WorldView-2 Satellite Imagery of Thicker Oil Slicks in the Gulf of Mexico, 2017

NOAA's Deepwater Horizon Lessons Learned Studies collected satellite imagery for estimating oil slick coverage and thickness. The research was conducted at the Mississippi Canyon lease block #20 (MC20), a site of chronic oil discharge since 2004, with field data gathered in 2016, 2017, and 2018. This work was funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and NOAA.

Use Cases

• Develop oil slick thickness estimation models based on satellite imagery data.
• Analyze chronic oil discharge patterns based on data from the MC20 site.
• Validate remote sensing platforms for environmental response management.
• Study emulsion mixtures in marine oil spills using synoptic collection methods.

Strengths

• Data is part of a formal NOAA study funded by multiple U.S. government agencies.
• Research combines satellite imagery with airborne imagery, surface characterization, and chemistry data.
• Focuses on a specific, ongoing discharge site (MC20) with data from 2016-2018.

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 (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Synoptic collection of satellite and airborne imagery, surface oil characterization, and chemistry as part of a field study.

Time Range

Field research undertaken in 2016, 2017, and 2018; imagery date 2017-04-25.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:25:26.557796; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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