Scenes from the Spill: June 23, 2010
Contact: Oscar Garcia, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science.
Since June 19, Dr. Oscar Garcia (FSU EOAS Scientist) has served as Party Chief on the Research Vessel Brooks McCall as it engages in an oil spill monitoring cruise sponsored by BP, NOAA, and the EPA. The main objectives of this expedition are to monitor subsurface plumes of oil and to collect direct observations ("sea truth") to complement NASA's aerial and satellite imagery.
As part of the controlling efforts for this event, BP, the Coast Guard, and a unified command are systematically launching a series of procedures to mitigate the effects of drifting oil. These procedures include applying dispersants and systematically burning the oil slicks that contain large masses of oil. To conduct this controlled burning of the oil slicks, the oil has to drift away far enough from sea operations.
Below is a series of photos of these efforts courtesy of Leigh Stevens and Oscar Garcia. The closest distance from the RV Brooks McCall to the fire was 1 mile.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |