See full version: Ocean Cleanup device breaks down, well before ridding Pacific of plastics
An ambitious project to clean up a vast tide of ocean pollution has been sidelined. The project's 2,000-foot-long screen — which was already failing to capture plastic while stationed more than 1,000 miles off the coast of California — broke apart just before New Year's under the constant wind and waves of the Pacific Ocean.
Besides warning that the ungainly device might not survive in the Pacific, Goldstein expressed concern in an interview this week about it trapping sea creatures, particularly jellyfish and slugs that she said would not be able to pass around or underneath the screen.
She also said that it is important that the limited resources for plastics cleanups be focused on the most effective solutions. She pointed to the solar-driven water wheels that have removed an estimated 1,000 tons of plastic pollution from Baltimore's harbor since 2014.
Our floating systems are designed to capture plastics ranging from small pieces, just millimeters in size, up to large debris, including massive, discarded fishing nets (ghost nets), which can be tens of meters wide.
Active steering and computer modeling will enable us to target plastic hotspots -areas of higher concentration- to improve efficiency. Our models will be steadily improved using field data collected during our offshore missions, allowing for continually smarter operations and more focused cleanup.
To clean an area of this size, a strategic and energy-efficient solution is required to be able to scale up to a fleet of individual systems, all working together to clean the patch. With a relative speed difference maintained between the cleanup system and the plastic, we can create artificial coastlines, where there are none, to concentrate the plastic. here
We aim to offset all carbon emissions from the System 002 campaign and will investigate offsetting options for future ocean cleanup systems. [links]
Boyan Slat was in high school when he went on a vacation that changed his life. While diving in Greece he found that as soon as he went underwater he was completely surrounded by plastic. “There were more plastic bags than fish,” he told source MNN. “That was the moment I realized it was a huge issue and that environmental issues are really the biggest problems my generation will face.”
American author James A. Michener once wrote, “Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them.” At Capitol Technology University our motto is “find a way or make one.” All of our programs involve hands-on learning and doing, and we want to show support for our fellow makers.
The Ocean Cleanup is also responsible for the first ever aerial survey of the Garbage Patch, the data from which, combined with their sorting research, revealed the ultimate size of the problem. According to their data, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch measures 1.6 million km^2 and contains approximately 1.2 trillion pieces of plastic. It is enormous, and it seems to just be getting bigger. here
In 2015 the Ocean Cleanup project deployed 30 boats pulling collection trawls behind them through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They dredged up 1.2 million plastic samples, and they didn’t even pull through the entire span of the patch. The team classified all of the samples they brought back in order to better understand the plastic problem at hand. here
The Ocean Cleanup is also responsible for the first ever aerial survey of the Garbage Patch, the data from which, combined with their sorting research, revealed the ultimate size of the problem. According to their data, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch measures 1.6 million km^2 and contains approximately 1.2 trillion pieces of plastic. It is enormous, and it seems to just be getting bigger. [links]
Slat’s proposed design for a clean-up machine is a series of large floating booms attached to anchors floating deep beneath the waves. Previous ideas had run into issues with trying to attach booms like these to the ocean floor. Giving the booms the ability to float and move around with the flow of the ocean, but not so much that they are prevented from gathering the plastic, was the revolutionary bit of engineering developed by Slat. [links]
Part of our mission is to prepare our students to contribute to evolving the global community. In this series, we’ll explore some amazing makers with big dreams who are out in the world doing some great engineering right now.
Consumed by the idea, at the age of 18, Slat made the difficult decision to drop out of school to pursue his passion. He crowdfunded the resources to create a team of employees and volunteers for something he called The Ocean Cleanup project. Together he hoped they could start to tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. here