Research

Understanding
the problem

We believe that, to develop the most optimal cleanup technologies, it is essential that we truly understand the problem. Unfortunately, very little is known about the properties and dynamics of ocean plastic pollution – this is why we invest in scientific research. By understanding the sources, transport, and fate of plastic in the ocean, we create the foundation onto which we develop our cleanup solutions.

Sampling at sea is key to understanding the quantity, composition, and locations of ocean plastic. We embarked on a series of field expeditions, pushing the boundaries of observational science regarding ocean plastic pollution; in 2015, we conducted the Mega Expedition, crossing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) with over 30 vessels, and subsequently, in 2016, the Aerial Expedition (the first aerial mapping effort of ocean plastic in a subtropical gyre) gave us greater insight into the severity of the problem we aim to solve. In 2018, we published our comprehensive study, concluding that there is up to 16 times more plastic in the GPGP than previously estimated.

While our main objective is to quantify the problem, we also have a strong interest in characterizing ocean plastic pollution. We researched the toxicity of ocean plastic with the analysis of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) found on plastic samples collected in the North Pacific during the Mega Expedition. We also studied the distribution of buoyant plastic in the water column in different weather environments during our North Atlantic expeditions. We are now looking even deeper with sampling at depth several thousand meters below the surface, looking for the missing plastic.

To gain the most comprehensive understanding of plastic pollution, we need to improve the detection of plastic in the marine environment. Following our aerial reconnaissance mission in the North Pacific, we collected a vast amount of data combining visual observations and imagery, shortwave infrared (SWIR) multispectral signal, and Lidar measurements. We published a first proof of concept for plastic detection at sea using SWIR technology and have been working with several agencies to research remote sensing of marine litter from space. By significantly investing in remote sensing, we expect that this tool can help us to have a better understanding of the dispersion of ocean plastic and contribute to future research on the observation of ocean plastic pollution at a global scale.

To succeed in removing 90% of ocean plastic by 2040, source reduction is necessary. In 2017, we published a first estimate of global plastic emissions from rivers into the ocean. We developed global models for plastic waste generation and invest in research to understand how this material leaks into aquatic environments. Researchers from The Ocean Cleanup travel to various parts of the world to conduct field experiments in polluted rivers, in accordance with a consistent systematic sampling methodology. Using modelled environmental data for currents, wind, and waves, and characteristics inherent to plastics relating to weathering, degradation, or buoyancy, we then predict the dispersion of plastic pollution in the ocean. Our numerical models are calibrated against data collected at the ocean surface, in the water column, and in the sediments of the five oceans. These efforts have continued as we strive to find the missing plastic and close the plastic mass balance.

Once we remove vast amounts of plastic from the ocean, we plan to recycle the plastic and turn it into durable products. The revenue from these products will be used to fund our cleanup operations. Using samples taken from the Mega Expedition, we have extensively analyzed the composition of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch plastic, allowing us to select the most optimal recycling methods. We can expect to receive from the GPGP around 90-95% High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and 5-10% Polypropylene (PP). The material consists of rigid items of different colors and ghost nets, including nets and ropes. Additionally, the team has been testing these various plastics for their resilience and to what extent we can recycle each plastic type.

Research updates

Research

Mission One Environmental Monitoring Results Available

Oceanography, Research

Chasing Plastics: How to Close the Ocean Plastic Mass Balance

All research updates

Featured research

Highlighting some of the studies that our scientists and researchers have been working on here at The Ocean Cleanup.

Plastic mass balance

To efficiently plan for our global cleanup strategy, we need to understand where plastic comes from, where it travels, and where it accumulates. With the current state of knowledge, a significant amount of plastic that may have entered the ocean is still unaccounted for. We are currently developing a model framework that simulates the transport of plastic in the global ocean, eventually providing a mass balance budget for plastic in the ocean. With our continued field observation efforts, collecting data in the five oceans from surface to seabed, we are actively looking for the missing plastic.

Mapping the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

After two major expeditions in the North Pacific subtropical waters, including a multi-vessel, field exploration mission in 2015 and the first aerial reconnaissance mission of a garbage patch in 2016, we published our findings on the quantification and characterization of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2018. We estimated that in 2015, the GPGP covered an area of 1.6 million km² containing nearly 80,000 metric tons of buoyant plastic waste, with debris ranging from large ghost nets and ropes to a multitude of centimeter and millimeter-sized hard plastic fragments.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Explained Illustration by: in60seconds

Global riverine emissions of plastic

Quantifying plastic pollution in the world’s ocean requires a deep understanding of emissions. It is commonly accepted that most plastic found in or near the marine environment is coming from terrestrial sources. Rivers particularly may play an important role in transporting mismanaged plastic waste from land into the ocean. We are developing numerical models for the prediction of plastic emissions from rivers in combination with several field sampling expeditions. Following a systematic methodology, we are conducting research in multiple rivers of the world to create a complete picture of how plastic enters the oceans.

Our latest scientific publications

Cetacean Sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Scientific note
April 2019, Marine Biodiversity

Susan E. Gibbs, Chandra P. Salgado Kent, Boyan Slat, Damien Morales, Leila Fouda and Julia Reisser
- Publication type: Scientific note
- Journal: Marine Biodiversity
- Collaborators: The Ocean Cleanup Foundation (NL), Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Curin University (AUS), Oceans Blueprint (AUS), Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research (AUS), Blue Planet (AUS), Minderoo Foundation (AUS), School of Biological and Chemical Studies, Queen Mary University (UK), UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia (AUS).
- DOI: 10.1007/s12526-019-00952-0
- Submitted: 12.07.2018
- Accepted: 15.03.2019
- Published: 09.04.2019
Abstract

Here, we report cetacean sightings made within a major oceanic accumulation zone for plastics, often referred to as the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ (GPGP). These cetacean records occurred in October 2016 and were made by sensors and trained observers aboard a Hercules C-130 aircraft surveying the GPGP at 400 m height and 140 knots speed. Four sperm whales (including a mother and calf pair), three beaked whales, two baleen whales, and at least five other cetaceans were observed. Many surface drifting plastics were also detected, including fishing nets, ropes, floats and fragmented debris. Some of these objects were close to the sighted mammals, posing entanglement and ingestion risks to animals using the GPGP as a migration corridor or core habitat. Our study demonstrates the potential exposure of several cetacean species to the high levels of plastic pollution in the area. Further research is required to evaluate the potential effects of the GPGP on marine mammal populations inhabiting the North Pacific.
- Aerial survey, Cetaceans, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Marine mammals, Plastic pollution
- Go to publication
- Download PDF
Future Scenarios of Global Plastic Waste Generation and Disposal

Article in peer reviewed journal
January 2019, Nature, Palgrave Communications

Laurent Lebreton and Anthony Andrady
- Publication type: Article in peer-reviewed journal
- Journal: Nature, Palgrave Communications
- Collaborators: The Ocean Cleanup Foundation (NL), The Modelling House Limited (NZ), North Carolina State University (USA).
- DOI: 10.1057/s41599-018-0212-7
- Submitted: 05.07.2018
- Accepted: 13.12.2018
- Published: 29.01.2019
Abstract

The accumulation of mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) in the environment is a global growing concern. Knowing with precision where litter is generated is important to target priority areas for the implementation of mitigation policies. In this study, using country-level data on waste management combined with high-resolution distributions and long-term projections of population and the gross domestic product (GDP), we present projections of global MPW generation at ~1 km resolution from now to 2060. We estimated between 60 and 99 million metric tonnes (Mt) of MPW were produced globally in 2015. In a business-as-usual scenario, this figure could triple to 155–265 Mt y−1 by 2060. The future MPW load will continue to be disproportionately high in African and Asian continents even in the future years. However, we show that this growth in plastic waste can be reduced if developing economies significantly invest in waste management infrastructures as their GDP grows in the future and if efforts are made internationally to reduce the fraction of plastic in municipal solid waste. Using our projections, we also demonstrate that the majority of MPW (91%) are transported via watersheds larger than 100 km2 suggesting that rivers are major pathways for plastic litter to the ocean.
- land-based plastic pollution, plastic pollution projection, river pollution, waste management
- Go to publication
- Download PDF

All scientific publications

Academic partnerships

Scientific Advisory Board

Prof. Dr. Richard Spinrad Marine Technology & Oceanography, Marine Technology Society

Internationally recognized scientist and executive with more than 30 years of experience. President-elect at Marine Technology Society (MTS) as of January 2017. Appointed Chief Scientist by President Barack Obama for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) between 2014 and 2016 and served as Vice President for Research for Oregon State University from 2010 to 2014.

Dr. Spinrad has received several honors and awards, such as the Distinguished Civilian Service Award by the US Navy in 2003, The Oceanology International Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and Presidential Distinguished Rank Award by President Barack Obama in 2009.

Dr. Spinrad graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Earth and Planetary Sciences from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in Oceanography from Oregon State University. Titled Chartered Marine Scientist (CMarSci) by Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEst), London, UK

Prof. Dr. Alex Oude Elferink International Law of the Sea, Utrecht University

Professor in International Law of the Sea, and Director Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS), School of Law, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Prof. Oude Elferink has been working with NILOS since 1997. His expertise is in the field of public international law, with a focus on the law of the sea. He is both involved in academic legal research and consultancy work.

Alex Oude Elferink is also a law of the sea professor at the University of Tromsø and works at the University’s K.G. Jebsen Centre for the law of the sea. He also lectures at Utrecht University and the University of Tromsø.

Prof. Dr. Gerhard J. Herndl Ecology and Biological Oceanography, University of Vienna

Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, Chair of Aquatic Biology and Head of Division Bio-Oceanography at the Dept. Limnology and Oceanography (formerly: Dept. of Marine Biology) at the University of Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Herndl is also Adjunct Senior Scientist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), The Netherlands.

Dr. Herndl received his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna, 1982, is Elected Member of the Austrian Academy of Science and received an ERC Advanced Grant in the year 2011.

Prof. Dr. Mirek Kaminski Offshore Structures, Delft University of Technology

Full-time professor in the field of ship and offshore structures, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.

Prof. Kaminski joined TU Delft from MARIN, and naval engineering company Nevesbu prior to that. He is chairman of the International Ship & Offshore Structure Congress, where he also represents The Netherlands in the standing committee.

He received his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Szczecin (Poland) in 1980, and in 1992, he received his Ph.D. in Shipbuilding from the Delft University of Technology.

Frederik Gerner Chairman on behalf of The Ocean Cleanup

Fredrik joins the Scientific Advisory Board as a representative member of The Ocean Cleanup’s Supervisory Board, where he focuses on Technology and R&D.

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Understanding the problem