The Ocean Plastics Lab, currently on the National Mall in Washington, D. C., illustrates the pollution threat and points to solutions.
marine debris
Posted inNews
Oil Spill Response Knowledge Grows, but New Risks Emerge
Oil spill expert Nancy Kinner discusses lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon, dangers of aging infrastructure and atomized dispersants, and a Russian plan that imperils Arctic waters.
Posted inNews
Pacific’s Garbage Hot Spot Holds More Plastic Debris Than Was Thought
A nonprofit that helped to collect data for the research plans to use the study’s findings to help guide it in an upcoming campaign to remove buoyant plastic trash from ocean gyres.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Spills, Sediment, and Shoreline Contamination
A recent paper in Reviews of Geophysics describes the formation and behavior of oil-sediment residues in marine and coastal environments following an oil spill.
Posted inNews
Deepwater Horizon Dispersant Cleared the Air, New Model Shows
A simulation of oil and gas leakage during the Deepwater Horizon disaster finds that the main chemical dispersant used improved air quality for emergency responders.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Ocean Currents Push Mainland Pollution to Remote Islands
Marine protected areas, set up to conserve marine ecosystems and species, accumulate pollutants swept in from mainland shores by ocean currents.
Posted inNews
Plastic Waste Knows No Bounds
Despite the vastness of Earth’s oceans, human plastic pollution overwhelms even remote corners.
Posted inNews
Mounting Litter Spotted on Arctic Seafloor
At one location near Greenland, the density of undersea trash leaped by a factor of 23 in a decade.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Oil Residues Accelerate Coastal Wetland Losses
Coastal wetland loss after an oil spill can be more extensive than after a hurricane.
Posted inScience Updates
Developing a Remote Sensing System to Track Marine Debris
Workshop on Mission Concepts for Marine Debris Sensing; Honolulu, Hawaii, 19–21 January 2016