning offers significant potential for improving the accuracy and efficiency of oil spill detection and response. The review concludes that future research should prioritize integrated monitoring systems, environmentally sustainable remediation technologies, and predictive modeling tools to strengthen oil spill preparedness. By combining bibliometric insights with technical and environmental perspectives, this review identifies current research gaps and provides a comprehensive reference to support future advances in oil spill management, contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 14.