Plastic Vortex

Cryptic Moth has now spent 10 days at sea. And although it took just a couple days to adjust, our sea legs are strong and our appetite, stronger.



Life on the ship is governed by a strict routine. We are awoken at 7:30 and have until 8 to finish breakfast. Then there are cleaning chores until 9 where all are expected to participate.



The crew then goes to work on various jobs like chipping rust off the deck, painting and general maintenance on the ship. Lunch is from 1200-1300 and there are 30-minute breaks – called smokoes – that occur at 10 and 1500. Work stops at 1700 and dinner is served at 1800 sharp.



Amid this routine, Greenpeace must also continue their ongoing campaign to defend the oceans from whaling ships, illegal tuna fishing, long-lining, shark-finning and most recently the impact of plastic debris on marine habitats.



To find the largest accumulation of plastic, Greenpeace ventured about 500 miles northeast of Hawaii to an area called the North Pacific Central Gyre – also dubbed the trash vortex or eastern garbage patch.



Many loyal readers already know how atmosphere and ocean currents collect debris from thousands of miles away in a swirling toilet bowl estimated to be about twice the size of Texas.



Unfortunately, a large storm developed to the North almost exactly where we planned to go and sample. This slowed our progress and almost pooched the mission. I don’t know if we’d call it luck but we began to spot plastic debris in previously pristine waters.



One of the methods used onboard is a trawl affectionately dubbed “the yellow thing.”



The bulky contraption is towed along the surface of the water collecting anything greater than 1/3rd of a millimeter in diameter.



Two 30-minute trawls a day revealed a soup of marine organisms, plastic fishing line, rope, fragments and pre-production plastic pellets called nurdles.



Even Charlie collected his own samples and was happy to play up to the cameras.



We also went hunting for plastic. One of the zodiac’s (The African Queen) is deployed via a crane and then meets up with the team at the pilot door.



This is where things get a little tricky. The ocean swells can be quite large and so one has to time their dismount carefully.



Once aboard The African Queen, spotters on the bridge would radio the position of a piece of debris for us to scoop up in nets.



If large enough, scuba divers are deployed to photograph the debris under water.



Some of our findings included a plastic crate that had become a home for fish, fishing nets, hard hats and a slew of land-based products that made for great photo-ops.



We even met up with an old acquaintance – a solar powered satellite tracking buoy that Charlie attached to a ghost net and released last summer. This research is to help understand complex ocean currents and how they transport plastics. And that research continues. Charlie attached a brand new buoy to the tangled mass and it is already transmitting data.



Cryptic Moth has developed great contacts here on the Esperanza as well as good friends. We pass the evenings by playing darts, chess, Risk, poker and sometimes watch movies on the heli-deck.



Sadly, we have now changed course for San Diego. While the team has managed to collect a fair amount of debris, we never reached the area of highest concentration. So have we failed?



Consider this: we are a small vessel cutting a tiny sliver on an enormous ocean and yet every trawl sample shows plastic debris and everyday trash floats by. This cannot be coincidence. Our oceans are literally filling with plastic. That plastic, as it breaks down, becomes food for marine animals. The plastic also absorbs oils and nasty chemicals that can be passed up the food chain…ultimately to humans.



And more research is needed – especially when it comes to microscopic particles. Greenpeace should be commended for taking on pelagic plastic and bringing it the additional attention it requires. Have we failed? Hell no. Media outlets are now clambering for the story.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/11/06/plastic.trash.vortex.reut/index.html


What a surprise...



Cryptic Moth will spend the next week conducting follow-up interviews with Charlie and the onboard scientists. We will be sad to leave this home away from home but it’s time to focus yet again on solutions.


Out.

I+G