Research | AMRF/ORV Alguita Research Projects
The team is examining both the scope of plastic contamination and the implications this pollution has on the food chain. The focus of Algalita's current research includes the prevalence and quantification of plastic debris in the North Pacific Sub-tropical Gyre (NPSG), biological impact of plastics on marine life and the human food chain. |
Current Projects 2010 North and South Atlantic Gyre Expeditions >> |
Algalita is moving full speed ahead on several research projects which will shed light on one of the most under-recognized yet ubiquitous issues facing our planet; plastic debris in our oceans. Algalita's research team is at the forefront of the investigation into plastic pollution in our oceans.
Research Blog
View ORV Alguita's research voyages in Google Maps>> View ORV Alguita's 2007, 2008 and 2009 research voyages to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre in Google Maps. Click on the noon position icons to read the crew's blog post for each day.
Past Projects
Past Project Spotlight: The Plastic Debris, Rivers to Sea Project: Assessing Land Based Discharges of Marine Debris. This project was a HUGE step towards a) understanding the sources of plastic marine debris from land and b) changing the industry and municipal practices that result in debris release into our oceans. Read more>>
Check out our Research Archives >>
Above: Capt. Moore removes debris from the NPSG.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plastic Pollution and the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Find the answers to some of the most common questons about plastic pollution and the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Read our FAQs page >>.
Download our informative brochures:
Plastic Debris Brochure
Download our informative brochure Plastic Debris from Rivers to Sea.
- Download Plastic Debris from Rivers to Sea English
- Download Plastic Debris from Rivers to Sea Spanish
Plastics Are Forever Brochure
Download our informative brochure Plastics Are Forever.
- Download Plastics Are Forever English
- Download Plastics Are Forever Spanish
Research Papers
Research Papers for Download
- Plastics, the environment and human health - July 27, 2009 - Papers of a Theme Issue compiled and edited by R.C. Thompson, C.J. Moore, F.A. vom Saal & S.H. Swan
- Introduction – Our Plastic Age
Richard C. Thompson, Shanna H. Swan, Charles J. Moore, and Frederick S. vom Saal - Monitoring the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment
Peter G. Ryan, Charles J. Moore, Jan A. van Franeker, and Coleen L. Moloney - Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife
Emma L. Teuten, Jovita M. Saquing, Detlef R. U. Knappe, Morton A. Barlaz, Susanne Jonsson, Annika Björn, Steven J. Rowland, Richard C. Thompson, Tamara S. Galloway, Rei Yamashita, Daisuke Ochi, Yutaka Watanuki, Charles Moore, Pham Hung Viet, Touch Seang Tana, Maricar Prudente, Ruchaya Boonyatumanond, Mohamad P. Zakaria, Kongsap Akkhavong, Yuko Ogata, Hisashi Hirai, Satoru Iwasa, Kaoruko Mizukawa, Yuki Hagino, Ayako Imamura, Mahua Saha, and Hideshige Takada - Plastics. The environment and human health: current and future trends
Richard C. Thompson, Charles J. Moore, Frederick S. vom Saal, and Shanna H. Swan
- Introduction – Our Plastic Age
- A Comparison of Plastic and Plankton in the North Pacific Central Gyre
Moore, C.J., Moore, S.L., Leecaster, M.K., Weisberg, S.B. - Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: A rapidly increasing, long-term threat
Moore, C.J. - Working Our Way Upstream: A Snapshot of Land-based Contributions of Plastic and other Trash to Coastal Waters and Beaches of Southern California
Moore, C.J., Lattin, G.L., Zellers, A.F. - A Brief Analysis of Organic Pollutants Sorbed to Pre and Post-Consumer Plastic Particles from the Los Angeles and San Gabriel River Watersheds
Moore, C.J., Lattin, G.L., Zellers, A.F. - Measuring the Effectiveness of Voluntary Plastic Industry Efforts: AMRF’s Analysis of Operation Clean Sweep.
Moore, C.J., Lattin, G.L., Zellers, A.F. - Density of Plastic Particles Found in Zooplankton Trawls from Coastal Waters of California to the North Pacific Central Gyre
Moore, C.J., Lattin, G.L., Zellers, A.F - A comparison of neustonic plastic and zooplankton abundance in southern California's coastal watersMoore, C.J., Moore, S.L., Weisberg, S.B., Lattin, G.L., Zellers, A.F.
- A comparison of neustonic plastic and zooplankton at different depths near the southern California shore Lattin, G.L., Moore, C.J., Zellers, A.F., Moore, S.L., Weisberg, S.B
- Persistent organic pollutants carried by synthetic polymers in the ocean environment
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 54, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 1230-1237
Lorena M. Rios, Charles Moore, Patrick R. Jones - Chlorinated hydrocarbons in marine sediments of the Baja California (Mexico)-California (USA) border zone
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 36, Issue 1, January 1998, Pages 27-31
Efraín A. Gutiérrez-Galindo, Lorena M. Ríos Mendoza, Gilberto Flores Muñoz, Julio A. Villaescusa Celaya - New contamination derived from marine debris plastics
Presented at 238th ACS National Meeting, August 22-26,2009, Washington DC Environ.Divn.
Katsuhiko Saido,Tadashi Itagaki, Hideto Sato,Yoichi Kodera, Osamu Abe, Naoto Ogawa, Seon-Yong Chung and Kiyotaka Miyashita (Moore, C.J., cited in References) - Is marine debris ingestion still a problem for the coastal marine biota of southern Brazil?
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Paula S. Tourinho, Juliana A. Ivar do Sul *, Gilberto Fillmann - On the importance of size of plastic fragments and pellets on the strandline: a snapshot of a Brazilian beach
Environ Monit Assess August 13, 2009
Monica F. Costa, Juliana A. Ivar do Sul, Jacqueline S. Silva-Cavalcanti, Maria Christina B. Araújo, Ângela Spengler, Paula S. Tourinho - Here, there and everywhere. Small plastic fragments and pellets on beaches
of Fernando de Noronha (Equatorial Western Atlantic)
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Juliana A. Ivar do Sul , Ângela Spengler, Monica F. Costa - Anthropogenic debris on beaches in the SE Pacific (Chile):
Results from a national survey supported by volunteers
Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009) 1718–1726
Macarena Bravo, Mª de los Ángeles Gallardo a, Guillermo Luna-Jorquera, Paloma Núñez, Nelson Vásquez, Martin Thiel
Published Research list
The Published Research list contains a list of all the written material that AMRF currently has in their library for public viewing. In the first two sections of the document, these publications can be mailed to you via an email or phone request. For U.S. mail copies there is a fee of $1 per document and postage and handling fee of $5.00.
Other Resources
- Marine Litter
- PlasticDebris.org
- YouTube video of fledgling laysan albatross necropsy with huge plastic load, Kure Atoll Seabird Sanctuary, 2007
- Plastic Water Bottle Powerpoint
Bisphenol-A Fact Sheet
Learn more about the uses of BPA and it's effects on human health. Download the PDF>>