Envisat / ASAR radar satellite image (black-and-white inset) taken June 22, 2010. Color backdrop is June 22 MODIS / Aqua image. ASAR data courtesy of CSTARS. Analysis by SkyTruth

Here’s a great example of why radar is the go-to tool for mapping and monitoring oil pollution (and why I think the US needs to launch a civilian radar imaging satellite). The MODIS/Aqua satellite image taken yesterday afternoon is mostly obscured by heavy clouds over the area of the ongoing BP spill. But an Envisat/ASAR radar image taken the same day clearly shows oil slicks and sheen spread across an area of 26,053 square miles.

BP / Gulf Oil Spill – ASAR Image June 22, 2010 – The Power of Radar