marine debris research - aurora university debris sources of marine debris include: stormwater...
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Marine Debris
Research Gulf of Maine | Lake Michigan | Geneva Lake
Christopher Wells
AU Teaching and Research Symposium
February 18, 2015
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).
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
research
• Beaches – Manual and aerial surveys
• Neuston layer – Net tows
• Benthic zone – Remotely operated vehicle (ROV)
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
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