C-MORE The Center for Microbial Oceanography (C-MORE) is a research and education organization established in 2006 as a National Science Foundation funded Science and Technology Center. Objectives It has been said that more is known about the surface of ...

: SUPER HI-CAT (Center for Microbial Oceanography- Research and Education: Survey of Underwater Plastic Ecosystem Response Hawaii to California Transit) The SUPER HI-CAT research cruise was the first effort to study the

microbial communities Microbial population biology is the application of the principles of population biology to microorganisms. Distinguishing from other biological disciplines Microbial population biology, in practice, is the application of population ecology and popu ...

and the

biogeochemistry Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the cryosphere, t ...

associated with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The study was conducted aboard the RV Kilo Moana (T-AGOR-26) between August 25, 2008 and September 5, 2008 by researchers from

UH Manoa Uh or UH may refer to: Education * United Hospitals, medical schools in London, UK * University of Hartford * University of Hasselt * University of Havana * University of Hawai'i system ** University of Hawai'i at Manoa, its flagship university * U ...

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

, and the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Previous research on the Plastic Patch had mostly focused on the effects of the plastic pieces on

jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...

, and

seabirds Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine (ocean), marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ev ...

. Relatively little was known about how this type of

marine debris Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally been released in a sea or ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing ...

would affect the microbial communities that make up 98% of the

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

in the ocean and control oceanic biogeochemistry. During this cruise, 30 sites were sampled. At 15 of these sites, a modified surface net called a manta trawlBialik, Carl
"How Big Is That Widening Gyre of Floating Plastic? "
''The Wall Street Journal'', March 25, 2009 was used to collect plastic pieces, while water samples were collected from the upper 200 meters of the ocean. At the other 15 stations, only the surface waters were sampled. This study will allow researchers to begin to determine whether

biofilms A biofilm comprises any syntrophic consortium of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular matrix that is composed of extracellular ...

are forming on the plastic particles, whether the microbes living on the particles are different from the free-living

planktonic Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

organisms, and what effect these communities might have on the oceanic

carbon cycle The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere of the Earth. Carbon is the main component of biological compounds as well as ...

and

nitrogen cycle The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biologi ...

References

External links

* {{Official, http://hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/cmoresuperhicat/superhicat.html Biological oceanography Pacific expeditions Oceanographic expeditions Biogeochemistry

See also

References

External links