Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 05:07

We have been reading, hearing and watched a show last night on the North Pacific Gyre. It seems the currents pull everything to the middle of the Pacific where there is a plastic trash waste area twice as big as Texas. They had seined the water and found there to be more plastic bits then plankton. I know when I was at sea after we passed the last sea buoy we dumped all our trash in the ocean. What happens with your trash? And have you found trash in your "trawls". And how are you receiving and sending this information? Through single side band radio? or satellite phone?

                             The Smalleys

  

Katie Pena

Hi Smalleys!
We actually burn all the trash possible and then barrel the rest and dispose of it correctly back at the port. We have not collected any trash in the trawls so far nor have I seen any floating in the sea. I hope that over the years people have become more aware of protecting the environment.
We actually have limited internet access on the ship. We have an intranet that allows emails and news postings, but it is very closely monitored by the IT guys. We do also have a satellite phone that can be used for short calls. The available communications are pretty amazing!
Thanks for the questions!
Mrs. Pena

Kristin Timm

Dear Smalley Family, Gerty Ward, another PolarTREC teacher will be taking part in an expedition this summer studying freshwater and salinity in the Beaufort Gyre system.
It sounds like something you may be interested in, and I hope you follow along! Here is a link to her PolarTREC project overview.
Kristin
PolarTREC Project Manager