Some ecosystems bounced back after the 1979 Ixtoc I oil spill, but research quickly withered.

Researchers and regulators need to keep up with the changing risks, and share information, says Arne Jernelöv, as tanker spills decline and pipeline leaks and blowouts become more of a concern.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v466/n7303/pdf/466182a.pdf

Far from the tar-coated beaches and clean-up crews seen on nightly news programmes, the Deepwater Horizon disaster is exacting an ongoing and largely unknown toll. In the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, floating oil slicks and subsurface plumes threaten a highly diverse ecosystem.

Seasonal (spring and summer) depletion of dissolved inorganic carbon occurs in the surface mixed layers of most of the unproductive or oligotrophic regions of the world's oceans. The missing dissolved inorganic carbon is thought to be converted to particulate carbon by photosynthesis, yet there are seemingly insufficient dissolved nutrients present to support the required amount of plant growth.

The BP spill should help make the case for bringing ecosystem services into the economy.(Editorial)

Methods of mopping up the oil hitting the shore from the Gulf spill must be carefully assessed to be sure they don't do more harm than good.

Methods of mopping up the oil hitting the shore from the Gulf spill must be carefully assessed to be sure they don't do more harm than good.