Plastic Density in the Pacific: 2007-2008 Data
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Download the PDF of the 2007/08 Plastic Count Densities Map here>>
*High resolution .jpegs coming soon
2007-2008 Voyage Summary
Count density refers to the number of plastic particles found per cubic meter of water. The larger the circle on the map, the greater the number of plastic particles found at that particular site.
The 2007-2008 research expedition was composed of two separate legs. Between these two parts of the trip, a variety of data collection was carried out. First off, plastics and water were collected from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) for Persistent Organic Pollutant (POPs) analysis.
In addition to new sites being sampled with the Manta trawl, the ORV Alguita crew re-sampled the sites from Algalita's original 1999 study. Although conducted during a different season than original study , the 2008 sample series yielded a significantly higher ratio of plastic to plankton than the 1999 samples.
Two more data analysis angles were added to 2007-2008 expeditions: 1) the Bongo net* was deployed to a depth of 100m to sample for pelagic plastic and 2) the ORV Alguita crew collected mesopelagic fish to conduct plastic ingestion studies.
* Bongo data not included in surface count density maps.