Oil Slick Along the Spanish Coast

A damaged oil tanker off the northwest coast of Spain split in half on Nov. 19, 2002, leaking more than a million gallons of oil into the Atlantic—some of which is now washing ashore in Spain.

This close-up image of the northwest coast of Spain was captured on November 21, 2002, by the IKONOS satellite from 423 miles in space. The area was very cloudy and this was one of only two areas where there were breaks in the clouds. The coastline was in shadow at the time of the overpass, but several dark-colored fingers of oil are visible reaching through white waves towards the cliffs along the shoreline.

The area pictured here is just north of Cape Finisterre, which is the westernmost part of Spain. The oil tanker sank some 130 miles due west of Cape Finisterre, and ecologists are predicting an environmental catastrophe as the oil covers the ocean surface and washes ashore.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    IKONOS/IKONOS

  • Start Date

    2002-11-21

  • Event Start Date

    2002-11-13

  • NH Image ID

    5268

  • NH Event ID

    5169

  • NH Posting Date

    2002-11-22