How much Sargassum was in contact with oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill? Using Landsat and AVIRIS satellite imagery and 2010-2011 NRDA observations, the authors estimated Sargassum coverage in oiled areas ranged from 1296 ± 453 km2 (for areas with…
This article develops a marine food web matrix for the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) based on local stomach sampling and online diet information. Working at the level of functional groups, we fit diet information to a statistical model based on…
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest in US history, unprecedented for the depth and volume of oil released, the amount of dispersants applied, and the unexpected, protracted sedimentation of oil-associated marine snow (MOS) to the seafloor. Marine snow…
When wind speeds are 2–10 m s−1, reflective contrasts in the ocean surface make oil slicks visible to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) under all sky conditions. Neural network analysis of satellite SAR images quantified the magnitude and distribution of surface…
Natural oil slicks in the western Gulf of Mexico are used to determine the sun glint threshold required for optical remote sensing of oil films. The threshold is determined using the same-day image pairs collected by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer…
It has long been observed that oil slicks under sunglint can reverse their optical contrast against nearby oil-free seawater. Such a phenomenon has been described through both empirical statistical analysis of the sunglint strength and modeled theoretically using a critical…
Surface oil footprint and trajectory of the Ixtoc-I oil spill determined from Landsat/MSS and CZCS observations. Shaojie Sun, Chuanmin Hu, John W. Tunnell Jr., Marine Pollution Bulletin. December 2015. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.10.036 Abstract: The Ixtoc-I oil spill occurred in 1979 in shallow waters (50 m)…
Using fine spatial resolution (~ 7.6 m) hyperspectral AVIRIS data collected over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, we statistically estimated slick lengths, widths and length/width ratios to characterize oil slick morphology for different thickness classes.…
The role of Mississippi River discharge in offshore phytoplankton blooming in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico during August 2010. Brendan O'Connor, Frank E, Muller-Karger, Redwood W. Nero, Chuanmin Hu, Ernst B. Peebles. Remote Sensing of the Environment. February 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2015.11.004 Abstract: A…
Remote detection of pelagic Sargassum is often hindered by its spectral similarity to other floating materials and by the inadequate spatial resolution. Using measurements from multi-spectral satellite sensors (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS), Landsat, WorldView-2 (or WV-2) as well…
