Satellite Remote Sensing of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Providing a Context For Shipboard Measurements

Tracking the surface oil from DWH using satellite data obtained in real-time, extensive archive of temporal/spatial history of surface oil. The project had objectives of tracking the surface oil from the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill using satellite data (MODIS, AVHRR, GOES GVAR) obtained in real-time at the LSU Earth Scan Laboratory (ESL) as well as from other sources. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data was to be obtained from the CSTARS lab, University of Miami, Fl. Development of new image products were proposed to illustrate the spatial changes in oil coverage over time and products were to be posted to the ESL web page (www.esl.lsu.edu). Additional data on winds and currents were to be obtained and analyzed to better understand the behavior of the surface oil. Oil features, observable in the various types of imagery, were to be compared and evaluated when data were obtained close enough in time from different satellite sensors to warrant such a comparison.