GOM Oil On Water Sampling Photos from MC20 Field Research, 2016-2018

GOM Oil On Water Sampling Photos 2016-11-15 are part of NOAA's Deepwater Horizon Lessons Learned Studies. The data were collected during field research at the Mississippi Canyon lease block #20 (MC20) in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to develop methods for estimating oil slick coverage and thickness. This research was funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior, BSEE, and the Oil Spill Preparedness Division.

Use Cases

• Train computer vision models to detect oil slicks based on aerial and satellite imagery mentioned in the description.
• Analyze oil thickness and emulsion mixtures based on surface oil characterization data.
• Validate remote sensing platforms and algorithms using synoptic field data collected at a chronic oil discharge site.
• Study the environmental impact of chronic oil discharges based on data from the MC20 site.

Strengths

• Data is part of a formal NOAA study funded by multiple U.S. government agencies.
• Collection involved multiple methods including satellite imagery, airborne imagery, and surface characterization.
• Research was conducted at both a controlled test tank (Ohmsett) and a real-world chronic discharge site (MC20).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is delivered in PDF and HTML formats, which may require extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 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

Field research undertaken in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:20:30.505947; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Mississippi Canyon lease block #20 (MC20) in the Gulf of Mexico.