A massive explosion occurred on an oil drilling rig in the Northern Gulf of Mexico on the evening of 20 April 2010, followed by fire burning for more than a day before the oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, sank to the 1500-m deep ocean on 21 April 2010. This image archive provides 250-m resolution MODIS and MERIS satellite RGB images to show the location and size of the subsequent oil spill on the ocean surface, and provides 1-km resolution MODIS Sea Surface Temperature imagery to examine the position of the oil spill relative toe major ocean circulation features such as the Loop Current. Oil entrained in the Loop Current will be transported to the Florida Straits and the east coast of the U.S. within weeks. The prediction of the oil movement with water circulation is being performed by the Ocean Circulation Group at the USF College of Marine Science.

The principles to use MODIS imagery for oil spill detection are summarized in a recent article by Hu et al.(2009), and another example for a turbid estuary can be found in Hu et al. (2003). Depending on the solar and satellite viewing geometry as well as other factors, oil slicks can appear darker or brighter than the surrounding water, and they can have different spectral shapes than other ocean features. These images were processed at the University of South Florida, College of Marine Science and made available in near real-time. When conditions do not permit reliable oil delineation (e.g., clouds, lack of sun glint), synthetic aperture radar (SAR) oil delineation is obtained from NOAA. We would like to acknowledge NASA, NOAA, and the Institute for Marine Remote Sensing for their contribution of data.

DISCLAIMER: The satellite remote sensing imagery and analyses are experimental products under development. No warranty is made, expressed or implied, regarding accuracy, or regarding the suitability for any particular application. All rights reserved University of South Florida. Copyright © University of South Florida (May 1, 2010).

Archived images are stored by month. Click on a month link to the right to view those images or use the 'Menu' on the left under 'Events'.

Images are arranged by date from newest to oldest. Click on the image to view the highest resolution image. Click on the Google Earth View to open in Google Earth.