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Satellites Detect Oil Spill Aftermath from Space

More than three million barrels of oil have been spilled in the Niger Delta, part of nearly 7,000 such accidents since 1976. This human and ecological catastrophe can now be seen from orbit.

Comparing satellite images taken before and after known oil spills—like the one that flowed from late 2008 to early 2009 near Bodo, Nigeria—a swath of devastation becomes apparent. In 2006, despite years of oil extraction, thick tropical vegetation blanketed the region, as evidenced by the healthy red glow picked up by the satellite’s infrared eye.