Gulf oil spill one year later: ‘More questions than answers’

When an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers, it wasn't clear at first that it would spark the worst offshore oil spill in American history. Some of the images produced show how the oil spewing from the bottom of the sea immediately affected a region still fragile after Hurricane Katrina. But a year and 206 million gallons of spilled oil later, scientists say we're still in the dark about exactly how much damage was caused.

Click image to see photos from the Gulf oil spill

AP/Gerald Herbert

"Now we're in the phase where we have more questions than answers," says Alex Kolker, a coastal geologist who teaches at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Tulane University. "I think we're very much in a wait-and-see mode."

From fishermen's total losses to animal deaths to land erosion, the final tallies simply aren't in. And, as we see tar balls still washing up on the beaches, along with animals they're killing, one big question remains: Where, exactly, did all the oil go?

The answer: We don't know.

"It's like 'Where's Waldo?' It's an incredibly frustrating question to try to address," notes Michael Blum, who teaches wetland ecology at Tulane.

He attributes the lack of answers to delays in funding and conveys the peril of scientists and fishermen alike: "Everybody's waiting."

(Photos compiled by Torrey AndersonSchoepe)