Mapping the Earth - Blue Marble v.2.0

Another stunning image from NASA's Earth Oberservatory site. The below highlights and links documents the imagery collection.

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:
" .... The image above, of Earth’s eastern hemisphere, was built from data collected by the Suomi NPP satellite, which flies in a polar orbit at an altitude of 824 kilometers (512 miles). The perspective of this new image, however, is from 12,743 kilometers (7,918 miles) above a point at 10 degrees South latitude and 45 degrees East longitude."

".....Kuring managed to “step back” from Earth by combining data from six separate orbits Suomi NPP made on January 23, 2012. The natural-color images come from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the satellite. The four vertical lines of haze are caused by sunglint, the reflection of sunlight off the ocean."

"The graphic above illustrates how separate images in red, green, and blue wavelengths are combined to make natural-color imagery, and how multiple, adjacent swaths—slices of Earth viewed on each satellite pass—get built into a composite. The width of the swaths covered by each pass of VIIRS is about 3,001 kilometers (1,865 miles)...."

Full article - click here

Credits:

Image by NASA/NOAA. Caption by Aries Keck and Mike Carlowicz. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA and the Department of Defense.

Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS

"Un-Cool" Geo-Pic: Gulf Oil Slick Approaching Loop Current

This "Un-Cool" Geo-Pic comes again from NASA's Earth Observatory.

Given the news hype, this image from NASA helped quantity the oil slick flow.

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:
" ...This pair of sea surface temperature images shows how the warm waters of the Loop Current connect the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean (top image, May 1–8, 2010) and the dynamic northern margin of the Loop Current a week and a half later, on May 18 (bottom image). ...."

" ....Oil was very close to the Loop Current, whose warm waters appear in yellow near the bottom of the image. However, there is also an eddy of cooler water (purple) circulating counterclockwise at the top of the Loop Current. According to NOAA, “Some amount of any oil drawn into the Loop Current would likely remain in the eddy, heading to the northeast, and some would enter the main Loop Current, where it might eventually head to the Florida Strait.” 


" .... Updated, May 20: In a web posting, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration confirmed that "a small portion of the oil slick has reached the Loop Current in the form of light to very light sheens.....”
Full Article - Click Here

 References / Credits:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010, May 18). Deepwater Horizon Incident, NOAA Situation Update 18 May 10. Accessed May 19, 2010.


Related Resources:
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response, the official site of the Deepwater Horizon unified command.


Current information about the extent of the oil slick is available from the Office of Response and Restoration at the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration.


Information about the impact of the oil slick on wildlife is provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


More images of this event in Natural Hazards


NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Goddard Level 1 and Atmospheric Archive and Distribution System (LAADS) and Ocean Color Web. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.


Instrument: Aqua - MODIS

Mapping Oil Slicks - NY Times interactive visualization of the Gulf oil spill plume

Quick "Cut and Paste" highlights:


" ...The “probable extent” of the oil slick is an estimate by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of where oil is mostly likely to go based on wind and ocean current forecasts, as well as analysis of aerial photography and satellite imagery. The “observed extent” show areas where oil was visible on the surface of the water during aerial surveys of the Gulf. The observed extents are not available every day. The extents may vary widely from day to day because of changes in wind patterns and ocean currents...."

For more on the estimates, see this article.




Map Credits:
By ERIN AIGNER, JOE BURGESS, SHAN CARTER, HAEYOUN PARK and ARCHIE TSE

 Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Coast Guard; SkyTruth

Aritcle credits:
By JUSTIN GILLIS - Published: May 13, 2010
A version of this article appeared in print on May 14, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition.

Mapping the Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico

Given the wealth of information that is developing around this uncapped oil spill - I put together some NOAA and Twitter updates for review.

The latest report from NOAA:
Quick "Cut & Paste" from site:
" ... Oil continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico at an estimated to 5000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day from three leaks in damaged piping on the sea floor. The Unified Command decided to test a new technique to apply dispersants to oil at the source - 5000’ below the surface. Another test and follow-on analysis of the effects of dispersant and dispersed oil in the water column are necessary before the technique is operational, but if successful it could reduce or prevent an oil plume from forming at the surface...."

".... Preparation for drilling of a relief or cut-off well is underway - one drilling rig is on site and one should arrive this weekend, but the process will not be complete for several months. Work also continues on a piping system designed to take oil from a collection dome at the sea floor to tankers on the surface; this technique has never been tried at 5000’. High winds and seas curtailed surface skimming and application of dispersant by air today, but production of dispersant has ramped up to 70,000 barrels per day...."

"...Hundreds of thousands of feet of boom have been deployed to contain the spill, with hundreds of thousands more assigned. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced the closure of both recreational and commercial fishing in areas of likely impact and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals closed molluscan shellfish (oyster) harvesting areas in the coastal parishes of Plaquemines and St. Bernard...."

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

Some Additional Resources:

EPA: Federal Response to BP Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
This site tracks EPA's ongoing work in the area and help answer questions about the incident.


Deepwater Horizon Response on Facebook
This site is providing information regarding the April 20 incident in the US Gulf of Mexico involving a Transocean drilling Rig Deepwater Horizon.
 
On Twitter: Oil_Spill_2010
This site is providing information regarding the April 20 incident in the US Gulf of Mexico involving a Transocean drilling Rig Deep Water Horizon.