NASA Visible Image of Gulf Oil Slick -- June 10 (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Visible Image of Gulf Oil Slick -- June 10

Caption

NASA's Aqua satellite flew over the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, June 10 at 19:05 UTC (3:05 p.m. EDT) and the satellite's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument captured an image of the thickest part of the oil slick. In the image, the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is positioned in sunglint. In the sunglint region -- where the mirror-like reflection of the sun gets blurred into a wide, bright silvery-gray strip -- differences in the texture of the water surface may be enhanced. In the thickest part of the slick, oil smooths the water, making it a better "mirror." Areas where thick oil cover the water are nearly white in this image. Additional oil may also be present.

Credit

NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team/ Holli Riebeek

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