14 June 2010 Last updated at 11:09

In pictures: Oil spill continues

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is visible near the beach on Barataria Bay, Louisiana

As many as 40,000 barrels (1.7 million gallons) of oil a day may have been gushing out from a blown-out Gulf of Mexico well, doubling many estimates.

Contract worker rakes oil from Deepwater Horizon oil spill off beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana

New estimates for the oil spill prior to 3 June follow an assessment by a team of scientists put together by the US government and co-ordinated by the US Geological Survey.

Workers use a suction hose to remove oil washed ashore from the Deepwater Horizon spill

White House energy adviser Carol Browner said the US was "prepared for the worst scenario" that the leak might not be stopped before August.

A worker's oil-stained gloves are seen as the worker tries to remove oil washed ashore from the Deepwater Horizon spill

At least 20 million gallons have now spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, affecting more than 70 miles (110km) of Louisiana's coastline.

A dead Brown Pelican covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill lies on the beach of a barrier island near East Grand Terre Island

What makes this region ecologically special is the unusual patterns of land and sea conjured by the variegated exit of the Mississippi into the Gulf.

An exhausted oil-covered Brown Pelican sits in a pool of oil along Queen Bess Island Pelican Rookery, three miles (4.8 km) north east of Grand Isle, Louisiana

This area includes 25% of US wetlands - rich with life, where human occupancy is low, and birds and other animals thrive.

A volunteer cleans an oil covered white pelican found off the Louisiana coast and affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill

"For birds, the timing could not be worse; they are breeding, nesting and especially vulnerable," warns Melanie Driscoll, a Louisiana-based bird conservation director with the National Audubon Society.

Commercial fisherwoman Diane Wilson of Seadrift, Texas, pours a jar of syrup made to look like oil over herself at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing about the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Some Americans have protested against the perceived inaction of officials. Commercial fisherwoman Diane Wilson of Seadrift, Texas, demonstrated at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in Washington.

US President Barack Obama meets with Cabinet members and senior administration officials during a meeting on the BP oil spill in the Roosevelt Room of the White House

The Obama administration has come under increasing pressure to find a way to mitigate the environmental and economic impact on the Gulf area. The president vowed to end the "cosy relationship" between oil companies and US regulators.

A sign announces a closed beach due to the oil spill

He condemned "the ridiculous spectacle" of them "falling over each other to point the finger of blame".

Skimmer boats pull booms through the oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead in Barataria Bay, Louisiana

BP said the device placed on the well collected 15,800 barrels of oil on Wednesday - slightly up on the 15,010 barrels collected in the previous 24-hour period.

Frame grab of oil and gas continuing to leak out of the containment cap at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico

Gas and oil continue to leak from the containment cap at the Deepwater Horizon site.

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In pictures: Oil spill continues

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