Want to Help The Ocean Cleanup? Become a Citizen Scientist!

by | Apr 15, 2021 | Conservation, Sustainability | 0 comments

This is a fun, easy, and extremely helpful thing you can do RIGHT NOW to help make our world a better place!

“Our plastic survey apps give you the opportunity to contribute to our mission, wherever you are, and become part of the largest cleanup in history.

To rid the world’s oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup relies on a thorough understanding of the problem. This is why gathering data and research are foundational to our work. For years, our team has been monitoring rivers and oceans to identify pollution hotspots, which is crucial for an efficient cleanup strategy. But, our team is small and we can’t do this alone; therefore, we rely on the help and support from people all over the world. Starting today, you can join forces with us and help us gain greater insights into the plastic pollution problem in our oceans and rivers by using The Ocean Cleanup plastic survey apps.

WHAT IS A SURVEY APP?

The survey apps allow anyone with a smartphone to become a citizen scientist. By downloading our brand-new River Plastic Survey app and/or our upgraded Ocean Plastic Survey app, you will observe and document plastic pollution with our easy-to-use interfaces. With these apps, you can generate valuable river and ocean plastic data from all over the world. After finishing your survey, your data will be immediately updated on The Ocean Cleanup’s newly released map of our global citizen science research effort.

Estimations show that several million tons of plastic waste enter our oceans yearly. Rivers represent a major source of plastic pollution – they are widely believed to be the arteries that carry waste from land to the ocean. We now know that this is happening everywhere in the world and we estimate that over 1000 rivers are contributing 80% of the global riverine plastic inputs into the ocean. The understanding of waste occurrence, concentrations, and composition is highly important for the scientists and engineers at The Ocean Cleanup to improve and innovate our cleanup systems in oceans and rivers.

HOW CAN I PERFORM OCEAN AND RIVER PLASTIC SURVEYS?

1. Choose the app that fits the environment you wish to survey: the River Plastic Survey app or the Ocean Plastic Survey app (or both).

2. Be sure to charge your phone battery before you set out to a stream, river, or marine surface waterbody of your choice.

3. Survey only in daylight and pick a safe bridge for rivers or a safe vessel for oceans.

4. Check the instructions in the app, and once you’ve completed these steps, you are ready to make real time records of plastic items you identify on the water surface by simply tapping the categories on the survey screen.”

all quotes and pictures are from https://theoceancleanup.com/

  • xeniaforever

    As senior editor here at reefs, I get to work with scientists from all over the world, and have made some wonderful friends in the industry! I also write for the site, and am the office manager at FRESH New London and the mother of two brilliant, talented young women.

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