Deepwater Horizon Surface Oil
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig experienced a series of malfunctions and subsequent explosions that disengaged the rig from its drill and killed eleven workers onboard. The explosion damaged the wellhead 5,000 feet below the surface, and crude oil flowed from the damaged wellhead until a containment cap was put in place on July 15, 2010.
The Earth Scan Laboratory tracked surface oil with several satellite sensors in near real-time. Our research of the event led to collaborations and publications on the oceanographic factors relevant to surface oil's fate as well as exposure effects for Gulf fishes.
SAR derived oil contours atop GOES SSTs illustrating the fate of surface oil on 17 May 2010
Walker et al., 2011. AGU Monograph Series 195, 10.1029/2011GM001120, 103-116, 2011.
Walker et al., 2011. AGU Monograph Series 195, 10.1029/2011GM001120, 103-116, 2011.
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Deepwater Horizon Surface Oil Research Publications
- Loop Current eddy merger exposed by satellites during Gulf of Mexico oil spill
Nan Walker et al, September 2012. - Science Applications in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Special Feature: Genomic and physiological footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident marsh fishes
Andrew Whitehead et al, September 2011. - Impacts of Loop Current Frontal Cyclonic Eddies and Wind Forcing on the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Nan Walker et al, January 2011.
