Gulf Oil Spill | Smithsonian Ocean

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

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

Timeline

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Milestones

Illustration of an offshore oil rig.

Timeline

What Are Fossil Fuels?

Two silver fish with big eyes facing one another

Article

Oil's Legacy in the Open Sea

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

Article

The Bone that Logs a Lifetime

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

Article

What the Big Picture Can Teach Us About Tiny Ocean Creatures

Gulf Oil Spill Articles

A brittle star clings to the branches of a deep sea coral

Article

A Brittle Star May Be a Coral’s Best Friend

Two silver fish with big eyes facing one another

Article

Oil's Legacy in the Open Sea

A screenshot of a GIF showing Bart Simpson exclaiming "I have the answer!"

Article

Do You Have The Answer? Sharing Big Data in the Gulf of Mexico

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.

Article

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

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.

Article

Building a Better Dispersant

Illustration from video showing whales and fish underwater near an oil rig.

Video

The Adventures of Zack and Molly: Part 3

a veterinarian listens to a dolphin's heartbeat

Article

The Musical Hearts of Dolphins

corals of many colors in the deep sea

Article

Deep Gulf Restoration After a Monumental Oil Spill

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.

Article

Three Ways You Can Use Genomics to Study Oil Spill Impacts

Positioned in front of a natural oil seep, this video camera is capturing images of the black oil bubbling up from beneath the sea floor. A light mounted to the frame helps see what is happening in the dark on the sea floor.

Article

How Oil Feeds the Deep Sea

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

Article

How Methane Fueled a Food Web after the Gulf Oil Spill

A wildlife biologist surveys oiled algae

Article

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