Maps are essential tools of spill response. They are traditionally used in a variety of sizes and formats to report and show the location of oil, cleanup activities and, in later phases of the response, the status of beach inspections. Very precise maps are also needed by operations personnel to direct cleanup crews to the right location, along with specific cleanup instructions. Detailed aerial pictures provide the ideal type of representation for this specific task. Such pictures are now available in the form of one to six meter resolution digital orthophotos quadrangles (DOQ), which are georeferenced and may be used as basemaps within a Geographical Information System (GIS). We have designed a system using these aerial pictures that allows the provision, on a daily basis, of large scale representation used 1) by inspection teams as forms to report location and nature of areas of concern and 2) by cleanup supervisors to more efficiently direct the effort of cleanup crews. These maps incorporate all relevant information needed by their users such as location and identification of shoreline segments, nature of oiling conditions, or any other observation needed by operations personnel. These detailed representations are complemented by georeferenced 1/100 000 scale topographical maps, which prove to be very effective for general reporting and orientation purposes. This system was developed and implemented in the course of the Swanson Creek Incident (Maryland) oil spill response.

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