organizations. The deficiencies of many oil pollution studies, including those at Santa Barbara, are regrettable. But one must conclude from studies around the world that the ecological effects depend greatly on the nature of the oil spilled. On the other hand, it does not seem reasonable to conclude, as have some oil company spokesmen and consultants (), that the West Falmouth spill was atypical in effect due to the type of oil, confinement of the spill, and weather conditions. Studies of the West Falmouth spill suggest that the same kinds of effects, even if not of equivalent magnitude, could be experienced following a spill of any type of oil, even crude oil ().

The geography of the spill is of obvious importance. We have already speculated on spills in polar and tropical regions and in estuaries. Also the biotic nature of habitats varies greatly within temperate zones; for example, the east coast of the United States is geologically and ecologically quite different from the west coast, and the Louisiana coastal environment is quite unlike that of Maine.

The time of the year the spill occurs may also be critical. Had the Santa Barbara spill happened earlier, nursing pups of sea lions and elephant seals may have succumbed after ingesting oil coating their mothers teats, and sea bird populations would have been greater. Also a spill could endanger the success of a seasonal reproductive period.

Meteorological and oceanographic conditions influence the effects of an oil spill. Floating oil responds primarily to winds and currents and may be blown inshore or offshore. Floating oil from the Santa Barbara spill met sediment-laden plumes of low salinity runoff waters generated by atypically heavy rains (). Oil mixed with the sediments, sank, and settled on the bottom rather than on the shore. Similarly, at West Falmouth onshore winds churning oil with sediment deposited oil on the bottom, killing many bottom animals ().

An improper clean-up strategy can worsen the effect of oil pollution. The Torrey Canyon spill taught us the lesson of rampant misuse of toxic dispersants. The sinking of Torrey Canyon oil off Brittany shifted its impact from the intertidal to the subtidal benthic environment, where more areas are affected and the oil may persist.