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

Photographic data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of a study on detecting oil slick coverage and thickness. The research was conducted at the Mississippi Canyon lease block #20 (MC20), a site with a chronic oil discharge, during field campaigns in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The work was funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Use Cases

• Training computer vision models for oil slick detection based on photographic imagery.
• Calibrating satellite and airborne remote sensing platforms based on surface oil characterization data.
• Analyzing emulsion mixtures and oil thickness for spill response planning.
• Studying chronic oil discharge patterns at a specific offshore site.

Strengths

• Data is part of a formal NOAA 'Lessons Learned' study with defined research objectives.
• Collection involved multiple methods: satellite imagery, airborne imagery, and surface characterization.
• Research was funded by authoritative U.S. government agencies (DOI, BSEE, NOAA).

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 analysis.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Field research involving synoptic collection of imagery and surface characterization.

Time Range

Field research undertaken in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 22:32:15.719108; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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