What is this big red blob on the satellite photo?

www.woodmacresearch.com... /portal/energy/overview.jsp?overview_title=wallmap_gomGood morning to all.

I just came across this on Facebook and I KNOW there are many good brains here so I thought I'd post it and see if any of you have a solid answer.

It's supposedly a true color satellite image, but the big red blob... well, I just don't know what think!

Thanks in advance for taking a peek and sharing your thoughts.



As I STILL suck at posting vids, I hope this is correct.

Maybe this additional map will help...

[url=http://www.woodmacresearch.com/cgi-bin/wmprod/portal/energy/overview.jsp?overview_title=wallmap_gom[/url]

[edit on 15-7-2010 by ThatDGgirl]

cant open the video - you only need to add the bit after the = sign when embedding here....

pour example

www.youtube.com...

a6-giFC0xvc is the only bit you need

Just lose the = sign and it'll work

Would that be a more concentrated area of oil?
2nd

The link is broken try putting the number of the vid after = (xxxxxxxxxx)
only!

Interesting image............

Take a look at this one........

www.esl.lsu.edu...

Heat? Lava? Chemical dispersents? Weird no matter what

[edit on 15-7-2010 by 5senses]

reply to post by Cloudsinthesky


Wierd! And more red! I wonder what the hell it is???

Come on folks! Identify please!! All I want is one satellite expert!!

After a quick search I came across a similar image:




and according to the note regarding this image:

The oil appears silver, while vegetation is red.

NASA Satellite Spots Oil at Mississippi Delta Mouth

So naturally one can conclude that the video from the OP represents the same but vegetation there ??, I guess a bit like the Predators battle mask - it depends on what they have highlighted with what colour.

I'm certain that the red is not naturally that colour which is implied by both the OP and also the author of the original video.

[edit on 15-7-2010 by StarTraveller]

It would seem that the images are artificially colored. If the coloring is based upon heat, then that would make sense since the darker oil should absorb more heat from the sun. Ultimately though, I think that the oil patch has been artificially colored to possibly show where it is.

--airspoon


Edited to add:

The reason why the oil looks red to our naked eyes, is because the water is interacting with chlorophyll residues known as asphaltenes, a compnent to crude. The chromophores, that are in the residue, actually absorb light which could give it the vivid red coloring.




[edit on 15-7-2010 by airspoon]

Here is another version of the same image - MODIS True Color Aqua image on the 12th of July. The clouds in it have the same shape as the clouds in the OP's image, so I'd say they're both derived from one original.



Since Rapidfire's version has no red blob, it must have been added later on.

[edit on 15-7-2010 by scraze]

reply to post by StarTraveller

I just had to put this pic up.....

TextOn May 24, 2010, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft captured this false-color, high-resolution view of the very tip of the Mississippi River delta. Ribbons and patches of oil that have leaked from the Deepwater Horizon well offshore appear silver against the light blue color of the adjacent water. Vegetation is red.
In the sunglint region of a satellite image-where the mirror-like reflection of the sun gets blurred into a wide, bright strip-any differences in the texture of the water surface are enhanced. Oil smoothes the water, making it a better "mirror." Oil-covered waters are very bright in this image, but, depending on the viewing conditions (time of day, satellite viewing angle, slick location), oil-covered water may look darker rather than brighter.
The relative brightness of the oil from place to place is not necessarily an indication of the amount of oil present. Any oil located near the precise spot where the sun's reflection would appear, if the surface of the Gulf were perfectly smooth and calm, is going to look very bright in these images. The cause of the dark patch of water in the upper left quadrant of the image is unknown. It may indicate the use of chemical dispersants, skimmers or booms, or it may be the result of natural differences in turbidity, salinity or organic matter in the coastal waters.

I thought it may be a thermal imagery shot ...
I like airspoons analogy.

Peace

[edit on 15-7-2010 by speculativeoptimist]

reply to post by ThatDGgirl


It looks like they used the new night vision interlaced with foward looking infared. Looks like a heat signiture .