So,thereIwasinaremotepartofGreenland,holdingatinybirdcalledalittleaukinmyhand,waitingforittopoop.Nowbeforeyouask,theanswerisno.No,thisisnotwhatIexpectedtobedoingonmyfirstmajorresearch expedition.

a little auk

Ihaditallplannedout.Asamarinebiologist,Iwasgoingtostudywheretheselittleseabirdsweregettingtheirfoodfromtheocean.Ihadputtrackingdevicesonthebirds.Theylooked likeelectronicbackpacks.Theidea wastoretrievethebackpackswhen thebirdscamebackfromtheirfood runs.ThenIcouldalsoretrievethe data,showingmewheretheyhad
flowntowhileoutto sea.


Ihadn’tcountedonthetrackersfallingoffofthebirdsandgettinglost intheocean.But,that’sexactlywhathappened.Ipanicked.Myentireresearchprojectwas ruined!


Or,wasit?Ihadtothinkfast.HowcouldIsalvagethisexpedition?Andthenitcametome:Imaynotbeabletotrackwheretheygottheirfood,butIcouldcertainlyanalyzewhatthebirdshad eaten.

So,asthebirdscamebacktoland,Igentlyheldthemovermynotebookandwaited.Whenabirdpooped,Ihadmysample.Ididthis110timesfor110samples.Who saidscienceisn’t glamorous?


Itookallmygloriouspoopsamplesbacktothelabtoseewhatthebirdshadeaten.Whilewaitingformorefundingtohavemysamplesanalyzed,Icameacrosssometroublingnews.Anotherresearcherhaddiscoveredthatlittleaukparentswerebringingback plastic fortheirchickstoeat.Todiscoverthatplasticpollutionwaspresentinsuchremotewaterswasashock.Itwasaturningpointfor me.  

JustineAmmendoliaholdsalittle auk.

CareerChange

Ireturnedhometothinkaboutthesethings. IliveintheprovinceofNewfoundlandandLabradorineasternCanada.NewfoundlandisanislandthatisasfareastinNorthAmericaasyoucanget.The oceanandfishingplayaveryimportantculturalroleforthepeopleontheisland.But,Iknewthatourshoreswerealsopilingupwith plastic.


It’shardtosolveaproblembeforeyou fullyunderstandit.Ihadalotofquestions.Howmuchplasticwasgettingintotheoceans?Wherewasitcomingfrom?Whattypesofplasticswerethey?OnlyafterfiguringthesethingsoutcouldItacklethebiggerquestion:Howcanwestopplasticsfromgetting into oceans?


Imaybeamarinebiologist,buttotackletheplasticpollutionproblem,Ihadtobecomesomethingelse:agarbagedetective.MyresearchpartnersandIdecidedweneeded tocreateaplasticsprofileofNewfoundland’sbeaches.Wewouldaccomplishthisbyrepeatedlysurveyingsevenspecificbeaches
tostudywhatwasthereandwhereitmightbecoming from.

Greenland

Labrador

CANADA

NORTH
AMERICA

PACIFIC
OCEAN

ATLANTIC
OCEAN

Newfoundland

Collectingplastictrashfromthebeachisimportantscienceformyteam’sresearch.Butitisn’tglamorous work!

Here’sanexample:Somebeacheshavealotofplasticfoam—itcancomefromtake‑outcontainersandpackaging.Otherbeacheshavealotoffishinggear,likeropesandnets.Eachbeachis unique.


Onebeachwevisitedwaslitteredwithtrash.Amidapileofoldfood wrappers,Isawa tinyplantgrowing.Howhappyitmademetoseealivingthing,strugglingtogrowpastthemoundsoftrash.UntilIlookedalittle closer.

DetectiveWork

Everymonth,wevisitthesamebeachesandrecordwhattypesofgarbagewefind.Thisisnotexcitingwork.It’sslowandtediousandgrimy.Therecanbestrongwinds.It’softenwet.Okay,it’salmostalwayswet.Itcanevenbeabitdepressingsometimes.ButIcan’tthinkofabetterwaythanthistogetahandleonthe problem.


Whenmostpeoplethinkofplasticspollution,theythinkofwaterbottlesorplasticbags.Wecertainlydofindtrashlikethat.Wefindotherthings,too:metal,glass,rubber,cloth,evenlumber.Overtime,abeachshowsyouitspersonalitythroughthetypesandamountsofplasticthatendup there.

aplastic plant

BitsandPieces

Itturnsout,theplantIwascelebratingwasactuallyapieceofplastic!Itwasoneofthosefakeplantsthatyouputinafishtank.Iwaspretty disappointed.


Mostoftheplasticswefindare tiny.They’recalledmicroplastics.Amicroplastic isnotaspecifickindofplastic,but ratheranypieceofplasticthatisless
thanfivemillimetersinsize.
Forus,thesearethehardesttoidentifysincetheyhavelosttheiroriginalshapeandleavefewcluestowheretheycome from.

Thishandfuloftrashismadeupofallsingle‑use plastic.

Yet,throughourwork,wewerebeginningtomakeconnectionsbetweenbigpiecesofgarbageandmicroplastics. Onebeach,forexample,waslitteredwiththin,plasticthreads.Atfirst,wewerereallypuzzled.Wherewerethesethingscoming from?


Thenwefigureditout:Thethreadswerecomingfromfrayedfishingropes!Sometimesropesgetfrayedandburntfromsunexposure.Whenthreadsbreakfreefromrope,theyenduponthebeachesandinthe water.