National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Exploration (www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov) is dedicated to exploring the unknown ocean, unlocking its potential through scientific discovery, technological advancements, partnerships, and data delivery. We are leading national efforts to fill gaps in our basic understanding of the marine environment, providing critical ocean data, information, and awareness needed to strengthen the economy, health, and security of the United States and the world.
NOAA Ocean Exploration has an exploration-dedicated ship, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. On the ship, there are two remotely operated vehicle (ROV) systems – Deep Discoverer and Seirios. Both ROVs are deployed on Okeanos Explorer to expand the variety of data collected, including physical measurements of the ocean (temperature, salinity, oxygen), high-resolution video, and biological and geological samples. Visual observations of the water column and seafloor have immense exploration and scientific value because of the challenges and expense of deep-sea exploration. Underwater video is used to describe geological, physical, chemical, and biological phenomena and processes and to document archaeological sites. NOAA Ocean Exploration captures high-resolution video from both ROVs continuously during ROV dives.
Video annotations provide a record of scientific observations, as documented by experts, made during ROV dives. Types of annotations include physical features, organisms in the water column and on the seafloor, marine debris, and archaeological targets. To capture video annotations during ROV dives, NOAA Ocean Exploration uses collaborative telepresence-enabled exploration, which allows shore-based scientists and students to fully engage in an expedition in real time, and SeaTubeV3, a cloud-based annotation system developed by Ocean Networks Canada and used for NOAA expeditions. NOAA Ocean Exploration partners with scientists to systematically annotate ROV video, and annotation effort is dependent on the number of scientists participating in an expedition. To aid annotation and data use, SeaTubeV3 also enables users to search and edit annotations, browse video, and download and manipulate annotation data.
Marine debris is the technical term for trash that is in the ocean. It is anthropogenic (caused by humans), persistent (not going anywhere anytime soon), and one of the most widespread pollution problems facing the world’s oceans. You may be familiar with floating garbage patches in the middle of the ocean, or have heard about the negative impacts that objects like plastic bags, straws, and six-pack rings can have on animals such as sea turtles or birds. These are all examples of marine debris. Marine debris that we can see is easier to acknowledge and address, but much of the world's marine debris may be hidden. Deep-sea marine debris and microplastics are two types of marine debris that are not immediately obvious because they are either very, very deep or very, very small. Many offices within NOAA (such as the NOAA Marine Debris Program) are working to bring greater awareness to the marine debris that we cannot see. NOAA Ocean Exploration does this by documenting instances of marine debris in its ROV video data. However, in order to distill what we see into an impactful message, we first have to have a good understanding of what it is we are looking at. In the spring of 2024, a team of Capstone students analyzed ROV video data and found over 480 instances of marine debris with metals and plastics being the most common material. They also found that 98% of the debris observed fell within the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ; out to 200 nautical miles from shore), and debris tended to be clustered around ports and major shipping lanes, however, it is important to recognized the spatial distribution of marine debris observations are heavily influenced by where the ROV surveys were conducted.
Marine debris is a global issue that impacts all reaches of the ocean - including the deepest depths. The Marine Debris Act was signed into law in 2006 and has been amended in 2012, 2018 and 2020. The Save Our Sea 2.0 Act of 2020, is the most recent of these amendments and provides guidance on addressing, combating, and preventing marine debris. Duke University also maintains a searchable database of public policy documents targeting plastic pollution, beginning January 1, 2000, and currently updated to January 2023. Using these resources as a starting point, you will work to address the following questions.
Students will engage in a policy and literature review to determine the current state of marine debris policy. They will use the data presented by the previous class to make recommendations for improvement.
What is the current state of marine debris policy in both domestic (US, Canada, Caribbean) and international waters?
Does plastic require special policy considerations? Some questions to consider:
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