Bird Intake Locations from the 2015 Refugio Beach Oil Spill

NOAA recorded live and dead bird intake locations during the response to a 2015 pipeline rupture near Refugio State Beach. An estimated 21,000 gallons of oil flowed into the Pacific Ocean, prompting this environmental impact investigation. The data layer was created by NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration to support restoration planning.

Use Cases

• Map the spatial distribution of oil spill impacts on birds based on recorded intake locations.
• Assess the severity of an environmental hazard for wildlife based on mortality data.
• Support restoration planning and damage assessment for a specific coastal incident.

Strengths

• Data is tied to a specific, documented environmental incident with an estimated 21,000-gallon oil spill.
• Created by the authoritative National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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 and temporal bias specific to the 2015 Refugio Beach incident.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Recorded during the response to the Refugio Beach Oil Spill.

Time Range

2015

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:25:33.073008; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Santa Barbara County, California, near Refugio State Beach and the Pacific Ocean.