Oil Spill Along the Lebanese Coast

Credit: Jesse Allen; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Thursday, 24 August 2006, 05:48 CDT Download full size image

Among the casualties of the conflict between Lebanon and Israel in the summer of 2006 was the Mediterranean. Israeli raids in mid-July on the Jiyyeh Power Station released thousands of tons of oil along the Lebanese coast, perhaps rivaling the Exxon Valdex accident in 1989. By August 8, the spill covered approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles).

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Terra satellite took this picture on August 15, 2006. The United Nations, the European Union, and the International Maritime Organization planned a meeting for August 17 to discuss cleanup operations, which had been delayed by the fighting between the neighboring countries.

This image shows Lebanon, its neighbor Syria, and the Mediterranean. Originating from the Jiyyeh Power Station, the oil slick spreads northward, well past the city of Beirut. The oil appears as a slightly darker shade of blue on the ocean water. Bright white clouds fringe the coastline, and the land area, though dotted with green, is largely brown and arid.

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