May 10, 2010
An oil slick remained in the Gulf of Mexico on May 10, 2010, not far from the Mississippi Delta. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this photo-like image of the slick at 11:35 a.m. local time (16:35 UTC) the same day.
Thin, wispy clouds partially obscure the satellite sensor’s view of the ocean surface south of the Mississippi Delta, but oil on the water’s surface is still apparent southeast of the delta. The most obvious portion of the gray-beige slick arches toward the west, with inward-curling tendrils.
References & 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.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Michon Scott.
