got geoint?

It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. And, my how the times can change within a week. Now, rather than focusing on the beauty and majesty of our planet, we are covering the potential devastation from last week’s oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated Wednesday night that oil could be pouring out of the ground at a rate of up to 5,000 barrels a day — five times more than previously estimated. And, the Washington Post reported today that the Coast Guard and BP set fire to a portion of the crude oil on Wednesday in a bid to limit the impact of the widening slick. On the GEOINT front, NASA released satellite images of the devastation, which you can see in this post.

Here’s an image of the oil slick:

Let’s hope the “burn off” strategy works before the oil hits land and causes major environmental devastation.

Tags: BP and Oil Spill, Burning of Oil in Gulf of Mexico, GEOINT, geospatial intelligence, got geoint?, NASA and Oil Spill, NASA Images of Oil Spill, Oil Rig Devastation, Oil Spill, USGIF