Posts tagged with

oil spill

Incident Responses for April 2020

Posted Thu, 05/07/2020 - 14:56

Every month our Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to possible effects on wildlife and fisheries and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment. This month OR&R responded to 11 incidents, including oil discharges, sunken vessels, and other pollution-related incidents ... 

The Early Days and Hours of Deepwater Horizon

Posted Mon, 04/20/2020 - 13:59

From March 30 to April 20, tune in as we go back in time to the day of our country’s largest marine oil spill, what’s happened since then, and how we’re better prepared for future spills. In our latest blog, get a detailed look at the early hours and days of the spill. 

How Thick is the Oil Slick?

Posted Fri, 04/17/2020 - 12:43
By Megan Ewald, Office of Response and Restoration

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest marine oil spill in U.S history, and responding to the disaster required the use of brand-new satellite technology to detect and map the footprint of oil on the surface of the ocean. A decade later a team of interdisciplinary scientists, many of whom worked on the historic spill, are developing ways to advance satellite technology to do something new — estimating the thickness of oil slicks from outer space. 

NOAA’s Eyes in the Sky: How Satellite Technology Pioneered During Deepwater Horizon Patrols America’s Oceans for Pollution

Posted Mon, 04/13/2020 - 11:30
By Juan Velasco and Ellen Ramirez, NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service

Ten years ago an experimental satellite-based Marine Pollution Surveillance Report program was thrust into the national spotlight during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Since then, this program has grown in scale and accuracy, becoming an indispensable tool for oil spills of all sizes. This guest blog by Juan Velasco and Ellen Ramirez explores the story behind NOAA’s Marine Pollution Surveillance Program.

Recalling the Early Hours—and Challenges—of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Posted Mon, 04/06/2020 - 14:03
By Charlie Henry, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration and Director of the NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center

From March 30 to April 20, tune in as we go back in time to the day of our country’s largest marine oil spill, what’s happened since then, and how we’re better prepared for future spills. In this 2015 blog, NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center Director Charlie Henry looks back on his time as the lead scientific support coordinator during Deepwater Horizon and the early hours of the response. 

Assessing the Impacts from Deepwater Horizon

Posted Sat, 04/04/2020 - 16:57

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster spread spilled oil deep into the ocean’s depths and along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, compromising the complex ecosystem and local economies. The response and the natural resources damage assessment were the largest in the nation’s history. In this 2017 blog, learn more about the natural resources injured by the Deepwater Horizon spill, and how our team assessed those injuries.