Posts Tagged ‘Unnatural Hazards’

The latest satellite image of the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico as viewed on July 19th. NASA satellites continue to give a broader view of the disaster still unfolding after 91 days on. You can also see all the satellite images NASA has taken of the oil slick in the gulf on their Earth Observatory website.

The Gulf of Mexico was speckled and streaked with small clouds on the afternoon of July 19, 2010, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image. Between the clouds, however, silvery-gray streaks of oil remained visible offshore of the Mississippi River Delta. The tan-colored waters around the river delta are full of sediment.

After three months NASA continues to monitor the ever changing oil slick the result of the Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20th. This image was taken by NASA’s Terra satellite, which as you may know has been imaging the earth for a full 10 years. Everything from hurricanes to dust storms or oil slicks. Along with just giving us a better understanding of our planet.

Oil continued to float across the Gulf of Mexico around the Mississippi River Delta in early July 2010, three months after a deadly explosion at an offshore drilling rig. This photo-like image of the region was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on July 9.

The sunglint region of the image—the washed-out area where the Sun’s reflection would appear if the water were as calm and smooth as a mirror—is located in the left-hand side of the view. Oil located very close to the spot where the Sun’s reflection would have appeared in this image looks very bright.

Beyond the area where the Sun’s reflection would have appeared, however, oil may make the water surface look unusually dark rather than bright. The dark arc in the water east of Timbalier Bay may also be oil; it is consistent with oil locations identified with radar images of the area captured on July 8.

New images of the oil slick in the gulf of Mexico, as imaged by two of NASA’s satellites. Earth Observing-1 and Terra.

Acquired June 26, 2010
Satellite: Earth Observing-1
Instrument: Advanced Land Imager

As of June 27, 2010, the entire gulf-facing beachfront of several barrier islands in eastern Mississippi (offshore of Pascagoula) had received a designation of at least “lightly oiled” by the interagency Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team that is responding to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. A few small stretches of Petit Bois Island had been labeled heavily or moderately oiled.

This high-resolution image shows Petit Bois Island (top right) and the eastern end of Horn Island (top left) on June 26. In general, oil-covered waters are silvery and cleaner waters are blue-gray. This pattern is especially consistent farther from the islands. The intensely bright patches of water directly offshore of the barrier islands, however, may be from a combination of factors, including sediment and organic material, coastal currents and surf, and oil.

The islands provide a sense of scale for the ribbons of oil swirling into the area from the south. Petit Bois Island is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) long. It is one of seven barrier islands that, along with some mainland areas of Mississippi and Florida, make up the Gulf Islands National Seashore. According to the National Park Service Gulf Islands National Seashore Website, all the islands remained open to the public as of June 28, 2010, and clean-up crews were on hand to respond to any oil coming ashore.

Acquired June 27, 2010
Satellite: Terra
Instrument: Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

The possibility of detecting oil slicks in photo-like satellite images depends on the slick being located in the sunglint region—the wide, washed-out strip where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water is diffused by waves and currents. When the oil is located in that relatively narrow region of the scene, it can strongly influence how the water reflects light. Oil-covered water may look dramatically brighter or darker than adjacent, oil-free water.

In this image from Sunday, June 27, 2010, eastern areas of the slick are more visible than western areas, even though analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates heavy concentrations of oil in the vicinity of the leaking well, which is about 75 kilometers (47 miles) southeast of the Mississippi Delta (beyond the left edge of the image). Ribbons of silvery-gray oil swirl in the waters off Alabama and Florida, while farther west—closer to the source of the leak—the reflection seems to be dominated by muddy water in the Mississippi River Delta.

Although the oil extent does change from day to day, the big difference in the appearance of oil in this image versus the previous day’s image is the location of the oil in relation to the sunglint region. In this view from June 27, the sunglint fell across an area farther east than it did in the image from June 26, and so the oil is more visible there.

NASA’s Terra satellite continues to monitor the situation in the Gulf of Mexico, taking this image of the oil slick on June 19th from its Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer.

On Saturday, June 19, 2010, oil spread northeast from the leaking Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil appears as a maze of silvery-gray ribbons in this photo-like image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.

The location of the leaking well is marked with a white dot. North of the well, a spot of black may be smoke; reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that oil and gas continue to be captured and burned as part of the emergency response efforts.

Ruining a whole lot of folks summers, along with livelihoods is the still ever presence oil sick covering the Gulf of Mexico. This latest picture was taken from the same satellite as took the image in the post below or NASA’s Terra satellite. Which has been zooming around earth, giving us a detailed picture of our planet for 10 years thus far.

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon rig was visible on the surface of Gulf of Mexico waters on June 18, 2010. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite took this picture the same day. The oil appears and meandering, interlocking patterns of varying shades of off white. The angle of the Sun plays a role in the oil slick’s visibility, as the oil is illuminated by sunglint.

Courtesy of the satellite imaging company Digital Globe, a detailed view of the oil slick cleanup as viewed on the 15th of this month. Look at those tiny tiny boats, dwarfed by the oily Gulf all around them. Skimming what they can from the surface, while mile long plumes underwater continue.

Acquired June 15 2010

Short video showing the growing oil slick that is currently tarnishing the Gulf of Mexico. As viewed by NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. A majority of these images I’ve been posting here on Space Gizmo, and such posted Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill pictures are here.

A view of the Deepwater Horizon spill as seen by NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellite yesterday and Monday. For a live view of the spill nearly a mile down I recommend the BP live feed. There is also this page, which lets you choose which live feeds you want to view.

Acquired May 25, 2010
Satellite: Aqua
Instrument: MODIS

On May 25, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was perfectly positioned in the sunglint part of a photo-like image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

In the sunglint region—where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun gets blurred into a wide, bright strip—any differences in the texture of the water surface are enhanced. Oil smoothes the water, making it a better “mirror.” Oil-covered waters are very bright in this image, but, depending on the viewing conditions (time of day, satellite viewing angle, slick location), oil-covered water may look darker rather than brighter.

The slick appears large and sprawling, reaching out in numerous ribbons toward the tip of the Mississippi River Delta. Oil is visible in the marshes of Barataria Bay and barrier islands to the southwest. Although most of the oil is located near and to the west and northwest of the damaged well, one streamer of oil continues to stretch toward the southeast.

The relative brightness of the oil from place to place is not necessarily an indication of the amount of oil. Any oil located in the precise spot where the Sun’s reflection would appear if the surface of the Gulf were perfectly smooth and calm is going to look very bright in these images. The cause of the dark patch of water in the middle of the slick just west of the well is not known, but it may indicate the use of skimmers, dispersants, or booms.

Acquired May 24, 2010
Satellite: Terra
Instrument: ASTER

On May 24, 2010, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this false-color, high-resolution view of the very tip of the Mississippi River Delta. Ribbons and patches of oil that have leaked from the Deepwater Horizon well offshore are silver against the light blue color of the adjacent water. Vegetation is red.

The Deepwater Horizon oil slick continues to be monitored from orbit, this imaged today with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard NASA’s Terra satellite. Also, if you’re brave enough I’d recommend the latest Big Picture post. Extremely sad, tragic, but it shows the effect that is being felt in Louisiana by this spill.

The Big Picture: Oil reaches Louisiana shores

Sunlight illuminated the lingering oil slick off the Mississippi Delta on May 24, 2010. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image the same day.

Oil smoothes the surface of the water, making for a slightly more precise reflection of the sun than oil-free water. As a result, the oil slick is brighter than the surrounding water where the Sun is overhead (image center) and darker than the surrounding water where the Sun is not overhead (image lower right). Tendrils of oil extend to the north and east of the main body of the slick. A small, dark plume along the edge of the slick, not far from the original location of the Deepwater Horizon rig, indicates a possible controlled burn of oil on the ocean surface.

The European Space Agency’s Envisat satellite uses it’s Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument to see clearly that at least part of the Deepwater Horizon spill has entered the Loop Current off of Florida.

Scientists monitoring the US oil spill with ESA’s Envisat radar satellite say that it has entered the Loop Current, a powerful conveyor belt that flows clockwise around the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida.

“With these images from space, we have visible proof that at least oil from the surface of the water has reached the current,” said Dr Bertrand Chapron of Ifremer, the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea.

Dr Chapron and Dr Fabrice Collard of France’s CLS have been combining surface roughness and current flow information with Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) data of the area to monitor the proximity of the oil to the current.

In the ASAR image above, acquired on 18 May, a long tendril of the oil spill (outlined in white) extends down into the Loop Current (red arrow).