Skytruth: Image of BP Spill on May 4, 2010

From SkyTruth blog – http://tinyurl.com/29ctazx

MODIS satellite image from the afternoon of May 4, 2010.
UPDATE 5/4/10 6:30 pm – And here it is. Today’s MODIS / Aqua image features a break in the clouds (just barely) to reveal much of the oil slick. Fresh upwelling oil is apparent around the location of the leaking well. Long tendrils of slick and sheen stretch to the east and southwest; the total area of slicks and sheen, possibly including patches of open water, is 3,260 square miles. Nearshore, things get complicated: there are pale bands of turbidity, probably caused by the recent stretch of high wind and waves; and a few dark streaks and elongated patches trending northeast that we interpret as low-wind zones (wind shadow, the result of light winds from the northeast this afternoon). But there could be patches of oil slick obscured by these features. To the south, heavy cloud may also be hiding some of the slick from this ongoing spill.

John Amos
John@skytruth.org
P.O. Box 3283
Shepherdstown, WV 25443-3283
phone: 304-260-8886
skype: skytruth.amos
*****************************************************************
SkyTruth:  Satellite images and digital mapping for
environmental protection, education and advocacy
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization – http://www.skytruth.org
Learn more at the SkyTruth Blog – http://blog.skytruth.org
Browse our image galleries at Flickr – http://tinyurl.com/yd576ep
Follow us on Twitter for the latest – http://twitter.com/skytruth

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *