Day 18 S/V Kaisei: The Strength of Sustainable Design

Friday, 21 August 2009
Lat: 38°51’ N Lon: 133°23’ W

Melanie Smith welcomes the Kaisei team as an assistant to Norton Smith, her uncle and Kaisei’s consulting engineer. She has been a keystone figure in assisting Norton with the final construction and deployment of his marine debris cleanup prototypes; including the previously mentioned Beach and Sweep. Completing his prototypes included designing the catchment nets and cod ends. In addition, she has recorded data, helped in the physical deployment, done repairs, and surveyed the successes and difficulties of the prototypes for design alterations.
Melanie joins Project Kaisei with a strong background in design, construction, and fabrication. Melanie’s initial design focus started in fashion with an emphasis on renewable fibers and textile design. Her next frontier expanded to landscape design and land planning with a focus on xeric
Her concern and exposure to environmental issues started at a young age. Starting with her father’s pioneering work in environmental issues and the birth of his organization, Whole Systems Foundation. Still in action today, Whole Systems Foundation provides funding for a number of environmental projects, including organic farming, environmental education, alternative energy research, and resource management programs. Melanie worked with her father for over fifteen years spearheading his environmental initiatives. When he passed, Melanie, Norton, and her brothers assumed the responsibility for Whole Systems Foundation.
On Project Kaisei, Melanie and Norton have been using the joint efforts of their creative and innovative backgrounds to better the environment through passive catchment devices used to capture marine debris. Today they launched the “Atoll”, which is a device obtaining an enclosed ring which sits on the surface of the water with a shallow catchment net inside. As the waves lap over the edge of the ring, the intention is to capture the marine debris inside the ring passively without harming marine life. Melanie and Norton noticed with the Atoll is not effective if there are strong winds. In essence, the wind washes the marine debris through the Atoll and nothing sinks to the cod end due to the lack of current flow.
Another device deployed this afternoon was nicknamed “Norton’s Giza” for its pyramid-like shape. This inverted pyramid rides the surface water with a sea anchor, 30 ft below the bottom of the pyramid. The function of this sea anchor is to have the surface pyramid be more stable with swells; as the swells flush into the pyramid and then slowly the pyramid would rise after the swell has passed. This fluctuation approach is designed to flush water through the pyramid capturing marine debris through the cod end. Norton’s Giza looked promising by capturing smaller particles of marine debris, having a one-way valve trapping the marine debris in the cod end. However, the standing winner of all of these deployment devices is the Beach with the least affect on organic organisms and capturing the most marine debris. Melanie and Norton’s strive for these passive collecting prototypes expand to future deployment on a larger scale, capturing the most amount of marine debris while affecting the least amount of biota.
landscaping and open space development. Melanie’s design experience continued as sustainable design consultant with the construction and design of buildings using an energy efficient approach.

Day 17 S/V Kaisei: Marine Debris Treasures

Thursday, 20 August 2009

Lat: 36° 56’ N Lon: 140° 49’ W

“Most of our samples will not be identified until we get back to shore but the visual interpretations are astounding. It is vitally important that we make a huge change in our habits. It is imperative that we start managing all of our resources wisely”- Dr. Andrea Neal

Today is final day of small boat collection for marine debris in the Subtropical Convergence Zone of The North Pacific Gyre, led by Nicole Argyropoulos and Ryan Morris. As Ryan and Nicole gathered the appropriate nets, they checked in with the crew aloft and on deck to help announce any debris they spot near the small boat. While at sea, they found a plethora of items, including a sand castle mold, half of a soda bottle crate, a laundry basket, buoys, plastic water bottles, Styrofoam floating aimlessly on the top of the water, nets, strainers, and an abnormally large red light bulb. With constant sightings of marine debris from the ship, collecting these large pieces was easier than anticipated.

In our studies in the North Pacific Gyre we have been filtering surface water samples to look at not only very fine debris, but nano-sized debris. Recent nano-toxicology publications have brought attention and urgency to understanding possible mechanisms of toxicity, and environmental impacts of exposures to sub 100 nm nano-structured materials. As research continues, we are finding more ways that nano-structured materials can be toxic: from the asbestos like qualities of carbon nanotubes¹, to acute toxicity to aquatic invertebrates from nano-sized titanium dioxide ^2-4, and the possible toxic impacts of nanoparticles on environmentally prevalent bacteria ⁵. The effects of nano-structured material waste from industrial production and consumer goods is becoming a prominent issue with the increased incorporation of these materials into everyday items ranging from facial cosmetics, batteries and even appliances ⁶. It is now known that plastic resin pellets and broken bits of consumer plastics carry certain classes of POPs in greater concentrations than virgin polyethylene pellets ^3-5. What all of this means, is that our oceans are being impacted by both visible and non visible pollutants. These toxins are not only impacting life in the ocean they are also impacting us. However, how all of these pollutants interact with ocean biota, people, and even other toxins is a very complicated story that needs further study.

Currently, we are 700 miles off shore and the majority of identifiable marine debris seems to be from the Western Pacific. The North Pacific Gyre is generated by the easterly trade winds and the westerlies in the north. The wind movement forces the water to move in the same direction. These two wind systems create opposite water movements and in combination with the Coriolis Force creates a vortex, in this case the North Pacific Gyre. The western boundary current of the North Pacific Gyre is the Kuroshio current off the southern coast of Japan extending eastwards across the Pacific. The eastern boundary of the gyre is defined by the California Current flowing initially south before it converges towards the west, completing the rotation of the North Pacific Gyre. The Kuroshio Current is analogous to the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the North Atlantic Gyre. Therefore, it is not surprising to find marine debris from the Western Pacific, as well the Eastern Pacific Ocean including California. Identifiable marine debris may help to further evaluate the origin of this debris.

1. CRAIG A. POLAND, R. D., IAN KINLOCH, ANDREW MAYNARD,WILLIAM A. H. WALLACE, ANTHONY SEATON, VICKI STONE, SIMON BROWN,WILLIAM MACNEE AND KEN DONALDSON, Carbon nanotubes introduced into the abdominal cavity ofmice show asbestoslike pathogenicity in a pilot study. nature nanotechnology | 2008, ahead of print online

2. Adams, L. K.; Lyon, D. Y.; McIntosh, A.; Alvarez, P. J. J., Comparative toxicity of nano-scale TiO2, SiO2 and ZnO water suspensions. Water Science and Technology 2006, 54, (11-12), 327-334.

3. Hund-Rinke, K.; Simon, M., Ecotoxic effect of photocatalytic active nanoparticles TiO2 on algae and daphnids. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2006, 13, (4), 225-232.

4. Lovern, S. B.; Klaper, R., Daphnia magna mortality when exposed to titanium dioxide and fullerene (C-60) nanoparticles. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2006, 25, (4), 1132-1137.

5. Handy, R. D.; von der Kammer, F.; Lead, J. R.; Hassellov, M.; Owen, R.; Crane, M., The ecotoxicology and chemistry of manufactured nanoparticles. Ecotoxicology 2008, 17, (4), 287-314.

Day 16 S/V Kaisei: The Inescapable Truth

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Lat: 36° 10’ N Lon: 140 ° 28’ W

"Solving a problem starts with knowing that you have one. Project Kaisei vividly shows how discarded plastics are clogging the ocean, causing a major problem for the planet's vital blue heart, entangling marine life and insidiously killing as it accumulates in the food chain, from tiny plankton to great whales. Best of all, the mission hig

hlights

hope with ideas for positive action."

- Dr. Sylvia Earle

During our time in the gy

re, we have found variable amounts of biota

in our trawl samples, primarily jellies and other invertebrate organisms. Today, Heather Coleman and H

amish Currie, one of ourloyal crewmembers from New Zealand, went hunting on the dinghy for large, recognizable pieces of marine debris. They recovered and brought onboard three plastic crates, numerous

plastic bottles ranging from orange juice to laundry detergent containers, plastic

lids, shards of plastic, buoys, buckets, and plastic trays. The big hunt for marine debris throughout the North Pacific Gyre showed that the sources of origin are diverse. Many of these large floa

ting

“shelters” provide a safe haven for oceanic creatures; we have commonly seen small

ye

llowtail and pilot fish (jacks family), gooseneck barnacles, and crabs. Dr. Michael Gonsior seized the opportunity to cast his fishing pole into the large school of fish beside the boat, catching a small yellowtail fish. Dr. Margy Gassel dissected the fish, preserving the organs in a gluteraldehyde solution and freezing musc

le tissue for analysis of persistent toxic chemicals. Continuing on our intensive research schedule, we lowered the Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) Profiler into the water. The CTD we are using measures salinity, temperature, depth, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll. In addition, we trawled on four separate occasions during the day to maximize collections for educational outreach.

After an afternoon of sampling, a monstrous ghost net was spotted

floating aiml

essly in the ocean. This net, initially comprised of discarded rope, had gathered a number of items caught within its turbulent path, such as buoys, fishing line, the lower half of a chair, and a large gill net. The ghost net was so heavy that we were unable to haul it out of the

water and onboard S/V Kaisei, even with all 25 participants pulling lines. Therefo

re, we had to rethink our plan of action and decided to send Dr. Gonsior and Norton Smith in a small boat to cut the ghost net in half. After numerous efforts to sever the net into smaller pieces, we managed to bring what we could salvage (about half of the net) on board as the sun set into nightfall. As we watched the other half drift out into the ocean, we recognized how ineffectual we were in relation to this massive problem.

We are now into the l

atter half of our journey and have seen disturbing evidence of the marine debris problem in the North Pacific Ocean. We hope that one outcome of Project Kaisei will be increased knowledge about marine debris and its impacts on one of our keystone environments—the ocean—and organisms that rely on it, including ourselves.

Day 15 S/V Kaisei: Joining Kaisei, Corinne Hume

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

Lat: 34° 24’ N Lon: 138° 39’ W

One of our co-principal investigators of the Project Kaisei Science Team (PKST), Corinne Hume, started her day counting plastic pieces visible under the triangular net of the bow. Total counts of visible plastics in a given area for 30-minute intervals help the Kaisei team measure relative densities of surface plastic debris. When we encounter a high-density area, Captain Mike Smith slows the ship Kaisei and circles the area to allow PKST to get as much sampling data from these areas as possible. Our engineer Norton Smith has also used these opportunities to launch his debris-collection prototypes. Later in the day, Corinne assists with processing manta trawl collections and recording data. Corinne first became interested in marine debris while writing about the North Pacific Gyre and accumulation of oceanic plastic debris for an undergraduate journalism class. A few years later, Corinne’s mother, Denise Hume, became involved with Project Kaisei as a representative of the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Chemistry Initiative. Working for the State’s Department of Toxic Substances Control, Denise Hume conducts research on environmental health and develops strategies for pollution prevention. While living in Simi Valley in 1989, Corinne was introduced to environmental problems at a young age when a nearby plant accidentally released chlorine. The entire city was evacuated; thankfully, the chlorine gassed without causing any harm to the community.

Corinne also appreciated the beauty of nature while frequently hiking through Southern California. Corinne’s mother was a docent of the Sierra Club at the time, and Corinne’s connection with nature throughout her childhood led her to become involved in environmental restoration projects. While attending a private high school in Ojai, Corinne and her class went to Chennai, India, to participate in a sea turtle protection program. During the project, Corinne helped newly hatched sea turtles that commonly get off course due to light pollution find their way to the ocean. Also while in India, Corinne helped a rural school in Rishi Valley expand their permaculture garden and provide more medicinal and food crops for their community. During her time in India, she was surprised by the amount of pollution permeating the land, air, and water. She vividly remembers the residue of the air staining her hands a burnt sienna color and the heaps of trash lining the streets. This impression led her to become concerned about the health of our planet.

In college, Corinne attended a colloquium hosted by the European Union in Ghent, Belgium, about recycling agricultural byproducts and exploring the possibilities of turning what was once waste into commodities. During this colloquium, she visited different manufacturing plants, such as the EcoVer, which makes sustainable household products from a zero-waste business model.

The colloquium’s purpose was to allow college students from around the world to brainstorm about incorporating agricultural byproducts into business design. While in school, she also worked at the Pathogen Detection Lab of the California Regional Primate Research Center at the University of California at Davis (UCD). A recent graduate from UCD with a B.S. in Natural Sciences, Corinne was invited to sail on the S/V Kaisei as a research assistant. She was intrigued by the opportunity to see parts of the North Pacific Gyre and hopes to learn more about environmental problems and the planet’s ecological state through first hand experience with Project Kaisei. Corinne also looks forward to sharing information from this trip with family and friends at home.

Day 14 S/V Kaisei: Creating New Collection Strategies

Monday, 17 August 2009

Lat: 33° 57’ N Lon: 139° 03’ W

This evening, the entire Kaisei crew held a group meeting to discuss the best strategies for marine debris collection and finding points of accumulation. Because more turbulent weather is expected, our team is trying to maximize the last of our calm days. All parts of the Kaisei crew are joining forces to find debris fields. One of our continuing strategies is counting marine debris from aloft or on the bowsprit for 30-minute intervals. By taking these counts, we get a sense of the frequency of debris, and PKST can compare this information with our trawl collections. Our goal is to sample in areas with both high and low accumulation rates of marine debris.

Another strategy involves launching our dinghies (“tenders”) in the debris fields to collect large pieces we would otherwise be unable to attain. The larger, more intact pieces will be used for educational outreach and displays in various museums. Many of these pieces tell a story about the origin of the displaced debris in the North Pacific Gyre. For example, today we found a fishing weight with Chinese characters. We also found plastic detergent bottles, bottle caps, lids, netting, plastic bags, a baseball, and other miscellaneous large pieces of plastic floating in the expansive ocean. Below our humble abode, S/V Kaisei, is 18,000 feet of water (6,000 meters); outside a portal window is one plastic bottle more than 1,000 nautical miles (~1,850 km) from the nearest coastline. The image is alarming, and PKST is uncovering evidence of the progression of marine debris as it breaks down to the insidious small particulates accumulating in our trawls. The combination of polymers the ocean has not been able to biodegrade, possible toxicity of small to nano-sized particles, and attachment of persistent toxic chemicals to these surfaces is a forecast of a frightening future. We are seeing that the ocean is full of this ubiquitous waste, clogging and tangling our blue planet.

Day 13 S/V Kaisei: Forging Discovery

Sunday, 16 August 2009

Lat: 34° 05’ N Lon: 140° 15’ W

Today, Nicole Argyropoulos, one of our co-principal investigators, assisted Dr. Neal in her multi-tiered filtration analysis. On a ship, feeding ocean water through a drip system can be a challenge; however, Dr. Neal and Nicole finally devised an effective gravity-fed system that functioned as needed to process samples. Nicole joined the Project Kaisei Science Team (PKST) in a multi-faceted position: creating first drafts of the science blog, assisting in research, and coordinating educational outreach material.The catalyst for Nicole’s environmental zeal began with a deep-rooted love for animals. She subscribed to the Wildlife Fact File at age seven. Her mother could only get her to the dentist if she agreed to take Nicole to the Humane Society afterwards to walk the dogs. With an introduction to the greenhouse effect in third grade, Nicole took action in her own house and

introduced her parents to an entire recycling program, from plastics to compost

. Becoming fascinated with the ability for waste to become fertile soil, she started working with her grandmother to plant organic gardens and to learn about sustainable agriculture. Her first job was at the farmer’s market selling peppers at a local Santa Barbara stand.

Growing up by the ocean, Nicole was constantly tide pooling and enjoying the sea’s splendors. Throughout high school, she took many environmentally focused classes and volunteered in trail building, beach clean-ups, and seminars geared towards educating the public about environmental issues.

Nicole chose to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder for their excellent natural science program. While attending, she became very active in the university arena, joining the Biodiesel Committee, The Alpine Club, and the Journalism Board, writing about environmental issues in the Boulder area. In her senior year, Nicole flew to New York to volunteer at the Clinton Global Initiative as the CEO’s assistant. The Clinton Global Initiative is a three-day meeting of some of the most influential minds gathered to help solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. Nicole was inspired by the call for immediate action. After she graduated from CU Boulder in Geography, Nicole packed her bags and worked for the Clinton Foundation in the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). At CCI, Nicole conducted baseline research, created sustainable design models and approaches, and wrote proposals for the Energy Efficient Building Retrofit Program, which aims to help 40 of the world’s largest cities reduce their carbon footprint through green architectural design.

While working for CCI, Nicole was introduced to the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) during a presentation on their sustainable design objectives for their energy-efficient retrofit of the Empire State Building. Amazed by their presentation and contribution to the environment, Nicole applied to work at RMI the following spring. Upon receiving the job, she packed her things once again and moved back to Boulder, Colorado. Following her passion in green architecture, she was placed on the Built Environment Team to work in sustainable design and as a liaison to the Communications Team. Throughout her time at RMI, Nicole conducted a plethora of case studies showing how green architecture was becoming increasingly popular due to its economic benefits. Nicole also led wilderness therapy trips through the Rocky Mountain Range teaching the importance of biology and backcountry skills. Inspired by her experience working at RMI, Nicole plans to continue her graduate education in environmental economics and policy.

After her rocky mountain adventure, Nicole returned to hometown Santa Barbara to take pre-requisite classes for graduate school. There she started working for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society where she met Dr. Neal and started becoming involved in many grassroots campaigns and organizations geared towards addressing marine debris. Being back by the coast after six years and seeing how detrimental effects of dumping waste in oceans was becoming an increasing concern, Nicole became more involved with the oceanic community. After working on many environmental projects and teaching seminars with Dr. Neal, Nicole was invited to be a part of PKST. Still holding true to her early environmental aspirations as a child, Nicole will continue her career with innovative groups trying to heal the planet. Her involvement in Project Kaisei has shown her the results of our “wasteful” actions and has solidified her ecological path. She is moving to the San Francisco Bay Area after the voyage and looks forward to embracing this paradigm-shifting city.

Day 12 S/V Kaisei: Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Analysis Saturday, 15 August 2009 Lat: 34° 30’ N Lon: 141° 46’ W

Saturday, 15 August 2009
Lat: 34° 30’ N Lon: 141° 46’ W

Dr. Michael Gonsior

Today, Dr. Michael Gonsior, one of our co-principal investigators, collected another set of water samples at 200 meters depth and at the surface for dissolved organic matter (DOM) analysis. DOM is an important part of the global carbon cycle. The amount of carbon in DOM in the oceans is equal to carbon in atmospheric CO2 and also to carbon present in all land-based biomass. However, this important component of the carbon cycle is not well understood due to the fact that 80% of the molecular composition is unknown. Without a molecular understanding, the reactivity of this highly dynamic DOM pool cannot be evaluated.

Only recently, a new analytical technique referred to as “ultra-high resolution electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry” (ESI-FT-ICR-MS) became available to analyze the complex pool of dissolved organic molecules in an unsurpassed fashion. The samples taken during this research cruise are the first collected in the Pacific Ocean for ESI-FT-ICR-MS analysis. In addition to basic research of DOM characterization in surface waters, the leaching of DOM from marine debris will be also studied. The hypothesis is that biota associated with DOM does produce a significantly different pool of DOM and therefore have the potential to influence the DOM dynamics and composition in open ocean surface environments. If this hypothesis holds, it will be seen later after the analysis at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munich in collaboration with Professor Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin.

Dr. Michael Gonsior 6,000 meters to the deep end

Dr. Gonsior was always interested in science and found chemistry very interesting throughout high school and college inHueckelhoven, Germany. As a teenager, environmental problems concerned him and he experienced the effectsand news coverage of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in the former Soviet Union. He began his study of chemistry at the University of Aachen, Germany, and changed universities for his postgraduate study in environmental chemistry at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. During his studies, he took all opportunities to travel and study abroad including five months at Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland and nine months at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. Dr. Gonsior dedicated as much time as possible to travel and learn about people and cultures. Not completely satisfied with his M.Sc. in Environmental Chemistry, he completed a second master’s degree in Environmental Protection Engineering at the University of Dresden. Dr. Gonsior became involved in soil science, and took an opportunity to work on an international carbon cycling program in the mountain rainforest in southern Ecuador. During his nine months in Ecuador, he was exposed to the complexity of life in developing country.

Dr. Andrea Neal and Dr. Michael Gonsior

After finishing his second M.Sc., Dr. Gonsior decided to complete a doctoral program in marine chemistry and applied for a scholarship to Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand. The application was approved and Michael started his Ph.D. study in New Zealand in 2004 under the supervision of Professor Barrie M. Peake and Bill J. Cooper, a professor from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Bill J. Cooper and Dr. Gonsior became good friends while in New Zealand.

After he finished his Ph.D. degree in 2008, analyzing dissolved organic matter in New Zealand’s natural waters, Dr. Gonsior was invited to apply for a post-doctoral position in Bill Cooper’s laboratory at the Urban Water Research Center, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCI. His application was accepted, and he works in this laboratory to the present day. Besides being enthusiastic and engaged in marinechemistry and biogeochemical cycles, he also followed his passion for helping people in developing countries, and became vice-president of the non-for-profit, volunteer organization Engineers Without Borders, Orange County Professional chapter. Since that time, he has been involved in a humanitarian project to build a footbridge in Kenya to help local communities to access a small clinic on the opposite site of a river.

Dr. Michael Gonsior in The Rigging

Dr. Gonsior’s first exposure to the influence of marine debris on life happened while he was still working on his Ph.D. in New Zealand where he learned about threats to albatross at the local albatross colony on the Otago Peninsula. Being fascinated by these birds that were always present during his research cruises in the Southern Ocean, he found out that albatross breeding on the Midway Islands in the Northern Pacific Ocean feed their chicks plastic debris accidentally mistaken as food. Hence, the death rate of albatross chicks is very high due to starvation. While working at UCI one year later, Dr. Gonsior attended a seminar given by Captain Charles Moore from the Algalita Foundation in Long Beach, California about the accumulation of marine debris in the North Pacific Gyre. Dr. Gonsior was astonished to see the degree we have polluted our world’s ocean. Together with Professor Bill Cooper, they decided to help educate the world and further scientifically evaluate marine debris in the North Pacific Gyre. They also extended the research into the Atlantic Gyre located in the Sargasso Sea. Earlier this year, Dr. Andrea Neal met Bill Cooper and told him about Project Kaisei. Later, she also went to the UCI laboratory where she and Dr. Gonsior started to develop scientific objectives for Project Kaisei.

Dr. Gonsior’s future plans will involve an extended time in Kenya to help the Engineers Without Borders project. His scientific goals involve using state-of-the-art analytical techniques to investigate the least known components of the global carbon cycle, which happens to be located in his favorite environment: the world’s ocean. He will also continue to educate people and, in particular, high school students, to learn how we can prevent spoiling our oceans. Scientific research of marine debris will continue and will help to give further evidence of the frightening situation of pollution in marine environments.