Public Lab Wiki documentation



New Orleans

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What is going on?

Since May 2010, we have been cooperating with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade on a community-led monitoring of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We are using balloon mapping to capture aerial imagery of spill-affected sites. The data we have gathered can be viewed at:

http://grassrootsmapping.org/data

as well as:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/gulfoilmap/

We’re not trying to duplicate the satellite or flyover imagery (though we’re helping to coordinate some of the flyovers and trying to ensure that the data is publicly accessible). We are helping Gulf Coast residents to use balloons, kites, and other simple and inexpensive tools to produce their own documentation of the spill… and hoping that such data collection will support environmental research, policy, and legal uses in coming years.

Grassroots Mapping: Kickstarter Pitch from TungstenMonkey on Vimeo.

We're organizing mapping 'trips' to the coast. If you're interested in leading a trip, please contact us at the mailing list, and we'll help you get started. (equipment, training, finding volunteers, etc.)

Team

...feel free to add your name!

Contact information

How can you help?

  • BOATS to Chandeleur Islands and other affected areas
  • Volunteers in the area to fly balloons/kites, make maps Volunteer Here
  • Help sort our aerial imagery at MapMill

Equipment:

  • Canon cameras or Android phones (see CameraOptions)
  • Weather balloons (5 feet diameter or more)
  • 100-gallon trash bags
  • string, lots of string

Mapping Resources

Other mapping efforts

LA Bucket Brigade

website - 4226 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70119 (504) 484-3433.

How-to Mapping Guides

Look at our 4-page PDF guide to get started.