Delta Research And Global Observation Network (DRAGON)

USGS Biologists Conduct Aerial Surveys of Mississippi River Oil Spill

At the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), USGS Pilot/Biologist Tommy Michot and Biologist Wylie Barrow conducted aerial surveys of the area impacted by the June 23, 2008 oil spill on the Mississippi River. On August 7 and 8, 2008, they surveyed the Mississippi River from the point where the barge accident and spill occurred (i.e., under the Greater New Orleans Bridge in downtown New Orleans) to about 20 river miles downstream (south of Belle Chase, La.). From an altitude of 500 feet to 1,000 feet, oil could be seen on the surface of the Mississippi River near the spill site to about a half mile downstream; no surface oil was visible beyond there.

The spill site was a flurry of activity with numerous vessels pulling booms and using various mechanisms to collect the oil and to prevent its spread downstream. Further downstream, cleanup crews could be seen both on shore and in small boats on the river. Many of the ground crews were hard at work in the forested batture lands (land between the river and the levee), but the flight crew could not readily see oil on the surface in the batture. Aerial photos do reveal, however, a dark line of apparent oil that was deposited on the rip rap along the shoreline.

The crew and another aerial crew from USFWS and the National Park Service (NPS) conducted flights on those two days to search for oiled birds, but none was found. The USFWS/NPS crew did document several thousand individual birds of 26 species (primarily wading birds, herons and egrets) in the wetlands adjacent to the impacted area. However, none of those birds appeared to have been directly impacted by the spilled oil.


Related Story: Oil Spill Threatens Mississippi River Delta


Click on any of the images below to view a larger, higher resolution version.

Image of tug boats pulling large booms in the Mississippi River
On August 8, 2008, tug boats pulling large booms had to remain under power and pointed upstream to keep the booms stationary in the Mississippi River's current.

Image of the Greater New Orleans Bridge with cleanup of the oil spill in the background
The oil spill occurred near the Greater New Orleans Bridge on June 23, 2008. Clean-up of the spill in the Mississippi River was still underway when this photo was taken on August 8, 2008.

Aerial image of ground crews collecting oil-contaminated materials along the banks of the Mississippi River
On August 8, 2008, ground crews collected oil-contaminated materials along the banks of the Mississippi River in the forested batture lands (lands between the river and the levee).