The primary goal of this project is to use field sampling and mathematical modelling to document the distribution of plastic in the ocean, on the coast and in the nearshore environment generated by 6-8 major urban centers and surrounding areas that have been identified as having significant waste mismanagement or losses into the marine environment. However, since this projects inception we have expanded the number of countries surveyed. This research will allow for empirical validation of waste losses as projected by a recent global estimate of plastic losses into the world’s oceans.

For two consecutive years (2023-2024), the schooner Tara is participating in the study of coastal ecosystems all along the European coast. The sampling of Tara Europa is part of the TREC expedition Traversing European Coastlines, led by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in collaboration with the Tara OceanS consortium, the Tara Ocean Foundation and more than 70 scientific institutions. Its objective is to study the land-sea interface, where biodiversity meets numerous pollutions.

This project monitored plastics at the four-bays area on Heard Island and at Sandell Bay on Macquarie Island. It characterised plastics by infra-red spectroscopy both from the beach collection and small pieces from fur-seal stomachs and cormorant boluses. The aim was to assess human impact on the ocean by measuring plastic abundance and type.

Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2179 See the link below for public details on this project. Taken from a progress report of the project written in 1998: 60 terrestrial sediments have been taken from Wilkes and Thala Valley tip, with control sites at Robinsons Ridge and Jacks Donga. 50 marine sediments have been taken from the bay offshore from Thala Valley tip. 116 fresh and marine waters have been taken from the fresh water stream flowing through the Thala Valley tip, the tip/sea interface, and the nearshore marine offshore from Thala Valley tip and control sites. Formal integration of these data into a GIS is underway. These data have not been archived until 2012, hence the only data available were sourced from publications arising from the project.

For two consecutive years (2023-2024), the schooner Tara is participating in the study of coastal ecosystems all along the European coast. The sampling of Tara Europa is part of the TREC expedition Traversing European Coastlines, led by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in collaboration with the Tara OceanS consortium, the Tara Ocean Foundation and more than 70 scientific institutions. Its objective is to study the land-sea interface, where biodiversity meets numerous pollutions.

Marine plastic pollution is an identified contaminant of emerging concern, with expected increases in contamination levels if plastic production projections eventuate. Scientists, managers and the public are increasingly interested in understanding the status and temporal trends of plastic contamination in the marine environment and specifically the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Presented in this study is the first temporal assessment of plastic contamination in the surface waters of the GBR, Australia. This was accomplished by conducting replicate surface seawater samples (n=66) adjacent to the SS Yongala shipwreck (central GBR), in Bindal sea country, between 2016 and 2019 using a neuston net. The processing workflow included a stringent protocol involving density flotation, filtration, visual identification and sizing of putative plastics using stereomicroscopy, and chemical characterisation using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Overall, a total of 533 plastic items were identified and confirmed as plastic, with plastics detected in every single replicate tow, bar one. Polyethylene and polypropylene were the most common polymers present, and were comprised of macro-, meso- and microplastic fragments and fibres. Concentrations of plastic fluctuated across the three years, with spikes related to wind-speed and extreme weather events. However, overall plastic trends did not significantly increase or alter throughout the study period. This study reveals the chronic presence of plastic debris in the surface waters of the central GBR and highlights the need for long-term monitoring of the marine environment for plastic contamination.