The disaster began on April 22, 2010 which lead to immediate response from several agencies. These agencies all need accurate information in a timely manner GIS meets these requirements, as the data became available GIS displayed the mass of information in a project viewable to all. This allowed different groups to make decisions.
The Coast Guard started conducting over flights to take the flow of oil. This allowed Louisiana local recovery agencies to move assets into area where possible oil would possibly hit the coast line. They began by building coastal defense barriers, which stop the flow of oil into sensitive marsh areas. Marsh damage would take years to recover from such a disaster. The recovery would take almost 15 years to return it’s pre-disaster. The EPA was able to direct which acts BP could use including oil burning, dispersion agents, or floating barriers. I can't overstate how important it is to get the oil off the surface of the water by burning off the surface oil. Then, the hardened tar balls that are left over can be removed from the water with nets or skimmers. This all can be tracked and delivered by GIS.
GIS also has the ability to allow a complex problem like an oil spill, to be explained to the local public. GIS has shown where the oil is, how it is moving, and who will be affected by the spill. Displaying where the oil is allows the public to demand action from the government. This enables a geographical location to prepare for the potential impact of the disaster, there by lessening damage to the local environment. If the oil gets into the Gulf Stream, this would move the oil at a rapid pace around the coast of Florida and onto the shores on North Carolina. The news agencies gave accurate and relevant information in a timely manner. Days following the disaster CNN had fully functioning GIS products online giving them the advantage in information flow. This publicity increased advertising dollars and traffic flow on Internet websites regarding both CNN, and use of GIS products, thus GIS gave more people access to relevant information at a timely manner then in recent years.
The development of GIS has given information to at a much larger quality and quantity. This has caused the response to disaster more officiate. The more information provided will lead to a more informed group that can deal with a disaster.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Oil Animation
This was my first work with Animation. I felt it was easy to follow directions. I plan to develope my skills more with this part of ArcGIS.
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