Article #7: 10/31/12
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "NASA radar penetrates thick, thin of Gulf oil
spill." ScienceDaily, 26 Oct. 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121026101246.htm
Topic: Oil Spills
This article was about how the UAVSAR (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar) was used to find damaging thick oil and distinguishing it from thin films of oil sheen. This was the first time something like this was ever done. The research also found that the UAVSAR has the potential to classify the type of oil in a slick which is helpful information when deciding how to cleanup spills. If the more damaging thick oil can be detected, that area will be treated first to prevent the damage from getting worse. Other advantages of the radar is that it can scan over a large area in a shorter amount of time and can be used at night or in situations where there is low-light.
I chose this article because I was interested in finding out what researchers are doing to improve how they manage oil spills. Although I hope that another major oil spill will never happen again, i'm glad that there is something like the UAVSAR available so that cleanups will be more efficient and effective.
Topic: Oil Spills
This article was about how the UAVSAR (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar) was used to find damaging thick oil and distinguishing it from thin films of oil sheen. This was the first time something like this was ever done. The research also found that the UAVSAR has the potential to classify the type of oil in a slick which is helpful information when deciding how to cleanup spills. If the more damaging thick oil can be detected, that area will be treated first to prevent the damage from getting worse. Other advantages of the radar is that it can scan over a large area in a shorter amount of time and can be used at night or in situations where there is low-light.
I chose this article because I was interested in finding out what researchers are doing to improve how they manage oil spills. Although I hope that another major oil spill will never happen again, i'm glad that there is something like the UAVSAR available so that cleanups will be more efficient and effective.