Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

2010Louisiana / Gulf of Mexico

"The Gulf oil spill is recognized as the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Within days of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people, underwater cameras revealed the BP pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. By the time the well was capped on July 15, 2010 (87 days later), an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf."

"Gulf Oil Spill." Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Web. 12 Aug 2014. http://ocean.si.edu/gulf-oil-spill

Courtesy of NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response AND demis.nl AND FT2