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Oil and Sunlight Don’t Mix

May 14, 2018

An airplane sprays chemical dispersants on an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Two new studies by WHOI researchers found that sunlight transforms oil on the ocean surface more significantly and quickly than previously thought. The phenomenon considerably limits the effectiveness of chemical dispersants, which are designed to break up floating oil and reduce the amount of oil that reaches sensitive coastlines. (Courtesy of Stephen Lehmann, U.S. Coast Guard)