Top down view of oil slick on the ocean's surface.

Gulf Oil Spill

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An oil drilling platform in oil-free water two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gulf Oil Spill Overview

Are you a student researching the gulf oil spill or someone looking to learn more about oil spills? This overview dives into everything to know.

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Featured Content

A thin layer of oil on the water's surface, reflecting rainbow colors

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Milestones

Illustration of an offshore oil rig.

What Are Fossil Fuels?

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Two silver fish with big eyes facing one another

Oil's Legacy in the Open Sea

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a red snapper's ear stone in the palm of someone's hand

The Bone that Logs a Lifetime

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A large, black instrument is hauled onto a ship's deck by researchers wearing hard hats and life vests.

What the Big Picture Can Teach Us About Tiny Ocean Creatures

Gulf Oil Spill Articles

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One-meter-tall plastic drifters are released into the Gulf of Mexico in 2012. Over 300 of these drifters were released and their location information was sent to researchers every five minutes through GPS satellite.

CARTHE Drifters: Where does oil go when it is spilled?

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A wildlife biologist surveys oiled algae

Breaking Down the Myths and Misconceptions About the Gulf Oil Spill

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With their brown and yellow markings, seaside sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus) blend in well with marshgrass.

Beyond the Sea: How Oil Spills in the Ocean Affect Birds On Land

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A view out of the tiny window of the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible.

How Methane Fueled a Food Web after the Gulf Oil Spill

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A C-130 Hercules from the Air Force Reserve Command deploys dispersant into the Gulf of Mexico May 5, 2010, as part of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill response effort.

Building a Better Dispersant

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Alexis Temkin stands in marsh grass holding a reptile.

Five Questions With Alexis Temkin, Searching For Links Between Deepwater Horizon & Human Health

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An underwater blizzard of oil, marine microbes, "sea snot", and algae.

Five Questions with Uta Passow, How An Oil Spill Affects the Movement of Carbon In the Ocean

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Five Questions with Nancy Rabalais, Tracking Dead Zones In the Gulf

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A wildlife biologist surveys oiled algae

Five Things The Gulf Oil Spill Has Taught Us About the Ocean

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Jellyfish produce mucus, especially when stressed, which can interact with oil and break it down. This moon jellyfish is sloughing off mucus that has mixed with droplets of oil.

How Jellyfish Break Down Oil After a Spill

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Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative researchers collect samples from a Pensacola Beach with oil layers in the sand. They use genomics to track how the communities of microbes change as they digest different components of oil after a spill.

Three Ways You Can Use Genomics to Study Oil Spill Impacts

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A close-up image of deep-sea fish Argyropelecus aculeatus

15 Creatures in the Gulf of Mexico that are Stranger Than Fiction

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