The Ocean Cleanup, Part 1 and Part 2

The Ocean Cleanup, Part 1 and Part 2

2014 / non research

The Ocean Cleanup, Part 1 and Part 2

http://deepseanews.com/2014/07/the-ocean-cleanup-part-1-alternatives-to-reduce-ocean-plastic/

POSTED ON JULY 14, 2014 BY KIM MARTINI

The Ocean Cleanup, Part 1: Alternatives to reduce ocean plastic

This is the first of two-part post. This installment is written by Kim,
who will present alternatives to the Ocean Cleanup project to help curb
the problem of plastic pollution in the oceans. The second installment
is a technical review of the Ocean Cleanup feasibility study and is a
collaboration between Kim and Miriam .

Last year, Deep Sea News reviewed the Ocean Cleanup project. The brain
child of Boyan Slat, he claimed that his design could clean the ocean of
plastic in 10 years. At the time the project was just a concept. It was
a concept that we found had serious potential problems. As is explained
in the technical review, we still think it has a lot of problems.

We can all agree here, we WANT to see plastic in the ocean cleaned up.
But it isn?t an easy job and right now there isn?t a catch-all solution.
Therefore, I?ve assembled a list of organizations that are actively
trying to reduce ocean plastic, and suggestions on how you can help
facilitate positive change. Because ocean plastic is a big problem that
needs a big solution, and we need to work together on multiple fronts to
solve it.

http://deepseanews.com/2014/07/the-ocean-cleanup-part-2-technical-review-of-the-feasibility-study/

POSTED ON JULY 14, 2014 BY KIM MARTINI

The Ocean Cleanup, Part 2: Technical review of the feasibility study

INTRODUCTION

This is the second of a two-part post. In the first installment, Kim
presented alternatives to this project. This installment is a
collaboration between Kim and Miriam. Dr. Kim Martini is a physical
oceanographer who has been involved in the deployment of a variety of
deep sea oceanographic moorings. Dr. Miriam Goldstein is a biological
oceanographer who has studied the ecological impacts of plastic
pollution in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

Last year, we reviewed the Ocean Cleanup project. This project was
created by 19-year-old engineering student Boyan Slat, who was drawn to
the idea after encountering plastic pollution in the Mediterranean. In
the first draft of the project which was presented through conceptual
renderings and a TEDx talk, Mr. Slat claimed that his design could clean
the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre of plastic in 10 years. This garnered
substantial publicity, causing us to write a lighthearted review of the
project pointing out serious technical concerns. In response, Boyan
assured us and other critics that these critiques would be addressed in
an feasibility study. That feasibility study was released on June 3, 2014.

Originally, we had decided not to engage with this project again, since
being a naysayer is neither fun nor professionally rewarding [1].
However, we have decided to team up to conduct a serious technical
review of the feasibility study for the following reasons:

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