Oil industry 'must research major leaks'

Critical data relating to major leaks such as the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico must be compiled to allow the oil industry to accurately predict the ecological impact of such events, it is claimed.

Karen A Bjorndal, a biology professor at the University of Florida, notes that the years between the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989 and the Deepwater Horizon failure in 2010 did not see major advances made in compiling critical data.

"It is sad to see that we are in the same place now," she says. "We know how to create these research plans; what is needed now is the political will and leadership to do so."

With better research, she suggests that the oil industry may be better able to understand the cause and effect process behind leaks and their impact on the environment.

This in turn could lead to the development of plans for the protection of the most important marine ecosystems and species affected.