Complex sentence: When the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill eclipsed the loss of the Exxon Valdez as America's largest disaster of this kind, Dr. Ott travelled to the Gulf of Mexico to assess the damage from the spill and to speak with affected communities.
Split into simpler sentences: When the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill eclipsed Exxon Valdez as America's largest. She traveled to the Gulf of Mexico to assess damage from the spill and speak with affected communities.