Oil Closes Another California Beach

Officials in Santa Barbara County, California, had to close another beach because of oil washing ashore from an as-yet unidentified source.  Summerland beach is located along the coast between the site of the Refugio State Beach pipeline oil spill back in late May, and the beaches of Ventura County that were also closed when tarballs began coming ashore a week after that.  Is the Summerland oil coming from some of the natural oil seeps in and around the Santa Barbara Channel?  Or is it coming from one of the offshore oil platforms in the vicinity?  

A beautifully clear Landsat-8 satellite image was taken on August 14.  Summerland is at top center on this sequence of images.  A faint slick several miles long dominates the center of the scene:

SkyTruth-SB-L8-14aug2015.JPG
Detail from Landsat-8 satellite image showing California coast around Summerland.
SkyTruth-SB-L8-14aug2015-annot.JPG
Seven oil platforms and three passing vessels are noted. Platform A was the site of the infamous Santa Barbara Oil Spill of 1969.  The slick in this image appears to emanate from the same location as Platform A. 
SkyTruth-SB-L8-14aug2015-annot-seeps.JPG
Locations of known natural seeps, and sample collection sites for oil slicks and tarballs, are shown.  Data from USGS / PCMSC. The USGS data show a “seep” or small cluster of seeps at the Platform A site.

It’s not clear to us if the “seeps” indicated by USGS on the data shown above are natural seeps that predate the installation of Platform A and the catastrophic subsea blowout and spill of 1969; or if “seep” in this case refers to the ongoing slow leakage of oil resulting from that blowout.  If you know, please write a comment below.  

This Sentinel radar satellite image taken yesterday (August 23, 2015) clearly shows the big metal oil platforms as rows of brilliant spots. The large dark patches are slicks — flat patches of water — but it’s not clear on this image if they are caused by seeps, variable wind, floating kelp, or (most likely) all of the above in this very dynamic place:

SkyTruth-SB-Sentinel-23aug2015.JPG
Sentinel-1A radar satellite image, same area as above, taken on August 23, 2015. Oil platforms are bright spots; slicks (oil and otherwise) are dark patches. Image courtesy Copernicus / ESA.
SkyTruth-SB-Sentinel-23aug2015-annot-see
Radar image shwoing locations of oil platforms, as well as known oil seeps and sample locations from USGS / PCMSC. Image courtesy Copernicus / ESA.
Bottom line: We don’t see a clear culprit for the Summerland spill, but it might be worth flying over Platform A to see if the seepage there has recently increased for some reason. 

Let The Drama Of The US Open Be The Perfect End To Another Perfect Summer

Let The Drama Of The US Open Be The Perfect End To Another Perfect Summer Everyone in New York knows one thing: the only way to cap off a perfect summer in the city is taking the 7 to Flushing for the US Open. Every year, the Grand Slam event brings tennis fans to one of the finest sports venues in the world to witness legendary rivalries, matches and players at the height of their game. To many New Yorkers, Labor Day Weekend wouldn’t be the same without the tournament in their backyard.adServer.bs?cn=tf&c=19&mc=imp&pli=145463 [ more › ]

rc.img

rc.img

rc.img

a2.imga2t.imgmf.gif

UK imposes curbs on vintage aircraft displays after Shoreham crash | News | DW.COM | 24.08.2015

A statement released by the Civil Aviation Authority on Monday said it had ordered that flying displays by vintage aircraft “will be significantly restricted until further notice.” It said that such displays would be limited to flybys and that “high energy” maneuvers were banned – with immediate effect.

On Saturday, the CAA had already imposed restrictions on all flights of Hawker Hunter aircraft, shortly after a plane of this model came crashing down onto cars on the A27 road after failing to pull out of a looping maneuver during the Shoreham air show.

via UK imposes curbs on vintage aircraft displays after Shoreham crash | News | DW.COM | 24.08.2015.

Middle East – Lebanon’s garbage crisis deepens after weekend of unrest – France 24

Lebanon was thrown further into turmoil after clashes erupted for a second day in the capital Beirut on Sunday as protestors called for the government to resign over its failure to resolve the country’s garbage crisis.

Police used tear gas and water cannons toto disperse the thousands of protesters, some of whom threw rocks and sticks.

Nearly 100 security personnel and 61 civilians were injured in the unrest, according to the interior ministry.

Protest organisers postponed a demonstration scheduled for Monday evening following the violence, but vowed to continue their campaign.

Protesters blame political infighting and corruption for the garbage crisis, which has left heaps of uncollected rubbish rotting in the summer heat for weeks.

The national unity government, led by Prime Minister Tammam Salam, has achieved little since it came to power last year, with the divided cabinet and parliament unable even to agree on a new president.

via Middle East – Lebanon’s garbage crisis deepens after weekend of unrest – France 24.

Second Look Behind the Headlines – News you can use…

Baldacchino di Perla

"Luce di parole, ombra di sogni."

Northern Desert Photography

Living on the Edge of the Sagebrush Ocean

Susana Cabaço

Spiritual Insights & Personal Empowerment

Barbara Picci

Artist & Art Blogger

craft journey

Furnicraft, woodwork, and art

musings corner

reveries and rants

Japão para Românticos

Bem Vindos a este espaço onde compartilhamos um pouco da realidade do Japão à todos aqueles que desejam visitar ou morar no Japão. Aqui neste espaço, mostramos a realidade do Japão e dos imigrantes. O nosso compromisso é com a realidade. Fique por dentro do noticiário dos principais jornais japoneses, tutoriais de Faça você mesmo no Japão e acompanhe a Série Histórias de Imigrantes no Japão. Esperamos que goste de nossos conteúdos, deixe seu like, seu comentário, compartilhe e nos ajudar você e à outras pessoas. Grande abraço, gratidão e volte sempre!

Leben als Mensch

Willkommen auf Elke´s Glücks-Blog

Sharpshot Nature .Com

- Specializing in the great outdoors, capturing nature at its finest!

Diane Ravitch's blog

A site to discuss education and democracy

Expansão e Percepção

Seu Guia de Inspirações e Reflexões Diárias

noga noga.

my-health-and-beauty.com/

Uğurcan'ın Ütopyası

Benim Gezegenime Hoş geldiniz !!!

AKILS

Blog de viajes y lugares

Ed Mooney Photography

The official blog of Ed Mooney Photography. Dad of 3, Photographer, Blogger, Powerlifter. Exploring the historical sites of Ireland.

everything Explored on the earth

It has new aidias,news, about education , motivation, social, historical, culture, marketing creation new aidias education of language science culture and history

Born to die

L'unico modo sensato di vivere è senza regole

Early Morning Memories

by Anuran (A) & Sayoni (S)

My thoughts

Fun for the Brain

Neo Vision College

An exemplary learning community.

Anthony’s Crazy Love and Life Lessons in Empathy

Loves, lamentation, and life through prose, stories, passions, and essays.

Episodic Squalid Rants

public tantrums by a non-two-year-old

The Street Art Directory

Public, street and urban art worldwide

Artie & Stu

all the rules of free form

Everyone read that they fell in love first

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-2937106805202763" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

davidscottmoyer

Lapsed Painter, Occasional Photographer, Compulsive Writer

Health & Fitness

Health Blogs

Buildings Tell Tales

Exploring the hidden architectural heritage of Budapest

Divit kalem

Yaşamdan

Roy's Weblog

The third incarnation...

Thought Pukes

More than a thought less than a question

"بوصلة الحياة"

"بوصلة الحياة: مدونة متعددة المجالات، من السياسة إلى الرومانسية، ومن تطوير الذات إلى الأدب وأكثر!" بقلم مشاعر بنت عبدالرحمن

parallax

The view from here ... Or here!

ClearingSpace4Joy

Bringer and seeker of joy

Belladonna’s Flashlight

The One Where She Stumbled Through Her 40's and Faced Her Demons

~ Trivial Music Silliness ~

Baw wit da baw. Just sayin'.

mo mnsoor blog

Website storys

Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss

Welcome to the Anglo Swiss World

gnaddrig ad libitum

Querbeet und ohne Gewähr

Peace & Truth

KINDNESS IS FREE, sprinkle it all over the world, and 😁 smile

Ética de la vida diaria

Nuestra ética de todos los días...

Elizabeth Gauffreau

Fiction Writer in Poet's Clothing