The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the launch of a website to monitor the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster more than a month after Tulane University and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade launched their interactive map.
GeoPlatform.gov displays the same information that government workers in the Gulf use.
ConsumerTraveler.com has already highlighted another interactive oil map created by students at Tulane University more than a month ago. It’s nice that the government is finally catching up with the folk in Louisiana.
These two interactive maps can best be used in tandem for a fairly accurate view of what is happening in the Gulf. The content from the Louisiana Bucket Brigade/Tulane map comes from actually reports that are coming in from the Gulf region. The Geoplatform.gov content is created by the government with its own system of checks and filters.
Geoplatform.gov includes an interactive map that allows visitors to track the spread of the oil slick from the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on April 20 and sank two days later. Oil is now coming ashore from the Louisiana Gulf coast to the Florida Panhandle.
According to NOAA, the website will be a window for the public providing an expansive and detailed geographic picture of the aftermath of the oil disaster, including fisheries closures, wildlife observations, and satellite, radar and aerial imagery of the oil slick.
This site will also monitor federal emergency response activities and also can be used as a tool for those affected by the disaster. Fisherman who need up to stay up to date on areas of the Gulf that are closed to fishing can find that information here. In addition, GeoPlatform.com should serve as a valuable resource for state and local agencies responding to the oil disaster, providing loads of information on one Web page.
The site, besides the interactive map includes data about the shoreline cleanup efforts, offshore and near-shore weather forecasts, critical wildlife habitats, shellfish harvesting areas and seafloor maps.
GeoPlatform.com was created in cooperation with University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
