Marine Debris

Research Gulf of Maine | Lake Michigan | Geneva Lake

Christopher Wells

AU Teaching and Research Symposium

February 18, 2015

Background

Marine debris

“Marine debris is defined as any persistent solid material

that is manufactured or processed and directly or

indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or

abandoned into the marine environment or the Great

Lakes” (NOAA, n.d.).

“Marine debris is trash and other solid material that

enters oceans and coastal waters and often ends up on

our beaches. It is also known as litter” (EPA, n.d.).

Marine debris

Sources of marine debris include: stormwater drainage,

illegal dumping, lost fishing gear, shipping accidents,

washing or blowing from beaches (Erickson, 2014;

Khairunnisa, Fauziah, & Agamuthu, 2012).

Marine debris presents a hazard to humans and wildlife

(Erickson, 2014; Goldstein, Titmus, & Ford, 2013).

Oceanic gyres

(5gyres.org)

Gulf of Maine

Rozalia Project

• Founded by Rachael Miller

• Named for her great-grandmother Rozalia Belsky

• Funded in part by NOAA Marine Debris Program

• 60 foot research vessel American Promise

• VideoRay ROV equipped with BlueView Sonar

• Quadrarotor equipped with an HD camera

• Competitive fellowships for guest scientists

• Three expeditions each summer

American Promise

Gulf of Maine

Gulf of Maine

research

• Beaches – Manual and aerial surveys

• Neuston layer – Net tows

• Benthic zone – Remotely operated vehicle (ROV)

beaches

beaches

Neuston layer

Benthic zone

Lake Michigan

Neuston Layer

Micro fibers

(Hawthorne, 2015)

S/V denis sullivan

S/V denis sullivan

Geneva lake

Benthic Aquatic Debris

Pilot study - fall 2014

Benthic survey

(Edgar & Smith, n.d.)

Research boat

divers

Aquatic debris

Gis software

Dunham grant - 2015

• 10 sites

• 4 students

• Modified protocol – use ROV to survey sites

• Record video from camera

• Divers collect debris

• Enter data in GIS software

rov

references

Barnes, D. K. A., & Milner, P. (2004). Drifting plastic and its consequences for sessile organism dispersal in the Atlantic Ocean. Marine Biology, 146(4), 815–825.

Edgar, R. J., & Smith, S. D. A. (n.d.). Underwater volunteers NSW: A standardised protocol for assessing marine debris in NSW waters. New South Wales, Australia: Underwater Volunteers NSW.

Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.) Fact sheet: Marine debris. Retrieved from http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/marinedebris/factsheet_marinedebris_debris.cfm

Eriksen, M. (2014). The plastisphere — The making of a plasticized world. Tulane Environmental Law Journal, 27(2), 153–163.

Goldstein, M. C., Titmus, A. J., & Ford, M. (2013). Scales of spatial heterogeneity of plastic marine debris in the northeast pacific ocean. PloS One, 8(11), e80020.

Hawthorne, M. (2015, Feb 1). A new pollution worry for Lake Michigan: Tiny plastic fibers. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-great-lakes-fiber-pollution-20150130-story.html#page=1

Khairunnisa, A. K., Fauziah, S. H., & Agamuthu, P. (2012). Marine debris composition and abundance: A case study of selected beaches in Port Dickson, Malaysia. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 15(3), 279–286.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). What is marine debris? Retrieved from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/marinedebris.html