Gulf oil spill cleanup: A look back

The worst maritime oil spill in history occurred in 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. As the high-stakes BP trial kicks off, here’s a look back at cleanup efforts in the spill’s aftermath.

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April 21, 2010

This U.S. Coast Guard image shows fire boat response crews as they battle the blazing remnants of the BP operated offshore oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, in the Gulf of Mexico. The worst maritime oil spill in history began with a drop in pressure in a poorly drilled well deep.

/ AFP/Getty Images

July 1, 2010

Oil cleanup workers remove residue that washed ashore from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in Gulfport, Miss.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

July 3, 2010

An earthen barrier and containment boom are part of the effort to keep the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill from reaching the land near Grand Isle, La.

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

July 28, 2010

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar touches the blowout-preventer control panel as he asks safety questions in the oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Nov. 9, 2010

A bird searches for food in the surf in Orange Beach, Ala. With few visitors on the coast during the off season, BP launched its biggest push yet to deep-clean the tourist beaches that were coated with crude.

Dave Martin / AP

March 3, 2011

Workers clean oil left over from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico at Perdido Key State Park in Pensacola, Fla. Crews continued to work to remove leftover oil from beaches along the Gulf Coast.

Eric Thayer / Getty Images

March 10, 2011

Workers clean up oil along Pensacola Beach, Fla.

Eric Thayer / Getty Images

March 28, 2011

Fishermen and members of the community listen to Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the BP claims fund, speak at a public meeting in Mathews, La.

Julia Rendleman / AP

April 1, 2011

Tulane University population ecologist Jessica Henkel sets up a net to catch migrating birds. She will test blood, fecal and feather samples on Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La., as part of a research project looking for long-term effects from the BP oil spill on birds that stop along the Gulf Coast during their migration.

Patrick Semansky / AP

April 7, 2011

Fly fishing guide Mark Brockhoeft poles his boat on a waterway to avoid scaring fish with the sound of his boat's engine in Plaquemines Parish, La. While oil never made it to inland marshes, Brockhoeft's bookings are down from years past, which he blames on misperceptions of the spill's reach.

Patrick Semansky / AP

April 10, 2011

Workers clean a section of shoreline heavily damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill at the mouth of the Mississippi River where it meets the Gulf of Mexico.

Gerald Herbert / AP

April 10, 2011

A supply vessel floats beside a rig in Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana.

Gerald Herbert / AP

April 13, 2011

The sun sets beyond the beach as waves wash up from the Gulf of Mexico in Grand Isle, La. Oil from the BP spill washed up on this beach in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that killed 11 crew members. An estimated 206 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico until the well was finally sealed.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

April 13, 2011

A sand berm built to capture oil from the BP spill is seen at an oil cleanup site in Barataria Bay, La. The bay and its fragile wetlands were among the hardest hit areas in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

April 13, 2011

A man walks past waves as they wash up from the Gulf of Mexico onto the beach in Isla Grand Terre, La. Residents report that oil still washes up onto the beach after storms.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

April 13, 2011

A sand berm built to capture oil from the BP spill is seen at a cleanup site in Barataria Bay, La.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

April 13, 2011

A boat trawls for white shrimp just off the coast of Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La. with a an oil rig seen in the background.

Dave Martin / AP

April 13, 2011

Forrest Travirca, foreground, land warden for Wisner Properties, and Wisner Foundation executive Cathy Norman, background center, examine the oil-stained sand at Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La.

Dave Martin / AP

April 13, 2011

Forrest Travirca, center, land warden for Wisner Properties, and Wisner Foundation Executive Cathy Norman, left, examine the remains of a dead dolphin at Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La.

Dave Martin / AP

April 14, 2011

A dead sea turtle is carried out of the surf by Donald Tillman in Waveland, Miss. Local turtle activists Donald and Shirley Tillman say they have discovered 19 dead sea turtles in Mississippi in the month of April alone.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

April 14, 2011

A dying sea gull is seen washed onto shore in Waveland, Miss. Animals are still washing up on beaches in high numbers in Mississippi, which continues to be impacted by tar balls and weathered oil.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a man reported to be a British soldier on a busy East London street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent...

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Statues on display on the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden in The Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on May 21, 2013 in London, England. The Chelsea Flower Show run by the RHS celebrates its 100th birthday this year. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Photos of the day

Chelsea Flower Show, face transplant in Poland, Oklahoma residents cope with tornado aftermath and more.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Ken Marino, Erica Oyama, Ben Stiller, Chris Harrison, and Mike Rosenstein aceept the Webby Award for 'Burning Love' at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

Eye on entertainment

Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Emma Stone, 2 Chainz, Tyrese Gibson, Susan Boyle and more.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
SEARCH 'DANAKIL DEPRESSION' FOR ALL

Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

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