On July 14, 2010, a silvery gray patch of oil stretched across the Gulf of Mexico about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of the tip of the Mississippi River Delta.
In this photo-like satellite image from June 12, 2010, oil from the leaking Deepwater Horizon well appears to have reached beaches and barrier islands in Alabama and western Florida.
Beneath scattered clouds, streaks and ribbons of oil brightened the reflection of the Sun off the Gulf of Mexico in this photo-like satellite image from May 31, 2010.
Ribbons of oil that have leaked from the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico are silver against the light blue color of the adjacent water in this image of the tip of the Mississippi River Delta on May 24, 2010.
Acquired May 24, 2010, this natural-color image shows the lingering oil slick off the Mississippi Delta. A small smoke plume along the edge of the slick suggests a controlled burn.
Acquired May 22, 2010, this natural-color image shows a dull gray oil slick lingering near the Mississippi Delta, more than a month after the Deepwater Horizon accident.
This pair of sea surface temperature images shows how the warm waters of the Loop Current connect the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean and the dynamic northern margin of the current on May 18. On May 18, NOAA reported that oil was very close to, and perhaps already entrained in, the Loop Current.
Concentrated patches and streaks of oil appear silvery gray in this high-resolution image of the Gulf of Mexico near the tip of the Mississippi River Delta on May 8, 2010.
Shot by an astronaut looking westward from the International Space Station from a location over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, this May 4, 2010, photograph shows the Deepwater Horizon oil slick brushing the Chandeleur Islands.
Acquired on May 8, 2010, this natural-color image shows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico in two parts: a serpentine slick in the west, and a large, round slick in the east.
Light tan streamers snake across Chandeleur Sound in this detailed natural color satellite image from May 5, 2010. The streamers are probably ropes of oil from a leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico.