Nicole Gordon - eXXpedition

September 12, 2019

by Soraya Abdel-Hadi
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Ever wondered what the ocean looks like from our m

Ever wondered what the ocean looks like from our manta trawl’s point of view?
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@IrinaMariaPeterson had the genius idea to attach her @GoPro to the top of the manta trawl, giving us a unique look at how it slices through the top layer of ocean water to collect samples.
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As you can see in the video, the manta trawl works by scooping in water and filtering it through a fine net to collect microplastic particles at the surface of the ocean.
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Video by @IrinaMariaPeterson

“Anna, our awesome skipper, had an announcement

“Anna, our awesome skipper, had an announcement for us…we had just reached our halfway point! 1137 miles down, 1137 miles to go!” - Louise Tremewan, Leg 2
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This time last year, our Leg 2 crew were sailing through the middle of the Atlantic ocean, on their voyage from Azores to Antigua. Head over to the link in our bio to read about the mid-way point onboard celebrations, which included some groovy ocean-themed fancy dress...
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Have you ever crossed the Atlantic? Let us know in the comments!
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Photo by @sophiedingwall

Did you know that the UK and US produce more plast

Did you know that the UK and US produce more plastic waste per person than any other major countries?
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New research has suggested that the US produces the most plastic waste in total and that it’s citizens are third highest in the world for contributing to ocean plastic pollution. Though the US constitutes 4% of the world’s population, it produces 17% of it’s plastic waste.
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Just behind the US was the UK, followed by South Korea and Germany, as countries with the highest total plastic waste production. Indonesia and India ranked highest for the amount of plastic waste ending up in the ocean.
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For more information on the study head over to the link in our bio.
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Photo by @yanikaborg89

This year, we teamed up with @YoungCitizensUK and

This year, we teamed up with @YoungCitizensUK and our Round the World Silver Sponsors Slaughter and May to create a set of engaging lesson plans that look at the effects of plastic pollution and how young people can use their skills to become part of a positive movement for change.⁠
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Check out the free classroom resources, aimed at KS2 pupils, through the link in our bio.⁠
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Photo credit: @ericacirino⁠

It’s often thought that the gyres - plastic accu

It’s often thought that the gyres - plastic accumulation zones - of the world look like giant floating islands of trash, when in reality, they’re actually more like a plastic soup.⁠
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Onboard Leg 2 of eXXpedition, our crew collected samples from the gyre, and were shocked to almost 500 pieces of plastic in a single trawl - equating to half a million pieces per square kilometer on the ocean’s surface.⁠
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Read more about what Leg 2 discovered in their manta trawl in our blog post “Starving in Ample Seas” - link in bio.⁠

“We sailed best to wind for the first couple of

“We sailed best to wind for the first couple of days – at about 200 degrees on our ship’s compass. Then the wind swung west and we were able to sail directly toward our destination of Antigua at 250 degrees.”⁠
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Sailing at espresso-martini speed - continue reading the Leg 2 blog by Natasha, Erica and Emilie, link in bio⁠
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Photo credit: @SophieDingwall⁠

“So far, we have analysed about 30 samples which

“So far, we have analysed about 30 samples which took about 2 hours. The vast majority of the plastic came out as HDPE (High density Polyethylene).” - Marita Schmid, Leg 2⁠
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Onboard eXXpedition, we use a scientific instrument called a @PerkinElmer Spectrum Two™ FT-IR spectrometer to help us identify the type of plastic polymer. This means that out at sea, our crew can match the polymers we’ve found in our samples to an existing library - which helps us to determine where the sample might have come from and potential sources of these microplastics. ⁠
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Hear over to the Leg 2 blog “Using the Magic Plastic-Definition Device” to learn more about how FTIR was used onboard Leg 2 to identify microplastic samples. Link in bio⁠
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Photo credit: Yanika Borg⁠
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“I’ve found sailing to be one of the best ways

“I’ve found sailing to be one of the best ways to experience nature, and it is a pursuit that I have devoted my life to. The ever-changing nature of the ocean environment has provided me with constant entertainment.”
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eXXpedition photographer and deckhand @SophieDingwall was featured in @oceanographic_mag!
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First hearing of eXXpedition while working as a commercial photographer, Sophie joined our Round The World voyage for 5000 nautical miles from Plymouth through to Panama.
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From conducting science in the North Atlantic Garbage Patch to capturing the voyages of the women that came onboard through her photography, head over to the link in our bio to read the article.
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Photo credit: @sophiedingwall

Have you heard of the ocean garbage patches? - Als

Have you heard of the ocean garbage patches?
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Also known as gyres, there are 5 large systems of rotating ocean currents which are formed by global wind patterns and the Earth’s rotation. As you can see in the video, as the gyres circulate ocean waters, they also draw in marine debris, concentrating it into a “soup” of plastic.
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During the second leg of eXXpedition Round the World, our voyage leg sponsors and scientific partner @copernicus_eu Marine Service and Mercator Ocean helped guide us to the first gyre of our journey - the North Atlantic Gyre.
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In our round the world voyage, we found the greatest total number of microplastics in surface waters on Leg 2, through the North Atlantic gyre (although the largest amount found in a single trawl was on Leg 5!).
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In each sample collected there was an average of 70 pieces of microplastic. Every sample was then analysed onboard using an FTIR from @PerkinElmer, and the vast majority of what we found was HDPE.

Just before the Leg 2 crew set sail from the Azore

Just before the Leg 2 crew set sail from the Azores, a slight weather delay kept us on shore a little longer than expected… but the extra time on land didn’t go to waste as it allowed the crew to kick off the science programme!⁠
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The crew set about conducting a land-based waste management survey using the CapLite method - which contributes towards @JennaJambeck’s research at the @UniofGA - collecting sediment samples, and taking part in a nurdle hunt across Santa Barbara beach where they found 424 nurdles in less than 30 minutes!⁠
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Though our science programme is on pause, you can all take part in citizen science to track plastic waste by using the #marinedebristracker.⁠
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Photo by Erica Cirino

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