May 6, 2010

Louisiana coast protects itself from Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Wildlife, habitats and livelihoods are all under pressure from as oil from the Deepwater Horizon rig reaches the Louisiana coast

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : — Oil from the massive spill is seen on the surface of the water on May 5, 2010 in Breton and Chandeleur sounds off the coast of Louisiana. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : a sediment core sample — Marine biologist Luke McKay on the deck of the research vessel Pelican, 30 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico, collects a sediment sample, as marine systems specialist Andy Gossett looks on. The Pelican, operated by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, is on a redirected mission for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to collect seafloor and water column oil spill data in the contamination area of the Deepwater Horizon oil well that exploded on 20 April. They are collecting the samples to analyse the impact of oil and oil dispersant contamination on marine life in the spill area
Photograph: Christopher Berkey/EPA Photograph: Christopher Berkey/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast: A sea turtle swimming through oil spill — A sea turtle swimming through oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana
Photograph: NWF/EPA Photograph: NWF/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : Oil and oil sheen — Oil moves past an oil rig, top right, in the waters of Chandeleur Sound
Photograph: Eric Gay/AP Photograph: Eric Gay/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : Shrimp boats collect oil with booms — Shrimp boats collect oil with booms in the waters of Chandeleur Sound
Photograph: Eric Gay/ASSOCIATED PRESS Photograph: Eric Gay/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : oil soaked containment booms — A worker on a shrimp boat hauls in oil soaked containment booms as they are used with absorption pads to collect the oil on the surface of the water from the oil spill in Breton and Chandeleur sounds off the coast of Louisiana
Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Photograph: Joe Raedle/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : a controlled oil fire — This image from the US navy shows gathered, concentrated oil, burning during a controlled oil fire in the Gulf of Mexico
Photograph: MC2 Justin Stumberg/AP Photograph: MC2 Justin Stumberg/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : chemical dispersing — US Air Force Technical Sergeant Joe Torba of the 910th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Youngstown-Warren Air Reserve Station, Ohio, preparing to marshal a chemical dispersing C-130 aircraft into a pre-positioned parking spot at Stennis International Airport in Kiln, Mississippi. Members of the 910th Airlift Wing are in Mississippi to help with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill clean up
Photograph: Adrian Cadiz/US Air Force/EPA Photograph: Adrian Cadiz/US Air Force/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : The Pollution Control Dome — The pollution control dome (right) leaves Port Fourchon, as it makes it way to cap the source of the oil slick from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster in Louisiana. BP has deployed a giant "dome" to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, knowing failure will leave crude spewing into the sea for months and magnify the risk of an environmental catastrophe
Photograph: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Mark Ralston/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : Fishermen lay oil boom — Fishermen wait for assignments to take out oil booms in Hopedale, Louisiana. Many local fishermen have been temporarily shut down but have been hired by BP to lay oil booms in sensitive areas
Photograph: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images Photograph: Sandy Huffaker/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : Fishermen lay oil boom — Fishermen load their boat before heading out to a marsh area to lay an oil boom in Hopedale, Louisiana
Photograph: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images Photograph: Sandy Huffaker/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast: A shrimp boat hauling oil cleanup booms — A shrimp boat hauling oil cleanup booms. A 100-tonne contraption to help funnel out oil spewing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was loaded on to a barge so it could begin its journey to the leak site about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast
Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace/AP Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : Unemployed commercial fishermen — Unemployed commercial fishermen and their families wait for hand-outs from New Orleans Catholic Charities in Hopedale, Louisiana
Photograph: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images Photograph: Sandy Huffaker/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : Alabama National Guardsmen — Alabama National Guardsmen assemble a barrier meant to block oil from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the beaches of Dauphin Island, Alabama. The barricades will be lined with a chemical that will harden the oil as it washes ashore
Photograph: KPA/Zuma/Rex Features Photograph: KPA/Zuma/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : Extra medical supplies — Extra medical supplies ordered by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in preparation for treating animals affected by oil in Gulfport, Mississippi as the gulf coast is still threatened by the oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster
Photograph: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Stan Honda/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : the nests of Least Terns, Biloxi — Nick Winstead, from Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, marks the nests of least terns on the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi. The terns are nesting on the beach as an oil spill remains offshore
Photograph: Rick Wilking/Reuters Photograph: Rick Wilking/guardian.co.uk

Deepwater Horizon oil rig: Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast : A least tern sits in its nest — A least tern sits in its nest on the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi. The least tern is in its nesting season in one of the largest colonies on the Gulf Coast and is in the path of the oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster putting the fragile colony in jeopardy. The nest is marked with a red flag by the Mississippi Coast Audubon Sociey to warn people of its location
Photograph: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: STAN HONDA/guardian.co.uk

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