Refugio Oil Spill Shoreline Oiling Model for May 21, 2015

May 21, 2015, is the date of the modeled oil particle data. This dataset is a NOAA GNOME model hindcast of particles reaching the shoreline from the Refugio State Beach oil spill, which began on May 19, 2015. The data was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Response and Restoration to investigate environmental impacts.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil spill trajectory and shoreline contamination based on the GNOME hindcast particles.
• Assessing environmental damage for Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) based on the described investigation of impacts.
• Planning restoration efforts by determining the extent of shoreline oiling mentioned in the description.
• Studying hazard management and mitigation strategies for coastal oil spills.

Strengths

• Modeled data for a specific, significant event: the May 2015 Refugio oil spill involving an estimated 21,000 gallons.
• Produced by an authoritative source: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• Focuses on a defined geographic area: the shoreline near Refugio State Beach, California.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The data is a model hindcast; accuracy depends on model inputs and assumptions.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

NOAA GNOME (General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment) modeled hindcast of oil particles.

Time Range

Modeled for May 21, 2015, following the spill that began May 19, 2015.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:31:59.393770; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Shoreline near Refugio State Beach, Santa Barbara County, California, USA.