Deepwater Horizon: Spill Analysis

The BP Deepwater Horizon caught fire and sank after an explosion on April 20, 2010. The subsequent oil loss into the Gulf of Mexico is threatening the health of the Gulf and coastal ecosystems in the region. Using high resolution satellites from NOAA's partners in Earth observations, NESDIS scientists are able to track the location of the oil plume as it is circulated throughout the Gulf due to changing wind and currents. Satellites providing data for these analyses include the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua and Terra, Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT-2 SAR, Satellite Imaging Corporation's SPOT-5, and the SAR sensor on European Space Agency's ENVISAT.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• NOAA
• oil spill
• Deepwater Horizon
• visualization
• satellite