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:

grassrootsmapping.org/data

And more images and information can be found at:

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/gulfoilmap/
• http://unterbahn.com/thesis - Chapter 8: Case Study: Citizen mapping of the BP oil spill (5.7 mB, 14 pages)
• and in the various press and publications listed at http://publiclaboratory.org/media

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

• Shannon Dosemagen - LA Bucket Brigade (shannon@labucketbrigade.org)
• Cesar Harada

...feel free to add your name!

Contact information

• Grassroots Mapping Mailing List - please join, this is the only way we have to reach you with meeting announcements, etc.

How can you help?

• Sort imagery we've collected so that it can be stitched into maps
• 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

• NOAA's latest prediction maps -- PDFs available for 24, 48, and 72 hour horizons
• Latest MODIS imagery - often cloud-obscured
• etc. mapping resources-- pulled from posts to grassrootsmapping google group

Other mapping efforts

• LA Bucket Brigade Ushahidi instance - see below for more on LABB
• CrisisCommons: Dr. Eric Frost, "Viz Lab" at SDSU San Diego: bio, crisismapping profile
• Skytruth is doing regular analysis of satellite imagery of the spill.

How-to Mapping Guides

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