Perils of Pacific Plastic Pollution: Facts, Myths, and How You Can Help

Miriam C. GoldsteinScripps Institution of OceanographyUniversity of California San Diego

SEAPLEX ScienceMario AguileraRebecca AschPete DavisonLara DickensJesse DublerMatt DurhamJosh JonesJesse PowellMeg RippyChelsea RochmanTimothy StillingerDarcy TaniguchiAndrew Titmus

SEAPLEX Faculty AdvisorsJim LeichterMark Ohman

Project KaiseiDoug Woodring

Annie CrawleyKarin MalmstromGeorge Orbelian

Sorting VolunteersOlivia BengeCarri-Lyn CameronPatrick ChengDominic DufourChris GawadAdam GrecoCatherine NickelsErin ReedErik RaudzensMarci RosenbergAshley SalasSummer Strutt

Algalita Marine Research FoundationDimitry AbramenkoffBruce AppelgateGustaf Arrhenius

Karen BakerAlison CawoodDave CheckleySteve Constable & teamPaul DaytonSteve DiggsPenny DockryJim DufourRose DufourPeter FranksLisa GilfillanLucina GonzalezPhil HastingsAmy HaysBrian HentschelJohn HildebrandCapt. Wes Hill & crew of R/V New HorizonEunha HohDavid HyrenbachTony KoslowMike Landry

Kara Lavender LawSkye MoretPeter NillerNOAA Southwest Fisheries Dick NorrisCheryl PeachGreg RouseSteve BennettScripps CommunicationsScripps CollectionsScripps DevelopmentScripps Web OpsShip Scheduling OfficeShipboard Technical SupportBeth SimmonsAnnie TownsendEric Wolff

Many Thanks

UC  Ship  FundsProject  Kaisei  

Jeffrey  &  Marcy  KrinskJim  &  Kris  McMillanLyn  &  Norman  LearAnonymous  Donor

Association  for  Women  in  Science  -­‐  San  DiegoCenters  for  Ocean  Sciences  Education  Excellence

Michael  M.  Mullin  Graduate  Student  Fellowship  in  Biological  OceanographySea  Education  Association

Scripps  Center  for  Marine  Biodiversity  and  ConservationScripps  Director’s  Office

National  Science  Foundation

Marine Debris Madness

1862: First man-made polymer (Celluloid) from plant cellulose

1907: First synthetic polymer (Bakelite) from coal tar

1940s-50s: >15 new synthetic polymers from petroleum; plastic becomes a ubiquitous consumer product

1972-74: Plastic debris observed in N. Atlantic & N. Pacific Subtropical Gyres

1989: MARPOL Annex V bans plastic disposal at sea

http://buyvintageads.com

A Brief History of Plastic

[video of Crying Indian PSA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R-FZsysQNw

Tom Campbell

Awareness of impacts on wildlife

Chris Jordan

NO

AA

Mar

ine

Deb

ris

Prog

ram

Plastic pollution is now everywhere

• Subtropical gyres (Morris et al. 1980, Moore et al. 2001, Law et al. 2010)

• Boundary currents (Yamashita & Tanimura 2007, Gilfillan et al. 2009)

• Coastal benthos (Thompson et al. 2004, Ng and Obbard 2006)

• Deep benthos (Galgani et al. 1996, Watters et al. 2010)

• Remote islands (McDermid & McMullen 2004, Barnes 2005)

Debris highly variable in space and time

Gilfillan et al. 2009

1984

1994

2007

The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch?!”

[video of Charles Moore on Letterman]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrhXUB4UJAE

Trade winds and westerlies (jet stream) drive the oceanic gyres

Debris accumulates in the calm center of the North Pacific High

Longitude

Sea surface temperature (°C

)La

titud

e

The Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (SEAPLEX)

Why did we go here?

It’s the closest major convergence zone

• Microbes (Meg Rippy)

• Phytoplankton (Darcy Taniguchi)

• Subsurface zooplankton (Jesse Powell)

• Midwater fishes (Pete Davison and Rebecca Asch)

• Seabirds (Andrew Titmus)

• Ecotoxicology (Chelsea Rochman)

• Cetaceans (Josh Jones)

• Collaborators: Project KaiseiPhotos: Andrew Titmus

SEAPLEX Science Mission

[video from Scripps SEAPLEX]http://explorations.ucsd.edu/Features/2010/Plastic_Vortex/

The “Garbage Patch”

What we saw

M. Aguilera

M. Aguilera

J. Leichter

D. Taniguchi

J. Leichter J. Leichter

D. Woodring

A. TitmusA. Titmus

J. Leichter

J. Leichter

D. Woodring

J. Leichter

J. Leichter

J. LeichterJ. Leichter

J. Leichter

What we DIDN’T see

NASA Whim Architecture

Results so far...• Vast quantities of small

plastic particles on surface in central Pacific

• Some particles are sinking into the midwater (100-700 m)

• Some fish are ingesting plastic

• Plastic provides habitat for possible nuisance species

Pacific: 150 times more plastic since 1974

[unpublished data removed]

Atlantic: no increase since 1985

Law et al 2010, Science

Much more plastic in Gyre than off California

[unpublished data removed]

Plastic mostly small pieces

Statistically unsupportable estimate of total plastic:

0.001 g/m2 x N. Pacific area ≈ 84,500 tons ≈ 10,500 elephants

Rare, large pieces of plastic could substantially increase this

Latit

ude

10 miles

Are there plastic hot spots?

40 miles

Longitude

Latit

ude

Water tem

perature (Celsius)

Plastic hot spot detected by fine-meshed net

[unpublished data removed]

But not by looking with binoculars

[unpublished data removed]

My research: hard surfaces in a watery world

J. Leichter

Even tiny pieces are occupied

Bryozoan colony

Halobates egg

Filamentous green algae

1 mm

Some fish are eating plastic

J. Leichter

R. Asch

[unpublished data removed]

[unpublished data removed]

Next Scientific Steps• Map plastic in North

Pacific- Depth- Size - how small?

• Plastic & the food web• Ingestion• Toxins

• Further exploration of North & South Pacific

M. Aguilera

J. Leichter

Can it be cleaned up?

Obstacles:

• Huge area

• Tiny pieces

• Collateral damage

• Extremely expensive

A. Crawley, DiveIntoYourImagination.com

Solutions: Technology

• NOT “bioplastics”

• Probably not corn-based polymers (PLA)

• Future invention?

Solutions: Legislative• Plastic bag ban: San Francisco

CA, Bethel AK, Edmonds WA, Outer Banks NC, Mexico City, Mumbai, China, Tanzania, Bangladesh...and more!

• 11 proposed statewide bans in past 2 years, all failed to pass

• Plastic bag tax: Washington DC, Ireland, Denmark, Israel, Taiwan...

• Plastic water bottle ban: Concord, MA; Bundanoon, Australia

• Polystyrene ban: many cities, mostly in CA

Solutions: Prevention

• Beach cleanups

• Better infrastructure

• Recycling

• Education/Outreach

Lots of outreach effort, including two recycled boats

P. Bennett

Thank you!

Sail Training and Marine Debris

• Collaborate with scientists

• Develop Citizen Science monitoring program

• Blue Flag Program