Oil Spill Participation Post

Maps have served critical functions in disaster response essentially since the advent of the written document. Many of the early uses of maps in this context were related to warfare; others were oriented to identifying trade routes for regional procurement of essential supplies. In the modern era, the evolution of computer sciences has fueled the development of electronic manifestations of cartographic sciences, culminating in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies. The advent of GIS as a tool has inspired the utilization of that tool for a tremendously broad range of applications, including urban planning, sociology, and pure geography uses. GIS has proven to be of particular value for purposes of disaster planning and response. In cases of natural or man-made disaster, GIS can be used at all stages of the event to facilitate the best available human outcome. Prior to a statistically predictable disaster, GIS can be used to model areas of probable impact, identifying likely effects upon population centers and infrastructure elements. Once a disaster occurs, GIS can be used to identify the scope and range of impact, allowing the effective positioning of both labor and matériel in response to the issue at hand. At the conclusion of response to a disaster, GIS can be used to analyze which response elements worked well and which did not, aiding future responders to similar crises.

In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, GIS serves usefully in multiple ways. In terms of forecasting oil spill movement, GIS can be used to integrate satellite imagery with known patterns of tidal currents, wind currents, and transient weather systems to develop the best available estimates of where the oil will move to next. In anticipation of the arrival of oil, GIS can be used to identify which areas of coastline will face the most grievous impact economically and environmentally. This identification is imperative for making command decisions about where to allocate the limited response resources available in a timely manner. As the spill effects wear on, GIS will be useful for spatially plotting the results of various water sampling efforts and incidences of wildlife impact. One concern which has not been substantially addressed in the media is the long term effects of oil dispersants upon coastal regions, and also their effects upon aquifers which are already experiencing saltwater intrusion. The scope of impact will broaden considerably if tropical storm surge carries the oil and dispersants to areas which will not have regular tidal action to mitigate the toxic transport. GIS may then be necessary as part of a Superfund determination regarding residential areas which have been made indefinitely uninhabitable. GIS can also serve as a verification constraint to assist in the calculation of the approximate amount of spilled oil, which will be of importance once it is time to determine the fines which will be levied by the US government for the spill. In short, GIS is an immensely useful asset in disaster response, with the primary limit upon its versatility being the ingenuity of the GIS user.