Thirdly, because of the importance of the observed transport 

 of oil to the benthos, it is apparent from the Tsesis study that a 

 strong need exists for a specialized sediment (benthic) sampler 

 which will properly represent the uppermost, thin, and often floccu- 

 lent layer for hydrocarbon analysis. This was the final piece of 

 the puzzle that could not be added in the case of Tsesis , because 

 of the inadequacy of existing samplers for this purpose. 



It has been suggested and demonstrated repeatedly at oil 

 spills, that the proper expenditure of funds on necessary research 

 and development before the study can result in a great financial 

 saving as well as make the difference between a successful experi- 

 ment and a failure. These three high priority research and 

 development projects should receive funding as soon as possible. 

 The source of such funding is most logically a government program 

 with legislated responsibility for environmental protection or 

 research. In the United States possible candidates are the U.S. 

 Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or NOAA. 



The scope of the scientific investigation must not be limited 

 administratively . The effects of oil spills in various environ- 

 ments will probably never be fully classifiable. Controlling 

 factors are too numerous. Therefore, only a competent response 

 team can properly evaluate the environmental significance of a 

 particular spill and determine what kinds of studies are needed to 

 detect and understand what may be happening to the system. The 

 contingency plan must cover a broad spectrum of possibilities from 

 which some will be selected at the time of the spill. 



Each spill study reveals new phenomena. A very significant 

 finding of the Tsesis study was that a relatively small spill of a 

 medium weight fuel oil can be acted upon to produce rapid transport 

 of large quantities of oil to the benthos, where, out of sight and 

 beyond mitigative measures, it can have significant effects for a 



24 



