Natural Hazards: Participation Activity Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

In summarizing the role of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in confronting a catastrophe one has to understand what is GIS. Briefly, GIS is a set of massive warehouses of data owned by many different agencies, yet accessible to all in a common data format. As shown by the current Deepwater Horizon oil spill, some of the data is accurate and concise while other sources of data are inaccurate as we found out in our mapping exercises. Never the less GIS has again proven to be a highly effective set of tools in assisting the responders to the current catastrophe by allowing quick dissemination of critical information concerning the incident site and potenial damage to be caused by the discharge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. As with catastrophes’ of the past there are lessons to be learned, data refinement and this in turn will enable the GIS community to develop better planning and response tools.

To point out some specific instances of how GIS has aided the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill I will start with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife data and U.S. Park Service. Their inventory of data has allowed the quick identification of potential sites (26) to be effect and what was the type and diversity of species that will or might be impacted. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) along with the Coast Guard have mapped the entire underwater area and have studied the currents in the affected area and are able to develop data models that have allowed the placement or potential placement of booms and skimmers to mitigate the damage being caused by the oil discharge. GIS has also aided the Environmental Protection Agency, which is the co lead agency along with the Coast Guard, to gather and allocate resources in the areas with the greatest impact or potential impact. Also this has allowed the timely placement of monitoring stations for air and water quality. Also there are several university scientific teams monitoring the deep water impact and movement of the discharged oil.

In closing, while GIS is thought by some just to be a group of electronic cartographers, it has grown in its evolution from static maps on the wall to real time instant data with a very high degree of accuracy of location and spatial information that is required for a timely and effective response to a catastrophe