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Using Smartphone Data to Measure Recreation Impacts After Environmental Disasters

When oil spills or hazardous waste releases damage or close our favorite parks and beaches, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) works to quantify the loss to the public. Leveraging new technologies, OR&R economists are exploring mobility data from smartphones to get a more complete picture of how community recreation is impacted after environmental disasters.

Overhead imagery of a site of interest. Blue dots overlaid on the image represent visits to the site. Dots appear to be clustered in the circular parking lot and in the middle next to the monument itself.
Last updated Thursday, June 4, 2026 9:38am PDT