EAST BOOTHBAY — A scientist from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine is investigating the long-term effects of oil released during the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The laboratory says Christoph Aeppli and others will try to find out how spilled oil weathered in the environment. They will also investigate how the chemical composition of the oil has been changed in the environment over the past six years. The work will shed light on how marine animals may be affected by the changes.

Aeppli says the work will also help improve cleanup efforts in the future.

The research will last until the end of 2018. Aeppli is working with Ryan Rodgers of Florida State University and Chris Reddy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod.