MC20: Oil Slick Characterization Data from Field Research 2016-2018

Field research data collected for the NOAA Deepwater Horizon Lessons Learned Studies on detecting oil thickness and emulsion mixtures. The dataset includes synoptic satellite imagery, airborne imagery, surface oil characterization, and water chemistry from the Mississippi Canyon 20 (MC20) site, which has a chronic oil discharge. Research was funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and undertaken in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Use Cases

• Train models to estimate oil slick coverage and thickness based on the described synoptic satellite and airborne imagery.
• Analyze the relationship between surface oil characterization and subsurface oil slick data mentioned in the description.
• Validate remote sensing platforms for oil spill detection using the described field-collected oil and water chemistry data.
• Study chronic oil discharge patterns at the MC20 site using the multi-year (2016-2018) field research data.

Strengths

• Data is part of a formal NOAA study funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior and BSEE.
• Research spans three years of field campaigns (2016, 2017, 2018).
• Integrates multiple data types: satellite imagery, airborne imagery, surface characterization, and chemistry.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Available file formats are PDF and HTML, which may not be directly machine-readable for analysis.

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

2016, 2017, 2018

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:28:34.391837; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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