First Day at Sea!!!!

And were off!

We left Hilo last night, January 20, at dusk, just a few hours shy of nightfall. A full moon cast a bright, silver sheen over the gently rolling swells, making the first night watch a stunningly beautiful spectacle.

Our first planned sampling spot lay just off the southernmost point in the United States; Kamilo Beach. Kamilo beach is also the most polluted beach in the United States, a considerably less glamorous yet no less interesting selling point for this crew. Just a few days before our departure, we’d braved the 2-hour, treacherous drive out to Kamilo to see for ourselves.

What we saw there must be seen to be believed. A picturesque, volcanic coastline, far from any visible development, clear blue waters and spectacular beaches – entirely covered in plastic debris.

Can you find it on the map using the coordinates on the GPS in the picture?

It is precisely spots like this that exemplify the need for a better understanding of how far reaching the marine debris issue really is. And a powerful visual reminder as to why were embarking on this month long journey…..

Somewhere around midnight, we witnessed an active lava flow erupting from the slopes of Mauna Loa, rousted from our rocky slumber by the Captain. The view was well worth the wakeup call – a fiery red glow emanating from the coastline.

By sunrise, the wind was blowing 35 knots, too powerful to begin sampling, so we continued on, taking a highly productive detour to try our luck at scouting out some sashimi. As the photo here suggests, mission accomplished: Jeff with the first of 6 small Ahi, known as Shibi, filleted in less than 5 minutes. And consumed tonight for dinner.

Satisfied with our haul, we began fishing for plastic. We out set the Manta Trawl to collect samples off the leeward side of the Island, an area one would expect to find little in the way of plastic debris due to the wind currents. We found however clear evidence of small plastic particles, along with a host of fish eggs and Copepods. There is truly no “pristine." Here is a link to an Ocean Conservancy slide show addressing this issue http://www.shiftingbaselines.org/slideshow/index.html

Later in the afternoon, we prepped for our first dive, a chance to test out our equipment and refresh our scuba skills during calm seas. The area was relatively barren of life, save for countless Jellies and Salps of various shapes and sizes. Joel, Jeff, and Marcus practiced working the underwater video equipment, Anna had a much needed “brush up” dive, and Charles spotted the most interesting creature of us all, a large ctenophore.

We’re now on track again, westward bound. In about 4 days, we should reach one of our main study areas, an area yet to be sampled for plastic debris. Though just one day into our journey, the reality of finding trash in such remote areas of the ocean underscores the message: There simply is no “away” in a throwaway culture.

Aloha from the Captain and Crew of ORV Alguita.

Meet the crew

The crew, less than 24 hours before final departure.

After several days – and for some of the crew weeks – of prepping, boat tweaking, shopping, and stashing unbelievable amounts of supplies, we're finally ready for takeoff.

From left to right: Marcus Eriksen, Nicole Chatterson, Joel Paschal, Anna Cummins, Charles Moore, Jeff Earnst, and Herb Machleder.

The smiling faces here reflect the fact that a) no one has lost their breakfast - yet, b) we haven't yet spent days upon weeks coexisting in a small space, and c) land is still within easy access.....

A word about the crew, all marine debris and/or sailing enthusiasts:

Marcus Eriksen, Algalita's Director of Research and Education, has been deeply involved in plastic marine debris issues since rafting down the length of the Mississippi River on a boat made from recycled plastic bottles. Marcus has given presentations about marine debris issues to schools and communities all over the country, and will continue his public education upon his return, with samples and data "hot off the gyre".

Nicole Chatterson - Algalita's operations assistant, and key support for this ORV Alguita voyage. Though she won't be on board (this time), Nicole's help with preparations has been instrumental. Nicole is finishing up her environmental studies in Long Beach, and plans to continue working for marine conservation in the future.

Joel Paschal - resident filmmaker and self proclaimed “freelance errand boy”. Joel previously worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he spent 4 months at sea studying marine debris. He “just couldn’t get enough of trash”, and volunteered to document the expedition, with a focus on capturing underwater footage.

Anna Cummins - Algalita's Education Advisor and lone female on board. While working for a marine conservation organization in 2004, Anna met Charles Moore and joined joined Algalita on a research trip to Guadalupe Island. She was forever changed by this opportunity to learn first hand about the far reaching, ecological impacts of disposable plastics.

Captain Charles Moore - Algalita's founder and world-renowned marine debris expert, has been studying the North Pacific Gyre for over 10 years. His determination was sparked by an accidental discovery of plastic quantities in the gyre in 1997. Charles anticipates finding evidence on this journey of plastic debris more alarming than anything yet seen.

Jeff Ernst - recently joined Algalita to assist with marine debris research, and to provide his key sailing skills, tireless energy, and marine debris know how. Jeff recently received his degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Hilo, Hawaii, where he took Charles' marine debris seminar, and crewed aboard ORV Alguita on numerous local trips.

Herb Machleder, our resident doctor, is a long time sailing veteran and Master Organic Gardener. Herb was a vascular surgeon at UCLA for many years, has sailed boats from Los Angeles to Northern Canada to Alaska to Baja, and brings key maritime-medical experience to this journey.

And last but far from least, Holly Gray, our key vessel and blog support. Holly doesn't appear in this photo, as she's busy running the education outreach programs while the rest of us traipse about. Holly ran both blogs on the last journey, and has done an incredible job getting schools "on board".

Anyone interested in having their schools involved in the journey should visit the Ship to Shore blog, where classes can both track Alguita's progress, and submit questions directly to the crew, which we will answer to the best of our abilities.

Posted by Anna

ORV Alguita preparing for sail off

On January 22nd, the ORV Alguita will set sail from Hilo, Hawaii for the North Pacific Gyre, on a month long research expedition to study marine debris concentrations. This will be Algalita's 8th Pacific crossing since founder Captain Charles Moore began studying the Gyre in 1999.

This next voyage will cover new territory, and may possibly yield new findings....

A primary focus will be to follow up on the results of a recent paper by Bill Pichel, Dave Foley, and Tim Veenstra - all three of whom have provided valuable information and resources for previous Algalita expeditions.



The paper, Marine Debris Collects Within the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, debuts the DELI concept - the Debris Estimated Likelihood Index - which purports to predict where large debris accumulations occur, with a special focus on ghost nets.

During the winter months, currents tend to accumulate debris, which reaches its maximum concentration in the spring, before summer current patterns disperse it again.

The reported areas of high debris concentrations have thus far been studied only from air, in March and April. Algalita's coming voyage will venture further west than ever before, investigating possible concentrations North of Hawaii, and just East of the International Date Line.

It may be that the areas of the North Pacific Gyre with the highest concentrations of marine debris have yet to be seen or studied.

Additionally, this expedition will study deeper regions, venturing into the "mixed layer" to see how much plastic is found near the limit where light penetrates and photosynthesis takes place. Below this area, down around 500 meters, carbon (and possibly plastic particles) mixed into the ocean exists in what "oceanographers call the 100-year horizon . . . beyond which the water will not come into contact with the surface for a century. That duration is the international standard for commercial carbon-storage projects." (Science 30 Nov, 2007, p.1370)

By studying this region, Algalita will begin investigating the possibility of buoyant plastic particles' ability to affect atmospheric carbon sequestration, an issue of global significance.

To follow ORV Alguita's progress, check back here - images and updates will be posted on this blog over the next month.

The debris front

Day Three off Hilo,

Sam said she was glad that we had left the rough weather behind us as ORV Alguita spent all night motorsailing from the southern face of the Big Island, where new real estate is being made by Madame Pele, the volcano goddess, to the edge of the plankton bloom northeast of Hilo. We arrived at first light and began sampling about 40 miles offshore. We trawled for an hour, then ran northwest along the front for an hour and sampled again. The first two times we did this we caught moderate amounts of plastic mixed with typical planktonic organisms. The third trawl was different. It had a brownish hue and contained more small plankton and more plastic. It seemed that there was a relationship between greater plankton content and more debris. We wondered if the brown hue was indeed caused by a phytoplankton bloom. Perhaps we can ID some of the species in this trawl at the UH Hilo Marine Science Department's wet lab. Tina Chau of KGMB 9 in Honolulu has been following this voyage and our work with the Marine Debris class at the University. She just aired a great special that we saw in the conference room at the University on our small portable TV while writing this blog. Students analyzing samples were interviewed and our findings today made it on air the same night.

Pretty amazing,

Aloha from UH Hilo

Captain Charles Moore

Day 2 off South Point

The Search Continues

Our goal during this cruise was to find cells of debris or a miniature "garbage patch" off the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii. We have heard reports that it exists, but that it is quite variable in its location. We believe that this accumulation of debris is feeding into Kamilo Beach, which accumulates an extraordinary amount of trash from all over the Pacific Rim. The Honolulu Star Bulletin just published an article with a picture of Kamilo beach debris which can be viewed at: http://starbulletin.com/2007/11/11/news/story02.html

So far we have not found any areas offshore with high concentrations of debris. Today, only one observation of floating debris, a soap bottle, was made by the crew, and our trawls contained little plastic. Currently, we are headed to the eastern edge of the chlorophyll maximum to sample where debris is expected to accumulate. After that, we will be heading downwind back to Hilo, where Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer will lecture on flotsam Tuesday. Jeff caught a Mahi Mahi today, so we had panko fried mahi for lunch. The volunteers from UH Hilo are turning into great sailors.

Aloha from ORV Alguita

Dear Colleagues,

The crew of six and myself (three students from UH Hilo and Donovan Hoen, writing up the expedition for the New York Times Magazine), have just weathered the roughest conditions experienced aboard ORV Alguita this year. After sampling 50 miles south of the Big Island along the chlorophyll front recommended by Dave Foley (see attached graphic), we beat into 12 foot seas and 35 knot winds under genoa and mainsail back toward the Island so we could lower the genoa and put up the staysail. Waves were breaking over the bow and covering the entire boat from stem to stern. But we got our sample, albeit at the limit of the ability of the manta trawl to collect consistent data. We also sampled in the lee of South Point, which acts as a seive for debris, and found very little plastic there. Last night's sail from Hilo gave spectacular views of Puu O'o's latest eruption. We could see lava shooting up and an orange glow on the side of Mauna Loa. Currently we are heading southeast from the Point to sample the other side of the chlorophyll bloom where debris may accumulate. To quote Dave Foley:"The image (chlorophyll a from the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua spacecraft) shows two distinct water masses. I wuld expect collection of material along the edges of those water masses." The green lines in the image indicate those edges. We will see what the manta trawls up tomorrow, and Monday on our way back to Hilo.

Aloha from south of the Big Island in a comfortable 25 knots of wind,

Captain Charles Moore.

School Mascots in Hilo, Hawaii

After a voyage of several thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean, the school mascots are relaxing on lava rock at a beach, and getting a chance to meet the locals...

Green Sea TurtleNene (The Hawaiian Goose, an endemic endangered species)
Ornate Butterflyfish and Coral
Unfortunately, even here on the remote beaches of Hawaii we find plastic marine debris...... but hopefully this won't always be the case.

Thank you for your participation in this important research voyage!