Deepwater Horizon

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. 

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, learn more about how data tools used and developed during Deepwater Horizon help to protect coastal resources. 

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, learn more about the advances in oil toxicity science that followed the Deepwater Horizon spill. 

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.

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, learn more about how Deepwater Horizon helped improve NOAA's oil modeling capabilities. 

In 2010, before Deepwater Horizon happened, Kate Wheelock was a regional resource coordinator for OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division. Based in Rhode Island, she covered the northeast region. On April 21, 2010, Kate had been on her way to an eco-toxicology training in California, watching events unfold on airport televisions.

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 guest blog from our partners at the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, learn more about oil spill science communicator Tara Skelton’s experiences as a resident of the Gulf of Mexico during Deepwater Horizon, and what she’s learned since then. 

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. 

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 2013 blog, learn more about how integral data collection and management was during the damage assessment.

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.