Gulf of Mexico oil slick update
MODIS true color (Bands 1/4/3) and false color (Bands 7/2/1) RGB images
A comparison of 250-meter resolution MODIS Red/Green/Blue (RGB) true color (using Bands 1/4/3) and false color (using Bands 7/2/1) images from the SSEC MODIS Today site (above) showed the main portion of the surface oil slick in the northern Gulf of Mexico on 24 May 2010. This was Day 34 following the deadly explosion on the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon, and the damaged underwater wellhead continued to discharge more than 5,000 barrels of oil per day.
A day later, MODIS true color and false color images from 25 May 2010 (below) continued to exhibit a distinct signature of the surface oil slick.
MODIS true color (using Bands 1/4/3) and false color (using bands 7/2/1) images