GOM OI 2017-04-25 Oil Class: Gulf of Mexico Oil Slick Remote Sensing Data

NOAA's Deepwater Horizon Lessons Learned Studies collected data on oil slick coverage and thickness using remote sensing platforms. The research, funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, includes field work at the MC20 site from 2016 to 2018. Data shown here are part of the MC20 field research undertaken in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Use Cases

• Train models for oil slick classification based on remote sensing imagery mentioned in the description.
• Analyze oil emulsion mixtures based on surface oil characterization data mentioned in the description.
• Develop synoptic methods for oil spill coverage estimation based on satellite and airborne imagery mentioned in the description.
• Study chronic oil discharge patterns based on data from the ongoing MC20 site leak mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data collection was part of a formal NOAA study funded by U.S. Department of the Interior and BSEE.
• Research integrates multiple data sources: satellite imagery, airborne imagery, surface characterization, and chemistry.
• Field research was conducted over a multi-year period from 2016 to 2018.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to the specific MC20 study site.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

Collection Method

Field research involving synoptic collection of satellite imagery, airborne imagery, surface oil characterization, oil and water chemistry, and subsurface oil slick data.

Time Range

Field research undertaken in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:27:22.606197; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Mississippi Canyon lease block #20 (MC20) in the Gulf of Mexico, which has experienced an ongoing chronic oil discharge since 2004.