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Module BOX 9 Oil Spill Along the Lebanese Coast
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In the summer of 2006, military conflict between Lebanon and Israel led to an oil spill along
the coast of Lebanon. Between July 13 and 15, 2006, damage to the Jiyyeh Power Station
9-12 December, 2013 fishing and tourism industries, as well as local wildlife. Because cleanup efforts could not safely
released thousands of tons of oil along the coast of Lebanon. The spill was expected to affect

begin until the hostilities ended, the oil slick continued to spread in the Mediterranean Sea
in early August 2006.

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on

NASA’s Terra satellite took this picture of the region on August 10, 2006. In this image,
the oil slick appears as a slightly darker shade of blue on the ocean surface, and it is easier
to see in the enlarged area around Beirut at lower right. The slick spreads from the power
plant at the southern end of the image to well north of the city of Beirut. The oil initially
moved away from the coast, but some officials feared that it might return to the shoreline.
The intensely urbanized area of Beirut appears in shades of gray, with straight lines and sharp
angles marking the city’s features. In contrast, patches of green appear along Lebanon’s rough

terrain to the east.

Pollution from an oil
slick on the Lebanese
Coast , August 17-22,
2006

Source: http://
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
IOTD/view.php?id=6845

86 Monitoring, Data and Indicators