Size of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

This is a quick look based on combining two NOAA graphics (click on the map to get a larger view):


If this looks like a patch job, it is. It's a combination of this NOAA file near Louisiana and this NOAA file covering a larger area of the Gulf. The total picture is a forecast for Thursday, May 20, 2010.

The blue represents the mapped areas of the oil spill and the larger area enclosed by the dark line represents possible areas currently affected by the oil spill but it's not known for certain where else the oil may be, either on the surface in thin patches or below in thicker plumes.

Regardless of what BP says, this is a large spill and although there are signs that the spill is no longer growing at the pace it has been, it is in fact still growing for now.

Here's an updated map that was not available earlier.