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

MC20 field research in the Gulf of Mexico from 2016-2018, focused on a chronic oil discharge site. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) collected these data for a study on estimating oil slick coverage and thickness using remote sensing platforms. Research was funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Use Cases

• Develop oil slick thickness estimation models based on remote sensing imagery.
• Analyze chronic oil discharge patterns based on data from the MC20 site.
• Validate remote sensing platforms for oil spill response based on synoptic collection methods.
• Study oil and water chemistry interactions based on field characterization data.

Strengths

• Data is part of a NOAA-led study funded by U.S. government agencies.
• Research includes synoptic collection from multiple platforms (satellite, airborne, surface).
• Field research was conducted over three years (2016, 2017, 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 site.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Synoptic collection of satellite imagery, airborne imagery, surface oil characterization, oil and water chemistry, and subsurface oil slick data.

Time Range

2016, 2017, 2018

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:29:31.868537; freshness should be verified

Geography

Mississippi Canyon lease block #20 (MC20), Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, North America