NCCOS researchers advanced the science of oils and dispersants with several presentations at last month's 2015 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference in Houston, Texas. The conference provided a venue for scientists to share the latest research findings in oil spill and ecosystem science—with a focus on the five years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill—and to discuss research implications and next steps.

Dolphin health assessment in Barataria Bay, Gulf of Mexico. Credit: NOAA.

The NCCOS presentations detailed the toxicological effects of two dispersants on estuarine animals, the impacts to benthic organisms and sediment quality after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the condition of sea fans in the Gulf of Mexico before and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and health effects in bottlenose dolphins following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

More than 1,000 researchers participated in the conference, which was sponsored by NOAA, USGS, EPA, and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, among others. Attendees included representatives from North American and European academic institutions and private industry, as well as U.S. federal and state governments.