Oil in the ocean photooxides within hours to days, new study finds

A new study demonstrates that under realistic environmental conditions oil drifting in the ocean after the DWH oil spill photooxidized into persistent compounds within hours to days, instead over long periods of time as was thought during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This is the first model results to support the new paradigm of photooxidation that emerged from laboratory research.

from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210312181148.htm